So much for that whole ‘banning books’ talking point, Lefties.
For YEARS now, the Left has been accusing the Right of banning books, calling them fascists and authoritarians, and all because parents don’t want adult-themed content in public school libraries. Asking that a book that provides directions for various sex acts not be available to a child at school is nothing like banning books, but we suppose they found a talking point that works for them so they’re sticking with it.
Except you know, we have this thread with so many receipts proving them wrong. The next time one of those mouth-breathers accuses you of ‘banning books,’ refer them to this article or this thread:
People have accepted without scrutiny @PENamerica's claim that 2,532 books were banned from schools last year, creating alarm about "widespread censorship." We bothered to check those school district libraries & found that the vast majority of these books remain available.🧵1/ pic.twitter.com/XpGNAGs6UA
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
… vast majority of these books remain available.
Ya’ don’t say.
School districts often have their card catalogues online. Of the 2,532 books @PENamerica says were banned, 487 were banned only from classrooms and might not be listed in card catalogues. We searched for the other 2,045, finding card catalogues covering 1,868 or 91% of them. 2/
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
74% of those 1,868 books are listed as available in the card catalogues of the same school districts from which @PENamerica says they were banned. In many cases we found multiple copies of the "banned" books of which several were listed as checked out and clearly still in use. 3/
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
But but but, we were told they were BANNED!
Recommended
People often cite classic books @PENamerica alleges were banned, such as Anne Frank’s Diary, Brave New World, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, The Color Purple, and To Kill a Mockingbird. In every school district in which those books were supposedly banned, we found copies 4/
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
They lie because they don’t want to admit the books in question really don’t belong in school libraries and it’s hard to pretend you’re the good guy when you’re fighting to keep adult books at school. So these yahoos claim it’s books like ‘The Color Purple’ so they can pretend the Right is fascist and trying to hide racism or whatever.
It’s all really dumb and that anyone has fallen for it says so much about the Left, and ain’t none of it any good.
For example, @PENamerica lists To Kill a Mockingbird as "Banned in Libraries and Classrooms" in Edmonds Public Schools in OK. As this screenshot shows, the district has 10 copies of the book spread across multiple schools with two copies checked out at the time we looked. 5/ pic.twitter.com/eTdSn5WevQ
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
Not. Banned.
Although Democrats did try to ban it in California.
True story.
Keep going.
Another… @PENamerica lists Brave New World as "Banned in Libraries and Classrooms" in the Indian River School District in FL. Yet, two copies of that book are listed in the card catalogue of the district's Vero Beach High School with one checked out at the time we looked. 6/ pic.twitter.com/WzVFfKZsxG
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
Many claim that book bans are driven by racism and they cite the fact that @PENamerica lists among their most banned books The Hate U Give, which was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. They allege the book was banned from 13 school district libraries last year. 7/
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
Allege is the key word there.
Yet, we can find The Hate U Give in the catalogues of every one of those 13 school districts, many with copies checked out — clearly not banned. @PENamerica lists it as "Banned from Libraries" in St. Lucie Public Schools in FL. That district has 6 copies with 4 checked out. 8/ pic.twitter.com/tDWNk3oX8K
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
Shocker.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is also frequently cited as an example of a frequently banned book, with @PENamerica listing it as banned from 17 school district libraries (and another 5 classrooms). Of the 17 for which we searched, we found it in 14. 9/
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
We could keep going, but you get the point. The vast majority of books claimed as banned from school district libraries do not appear to be banned at all, especially when it comes to classic works of literature. 11/
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
Gosh, we feel shocked.
No, not really.
Even the 26% of books claimed as banned that we could not find in school district card catalogues may not have been removed from those libraries since, given @PENamerica's sloppiness, we cannot be sure that the book would have previously been listed. 12/
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
In addition, many of the books we were unable to find could reasonably be judged as not age-appropriate for school libraries. Works like Gender Queer, Flamer, Lawn Boy, Fun Home, and It's Perfectly Normal contain images or graphic descriptions of people engaged in sex acts. 13/
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
You know, the books parents ACTUALLY have taken issue with.
People who don’t want these books available to children in school libraries aren’t book banners. And people unwilling to defer to the unilateral authority of teachers and librarians to decide what children should have access to without democratic oversight are not fascists. 14/
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
Ding ding ding.
Determining what books are age-appropriate and educationally valuable for school libraries is inherently contentious even among well-intentioned people. Manufacturing a book banning crisis where none exists only serves to undermine that already difficult but necessary process.15/
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) May 11, 2023
And boom went the dynamite.
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