Wow, that's just such a BS response. Why on earth does it make it better if only some kids are not able to access these books? By what logic does the mere existence of LGBT+ characters endanger...
UPDATE (9/26, 3:29 PM): A spokesperson for the Charlotte County School District sent this additional statement: “Books featuring LGBTQ characters are accessible in the media center for grades 9-12. While they may not be utilized for classroom instruction, these books are available for individual study and can be borrowed by students. The document… served as a training resource, and the discussion accompanying it provided further guidance to educators.”
Wow, that's just such a BS response. Why on earth does it make it better if only some kids are not able to access these books? By what logic does the mere existence of LGBT+ characters endanger children of any age? Are kids beneath 9th grade not allowed to study history because gay people existed? Even with this explanation there are countless things that make zero sense unless you accept the idea that this was done specifically with the idea that the existence of LGBT people is harmful to children, which is beyond insane.
Imagine replacing "LGBTQ" with any other protected class: black, white, christian, jewish, woman, person with disabilities, etc. How is this not the prelude to genocide?
Imagine replacing "LGBTQ" with any other protected class: black, white, christian, jewish, woman, person with disabilities, etc.
You don't even need to replace anything. The most famous perpetrators of genocide targeted LGBT people and books in the same way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_book_burnings...
You don't even need to replace anything. The most famous perpetrators of genocide targeted LGBT people and books in the same way.
We are squarely in the middle of an eerie reenactment of Weimar Germany. We have groups banning books and talking the same way. We had an attempted coup, and slow prosecutions over it, including an indictment of the ringleader...who is still in the running for the presidency. His party is basically doing the legwork in planning an expansion of power to mirror what happened after the Reichstag Fire. (Project 2025)
I was in Miami once several years back and it didn’t do much for me so I wouldn’t go back voluntarily, but I’m supposed to be in Florida for a work trip in a couple of months and I’ve decied to...
I was in Miami once several years back and it didn’t do much for me so I wouldn’t go back voluntarily, but I’m supposed to be in Florida for a work trip in a couple of months and I’ve decied to dodge it. Too backwards for me, I don’t want to be near or supportive of any of this.
This ban does make me how wonder how open to to malicious compliance it is. JK Rowling said Dumbledore is gay, not that it’s explicitly stated in the books I’ve read. Could they ban Harry Potter? Achilles & Patroclus? Not for me to say if they were gay but maybe you could get the Iliad banned.
At this point I've decided not buy products or services that are based out of states that make these stupid and evil decisions (when I notice them of course). Their decisions need to have...
At this point I've decided not buy products or services that are based out of states that make these stupid and evil decisions (when I notice them of course). Their decisions need to have consequences. So far this year Florida and Texas companies have lost about $1000 in sales from me. I realize that this may not be fair to all of the companies or individuals in those states, but they need to elect leaders that aren't going to make these decisions.
Judd Legum Update "Don't Say Gay" law DeSantis Discriminatory exclusion
Judd Legum
Librarians in public schools in Charlotte County, Florida, were instructed by the school district superintendent to remove all books with LGBTQ characters or themes from school and classroom libraries.
According to Vianello and McKinley, books with "[t]hese characters and themes cannot exist."
Update
A spokesperson for the Charlotte County School District sent this additional statement: “Books featuring LGBTQ characters are accessible in the media center for grades 9-12. While they may not be utilized for classroom instruction, these books are available for individual study and can be borrowed by students."
"Don't Say Gay" law
The guidance by Charlotte County Superintendent Mark Vianello and the school board's attorney, Michael McKinley, was obtained by the Florida Freedom to Read Project (FFTRP) through a public records request and shared with Popular Information.
Charlotte County school librarians sought guidance from the school district about how to apply an expansion of the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, better known as the "Don't Say Gay" law, to all grades. "Are we removing books from any school or media center, Prek-12 if a character has, for example, two mothers or because there is a gay best friend or a main character is gay?" the librarians asked, according to the document. Vianello and McKinely told the librarians, "Yes."
The guidance made clear that all books with LGBTQ characters are to be removed even if the book contained no sexually explicit content. The librarians asked if they could retain books in school and classroom libraries with LGBTQ characters "as long as they do not have explicit sex scenes or sexual descriptions and are not approaching 'how to' manuals for how to be an LGBTQ+ person." The guidance provided by Vianello and McKinely was: "No. Books with LBGTQ+ characters are not to be included in classroom libraries or school library media centers."
Vianello and McKinley also advised teachers must ensure that books with LGBTQ characters and themes do not enter the classroom, even if they are self-selected by students for silent reading. According to Vianello and McKinley, books with "[t]hese characters and themes cannot exist."
DeSantis
Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has insisted that allegations that his policies, including the "Don't Say Gay" law, are being used to ban a wide range of books is a "hoax." DeSantis claimed that the only books being removed from Florida libraries are "pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards."
Discriminatory exclusion
“Every child deserves to have their lives reflected in the books available in their public school classroom or library,” Stephana Ferrell, co-founder of the FFTRP told Popular Information. “The Florida Department of Education was informed of Charlotte County’s overreaction to the law and state rule over two weeks ago, and has not acted to correct it. Public school families in Florida deserve better. We cannot tolerate this discriminatory exclusion.”
Wow, that's just such a BS response. Why on earth does it make it better if only some kids are not able to access these books? By what logic does the mere existence of LGBT+ characters endanger children of any age? Are kids beneath 9th grade not allowed to study history because gay people existed? Even with this explanation there are countless things that make zero sense unless you accept the idea that this was done specifically with the idea that the existence of LGBT people is harmful to children, which is beyond insane.
There is a small follow-up article about this.
Imagine replacing "LGBTQ" with any other protected class: black, white, christian, jewish, woman, person with disabilities, etc.
How is this not the prelude to genocide?
You don't even need to replace anything. The most famous perpetrators of genocide targeted LGBT people and books in the same way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_book_burnings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_triangle
These people are even targeting books about the Holocaust, such as Maus:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/14/art-spiegelman-maus-book-bans/
We are squarely in the middle of an eerie reenactment of Weimar Germany. We have groups banning books and talking the same way. We had an attempted coup, and slow prosecutions over it, including an indictment of the ringleader...who is still in the running for the presidency. His party is basically doing the legwork in planning an expansion of power to mirror what happened after the Reichstag Fire. (Project 2025)
And yes, they're antisemitic too.
I was in Miami once several years back and it didn’t do much for me so I wouldn’t go back voluntarily, but I’m supposed to be in Florida for a work trip in a couple of months and I’ve decied to dodge it. Too backwards for me, I don’t want to be near or supportive of any of this.
This ban does make me how wonder how open to to malicious compliance it is. JK Rowling said Dumbledore is gay, not that it’s explicitly stated in the books I’ve read. Could they ban Harry Potter? Achilles & Patroclus? Not for me to say if they were gay but maybe you could get the Iliad banned.
At this point I've decided not buy products or services that are based out of states that make these stupid and evil decisions (when I notice them of course). Their decisions need to have consequences. So far this year Florida and Texas companies have lost about $1000 in sales from me. I realize that this may not be fair to all of the companies or individuals in those states, but they need to elect leaders that aren't going to make these decisions.
Judd Legum
Update
"Don't Say Gay" law
DeSantis
Discriminatory exclusion
I don't know of a single "good" movement in history that banned books.
Can we just start calling them "Republican ISIS" openly?