Things that Make White People Uncomfortable
May 5, 2022 10:21 AM Subscribe
Banned Book Store Library advocacy group EveryLibrary launches the Banned Book Store, the most comprehensive seller of currently banned and challenged books in the United States.
I'm bad at social media, but can't this be widely shared as #requiredreading or some such?
Streisand Effect the hell out of the jerks.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:37 AM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
Streisand Effect the hell out of the jerks.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:37 AM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
(Also the fact that "White Rage" is on the banned book list is just... well, it kinda says it all doesn't it?)
posted by caution live frogs at 10:38 AM on May 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by caution live frogs at 10:38 AM on May 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
These fascists would be hilarious if they weren't terrifying. Republicans: "we're banning this book because it promotes the indoctrination of a social agenda". Also Republicans: "students should be required to say the Pledge of Allegiance and taught that marriage is only between a man and a woman". Only approved social agendas allowed!
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 11:01 AM on May 5, 2022 [14 favorites]
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 11:01 AM on May 5, 2022 [14 favorites]
Wow, not even one Bill O'Reilley book banned based on complete historical inaccuracy. Shocker.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:14 AM on May 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:14 AM on May 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
I like that the first book is Frederick Douglass' autobiography
no better signifier of how white supremacy has remained a central tenet of this nation state for one, long unbroken period of time
posted by paimapi at 11:26 AM on May 5, 2022 [16 favorites]
no better signifier of how white supremacy has remained a central tenet of this nation state for one, long unbroken period of time
posted by paimapi at 11:26 AM on May 5, 2022 [16 favorites]
As a straight white person I am deeply uncomfortable at the number of books on this list that were very likely banned for the vile sin of "including a non-white and/or non-cisgender lead character".
Me too! Just scanning the first page of completely innocuous or cute book covers, almost all featuring people of color, and most featuring girls.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:27 PM on May 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
Me too! Just scanning the first page of completely innocuous or cute book covers, almost all featuring people of color, and most featuring girls.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:27 PM on May 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
I didn’t know Aziz Ansari wrote a book about modern romance right before the allegations about him came out. Not sure what I think about its presence on the list.
posted by ordinary_magnet at 12:39 PM on May 5, 2022
posted by ordinary_magnet at 12:39 PM on May 5, 2022
(Modern Romance was removed from a school library that, at the same time, also removed Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home.)
posted by box at 12:51 PM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by box at 12:51 PM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
Me too! Just scanning the first page of completely innocuous or cute book covers, almost all featuring people of color, and most featuring girls
That keeps on going until Page 4. What awful people.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:07 PM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
That keeps on going until Page 4. What awful people.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:07 PM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
I don't recognize many of these, but cripes, so many of them look entirely uncontroversial.
Also, seriously dude, a biography about Niel Degrass Tyson? An entirely mainstream, cis, het, often quite conservative guy famous for telling kids they should learn math? I might have some personal objections to actively celebrating him in school, because there are serious allegations that he might have done some unkind things in the past. But, come on! I'm completely opposed to all of these, but I can at least understand why someone who fundamentally disagrees with me about the world might object to some of them. That it's far less than half is surprising. Despite being at war with these people, I still vaguely hoped the enemy was not quite so stupid and obvious. Maybe one should be heartened by that.
posted by eotvos at 1:20 PM on May 5, 2022
Also, seriously dude, a biography about Niel Degrass Tyson? An entirely mainstream, cis, het, often quite conservative guy famous for telling kids they should learn math? I might have some personal objections to actively celebrating him in school, because there are serious allegations that he might have done some unkind things in the past. But, come on! I'm completely opposed to all of these, but I can at least understand why someone who fundamentally disagrees with me about the world might object to some of them. That it's far less than half is surprising. Despite being at war with these people, I still vaguely hoped the enemy was not quite so stupid and obvious. Maybe one should be heartened by that.
posted by eotvos at 1:20 PM on May 5, 2022
One that I thought was interesting is on the very last page - the one about teens' legal rights. I don't know much about it, but I can certainly imagine how much it would piss off a certain type of controlling, right-wing, authoritarian parent. It seems like many of them think they should get to control everything about their children's lives, right down to what they think.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 3:04 PM on May 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 3:04 PM on May 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
There's got to be books that describe how to make explosive material, illicit drugs or how to pirate movies that have got to be more "banned" than these?
