Business As Usual: Book Censorship News, May 27, 2022

This week, 19 children and 2 teachers — all primarily Latine — were killed.

Less than two weeks ago, 10 Black people — all primarily older individuals — were killed.

Books did not kill them.

Guns killed them.

Immediately after this week’s preventable tragedy, the various Moms For Liberty and similar groups posted a requisite thoughts and prayers, and it was back to business as usual. All Boys Aren’t Blue might see a lawsuit filed against it in Northside Independent School District in Bexar County. One of the members of that Moms For group calling for this move lost a child in the shooting. That was only mentioned in passing.

Books don’t kill people.

Guns kill people.

Call to Action

I am a human feeling a lot of things right now. Anger. Frustration. Disgust. Exhaustion. Worry.

Voting isn’t enough. “Vote” is the “thoughts and prayers” response from the left. We’ve done that. We keep doing that. Now it’s time for those who got those votes to grow a spine and do something. To give a single, solitary shit about something other than keeping power.

That we as a country do not institute a day of mourning following a tragedy, that we have not paused for a single solitary second to mourn the over one million people who have died from COVID due to incompetent and inept and willfully harmful government, that children and elderly people going about their days have their lives taken from them….it’s all too much.

Today’s action is to sit with this. If it feels good to write your representatives, do so. If you want to give money somewhere, some organizations doing the work:

Hillcrest Funeral Home in Uvalde is doing the services for the children and teachers murdered this week for free. This is at a tremendous cost to them, and any donations you want to make will help them offset the cost. You can indicate in your donation what it is for.

The leading cause of death for children in America is now guns.

It is not, and it never was, books.

The people who don’t believe educators are smart enough to share age-appropriate books with children are the same people who think the solution to murder is arming those same educators with guns.

Make it make sense.

Book Censorship News: May 27, 2022

Addendum

If you work in or visit libraries during the month of June, be prepared for seeing displays and events challenged left and right related to Pride. Already, the Illinois pro-censorship group has been targeting Drag Queen and Pride Storytimes across the state. It happened in New Hanover County public library in North Carolina.

Write letters. Show up to meetings. Find alternate places to hold the event if necessary. If you are a citizen, offer to be an escort for folks to safely get to and attend the event.

Lives depend upon this.

Books

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