McCarthyism Has Returned!

Back in the fifties there was the Lavender Scare  and it is back today (If you do not know what the Lavender Scare was I suggest that you read the link). And once again it is being lead by the Republicans,

NCAC* LEADS COALITION STATEMENT ON THE ATTACK ON BOOKS IN SCHOOLS
Published December 2021

In communities across the country, an organized political attack on books in schools threatens the education of America’s children. These ongoing attempts to purge schools of books represent a partisan political battle fought in school board meetings and state legislatures. The undersigned organizations and individuals are deeply concerned about this sudden rise in censorship and its impact on education, the rights of students, and freedom of expression.

Nearly all communities have developed policies for both handling book challenges and allowing parents to influence their own child’s reading, but they must do so within the guideposts set forth by the Supreme Court, without infringing on the rights of other students. The law clearly prohibits the kind of activities we are seeing today: censoring school libraries, removing books–and entire reading lists–based on disagreement with viewpoint and without any review of their educational or literary merit. Some would-be censors have gone even farther, threatening teachers, school librarians, authors, and school board members with criminal charges and even violence for allowing students access to books.
[...]
The First Amendment guarantees that no individual, group of individuals, legislator, community member, or even school board member can dictate what public school students are allowed to read based on their own personal beliefs or political viewpoint.

It is freedom of expression that ensures that we can meet the challenges of a changing world.  That freedom is critical for the students who will lead America in the years ahead. We must fight to defend it.

This harkens back to days of the cold war when being LGBTQ+ and people could be fired for being gay and trans people had to have 3 items of their birth gender on!

The attacks on books is gathering momentum among Republicans, we have it here in Connecticut,

'Attack on books': Over 600 authors, publishers, groups condemn book bans
The signatories — including author Judy Blume and the American Library Association —condemned the recent wave of LGBTQ- and race-related book bans.
NBC Out
By Matt Lavietes
December 9, 2021


More than 600 best-selling authors, publishers, bookstore owners and advocacy groups Wednesday condemned the recent wave of LGBTQ- and race-related book bans in public school libraries across the country.

Over the last several weeks, lawmakers, school officials and parents in at least 10 states — including New York, Texas and Virginia — have sought to rid books about the lived experiences of Black and LGBTQ people from elementary, middle and high schools.

Some who are challenging the books argue that they contain graphic illustrations of LGBTQ sexual experiences or portray an unflattering image of the country's history with race.
[…]
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, previously told NBC News that while reported challenges against books with LGBTQ- and race-related content have historically been “constant,” this year, the association has seen a “chilling” uptick.

“I’ve worked at ALA for two decades now, and I’ve never seen this volume of challenges come in,” she said. “The impact will fall to those students who desperately want and need books that reflect their lives, that answer questions about their identity, about their experiences that they always desperately need and often feel that they can’t talk to adults about.”

Queer advocates who signed on to the statement echoed Caldwell-Stone's concerns with regards for the LGBTQ community.

This is something right out of the 1950s and the thing is 50% of the population sees nothing wrong with banning books on LGBTQ+ topics.

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 *National Coalition Against Censorship