All the topics presented here can be talked about legally and openly, but I still hear plenty of silly clouded language (SWIM, aka Someone I Met) when discussing things like pikhal and analogs.
posted by geoff. at 3:29 PM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
All the topics presented here can be talked about legally and openly, but I still hear plenty of silly clouded language (SWIM, aka Someone I Met) when discussing things like pikhal and analogs.
posted by geoff. at 3:29 PM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
There's got to be books that describe how to make explosive material, illicit drugs or how to pirate movies that have got to be more "banned" than these?
None of those books were in school libraries in the first place, though. (Or in most American public libraries, for that matter.)
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 3:44 PM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
None of those books were in school libraries in the first place, though. (Or in most American public libraries, for that matter.)
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 3:44 PM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
I am deeply uncomfortable at the number of books on this list that were very likely banned for the vile sin of "including a non-white and/or non-cisgender lead character".
Yep, it's not much of an overgeneralization to say that nearly all banned/challenged books this year are either books with some sort of GLBTQ+ content or books that basically are neutral to positive about BIPOC issues. This not only sucks, it also is worrisome. I've got mixed feelings about EveryLibrary but their hearts are definitely in the right place and I'm glad they're doing this.
And don't forget if there is a young person in your life who is getting their access to books curtailed because of library censorship, don't forget about this offer from Brooklyn Public Library.
posted by jessamyn at 4:07 PM on May 5, 2022 [7 favorites]
Yep, it's not much of an overgeneralization to say that nearly all banned/challenged books this year are either books with some sort of GLBTQ+ content or books that basically are neutral to positive about BIPOC issues. This not only sucks, it also is worrisome. I've got mixed feelings about EveryLibrary but their hearts are definitely in the right place and I'm glad they're doing this.
And don't forget if there is a young person in your life who is getting their access to books curtailed because of library censorship, don't forget about this offer from Brooklyn Public Library.
posted by jessamyn at 4:07 PM on May 5, 2022 [7 favorites]
I'm sad, only one out of my three challenged or banned books is on the site. Oh wait, no, I'm sad that a bunch of zealots can purge hundreds of books from shelves, putting them out of the reach of teens who need them, because they're afraid of two Black girls kissing. I've spent a lot of my career as an activist and advocate for teens' right to read. I am tired and angry that all of my time right now-- when BIPoC, queer, trans, marginalized kids need all the help they can get-- that I'm spending my time justifying to librarians why they should spend 20/40/60 bucks on a book that's probably going to get banned anyway. And that's what we call soft censorship, kids! It doesn't make it into the news if they never bought the book in the first place, a ha ha ha ha!
posted by headspace at 4:09 PM on May 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by headspace at 4:09 PM on May 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wow, not even one Bill O'Reilley book banned based on complete historical inaccuracy. Shocker.
Know who else isn't on any of these lists by Republicans? Adolph Hitler.
posted by mikelieman at 12:13 AM on May 6, 2022
Know who else isn't on any of these lists by Republicans? Adolph Hitler.
posted by mikelieman at 12:13 AM on May 6, 2022
In Nashville this past week, we had the primary election for our judicial and school board elected positions (I'm originally Canadian and it's bonkers to me that a. these positions are elected, b. they are partisan so they require a primary, and c. the election does not coincide by design with a state or federal election, but anyway). This was my very first judicial/school board election since I became a citizen, so it was all new to me, and I learned that the municipality publishes an email address for everybody running. That was cool. So I emailed all the school board candidates to ask 1. how they felt about banning books that parents don't like (I did not give them any subject matter guidance) and 2. what their priorities were for budget.
Only about 1/3 of the candidates answered and predictably the R candidates were A-OK with banning books based on parent complaints regardless of why, apparently, or assumed parents would only complain about "explicit sexual content" by which I guess they mean gay girls kissing because it's not like school libraries typically have like hardcore porn already.
Anyway one of these chuckleheads won their primary so I will be working on the campaign of the person running against them. (If you're in Nashville, it's district 2; memail me.)
posted by joannemerriam at 10:29 AM on May 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
Only about 1/3 of the candidates answered and predictably the R candidates were A-OK with banning books based on parent complaints regardless of why, apparently, or assumed parents would only complain about "explicit sexual content" by which I guess they mean gay girls kissing because it's not like school libraries typically have like hardcore porn already.
Anyway one of these chuckleheads won their primary so I will be working on the campaign of the person running against them. (If you're in Nashville, it's district 2; memail me.)
posted by joannemerriam at 10:29 AM on May 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
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As a straight white person I am deeply uncomfortable at the number of books on this list that were very likely banned for the vile sin of "including a non-white and/or non-cisgender lead character". I'm glad someone made it really, really easy to find and buy these books all in one place.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:33 AM on May 5, 2022 [3 favorites]