The Washington Post reports that while Republicans claim they only want to keep “harmful” material away from children, new state laws are quickly being passed in Red States that will permit criminal prosecution of school and library personnel. So far, at least seven states have passed such laws, with 12 more considering similar “Thought Police" crackdowns where librarians could face years of imprisonment and tens of thousands in fines for simply having books someone considered to be “obscene” or “harmful” to children on their shelves.
Of course, when Repubs say they “want to keep ‘harmful’ material away from children,” that wouldn’t include guns. Let us not forget that in this country - school children have a “God-Given Right” to die in a mass shooting. Why in 2022 alone, we had approximately 650 mass shootings, with more than 44,000 people dying from gun violence overall. Well, Republicans aren’t dumb and immediately concluded that means they had better start passing laws to protect children from librarians, history books, and Drag Queens. Because nothing says “freedom” like being able to jail librarians over books that you’ve probably never even read.
Take, for example, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, who recently bragged about buying a firearm for her infant granddaughter, who is actually under 2 years old. And let’s not forget Republican congressmen and women regularly send out Christmas cards with both they and their young children gripping assault rifles. But books - yeah, they’re dangerous as hell! After all, one never knows when a history book might accidentally “go off” and take out an entire classroom. Not to mention that everyone knows what a wild, crazy bunch those librarians are. Talk about out-of-control party animals.
The truth is, Republicans don’t want kids or constituents to read - period. That’s why they constantly attack teachers and cut funding for education. Oh sure, Republicans say they’re just protecting kids from "obscene" books in school libraries - meanwhile, these same kids are getting all the porn they want - right off their cellphones. Or, even from the Bible, with passages like “There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. So you longed for the lewdness of your youth when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled” - Ezekiel 23:20:21. Hell, I don’t think even Pornhub could’ve come up with a scenario that racy.
You see, what Republicans really fear is not children being exposed to obscenity, but children developing empathy and sympathy for others who may be different than the folks who Republicans value. That’s right, the folks these fascists continually use as scapegoats for all society’s ills - ills that were basically created by conservative policies designed to protect the wealthy and privileged at the expense of the middle and working classes. So, looking for distractions, they’re coming after women, LBGTQs, doctors, books, educators, librarians - even Mickey Mouse. Now, you can call me crazy, but I’m getting the impression its not books or librarians who are posing the real threat here.
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