Former President Barack Obama defended “banned books” in an open letter to librarians – a move that conservatives are blasting given that those at the center of debate contain pornographic material targeted to children.
"Today, some of the books that shaped my life—and the lives of so many others—are being challenged by people who disagree with certain ideas or perspectives,” Obama said. “It’s no coincidence that these ‘banned books’ are often written by or feature people of color, Indigenous people, and members of the LGBTQ+ community—though there have also been unfortunate instances in which books by conservative authors or books containing ‘triggering’ scenes have been targets for removal," Obama said in his open letter to librarians.”
He continued, "Either way, the impulse seems to be to silence, rather than engage, rebut, learn from or seek to understand views that don’t fit our own. I believe such an approach is profoundly misguided, and contrary to what has made this country great."
Obama went on to praise librarians for being “on the front lines—fighting every day to make the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions, and ideas available to everyone."
Responding to Obama’s open letter, conservatives, including The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, roasted the former president, pointing out that “the only books that anyone on the right is challenging are pornographic books about gay sex.”
Barack Obama has finally come out as gay. At least that must be what he's saying, because he says that the books that are being challenged in schools are the ones that shaped his life...but the only books that anyone on the right is challenging are pornographic books about gay… pic.twitter.com/9Kf0zqek6M
— The Matt Walsh Show (@MattWalshShow) July 18, 2023
Thank you @BarackObama for making it clear that you support sexually explicit books for kids. https://t.co/C3lYOhgop9
— The Based Librarian (@BasedLibrarian) July 17, 2023
The books that conservatives are fighting against, like “Let’s Talk About It,” or "Gender Queer," for example, show explicit sexual acts and even teach children about “kinks, fantasies, and porn.”
"When they accuse us of 'banning books' they’re referring to graphic books containing pornographic content offered to kids in schools across the country," tweeted Libs of TikTok, showing images from some of the books, which are too graphic to post here. "For some reason, they never show examples from the books Why does Obama want your kids to read porn like this in school?"
Barack,
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 17, 2023
If you’ll sit down and read Gender Queer, then defend making it available to kids, I’ll do you the favor of running ads all over the country to let people know. You’ll never do it because you know it would disgust normal people that your party wants kids to read it. https://t.co/YK74GMo2yk
Tell us more about how books like “Gender Queer” and “Lawn Boy” shaped your life. https://t.co/ItmXa0X2eR
— Peachy Keenan (@KeenanPeachy) July 18, 2023
When they say that books are being "banned" in schools by conservatives, they are talking about sexually explicit materials inappropriate for kids.
— 1776 Project PAC (@1776ProjectPac) July 17, 2023
And they either completely support kids looking at porn or have no idea what books they are even defending. https://t.co/9GMnmCqK1w