Warning: The following story contains sexual images that are blurred out but graphic nonetheless.
Our children's innocence is being robbed from them at increasingly younger ages through the internet, social media, and sexual "education" classes at schools. Libraries, once thought of as safe environments for kids to explore literature, are also now another place parents must be vigilant about, as sexually explicit books get categorized for children as young as 11, with the full backing of the American Library Association.
And this isn't just happening in big cities. In Livingston Parish, Louisiana, a battle is brewing over "Let's Talk About It: A Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being Human" after Citizens for a New Louisiana sought to get the book moved to age-appropriate shelving while left-leaning actors apparently took issue with that innocuous request.
It resulted in a reportedly explosive meeting that LGBT activists descended upon, apparently unaware of exactly what they were protesting.
"To my knowledge, none of those reading from prepared statements or testifying from the heart had any prior knowledge of which books were the subject of the agenda item," Citizens for a New Louisiana executive director Michael Lunsford explains in a blog post.
Eventually, the discussion came down to the issue of censorship.
At some point during the meeting, Amanda Jones arose to speak. She announced that she was there in her capacity as the President of the Louisiana Association for School Librarians. Without referencing any specific content, she declared, “I would love to teach you about how harmful censorship can be.” It appeared to be suggested that age-appropriate shelving of sexually explicit content is a form of “censorship.” She said, “Just because you don’t want to read it or see it it does not give you the right to deny others or demand its relocation.” She also said, “No one on the right side of history has ever been on the side of censorship and hiding books.”
If you’d like to read a transcription of her complete statement, you can do so here. It’s not any real surprise that all of her statements appear to reflect the same stance her association takes on its homepage. Statements like these intend to denounce censorship in all its forms. If you’re wondering what they mean by “censorship,” her association has been unambiguous. In their written statement, the Louisiana Association of School Librarians actually uses the word censorship to describe age-appropriate shelving. Vis: “Moving books written for teens and housed in the teen section on topics of sex education and sexual identity to the adult section of a library is censorship.” (Citizens for a New Louisiana)
For pointing out the explicit material she seemed to be advocating for, Jones filed a defamation lawsuit—an action the National Association of Libraries applauded.
"Thank you for fighting back against the campaign of harassment, disinformation, and lies being used to intimidate and silence library workers, [Amanda Jones]," the ALA tweeted, linking to an NBC report on her lawsuit.
That tweet stood until Twitter user Based Librarian, an "anti-woke" account dedicated to "highlighting the state of literature and libraries today," chimed in.
"Thanks for fighting for this [heart emoji]," the account replied, sharing graphic images from the book.
It’s OK, I have a copy! pic.twitter.com/v5Mbaxk5T0
— The Based Librarian (@BasedLibrarian) August 16, 2022
In a statement to Townhall, Based Librarian, who wishes to remain anonymous, explained the ALA's blanket defense of books in the name of "diversity, inclusion, and representation" ignores the actual content, which oftentimes crosses the line on what's appropriate for children – a point members of the gay community have quietly acknowledged to Lunsford.
"Did anyone bother to open ['Let's Talk About It']? Instead, Amanda Jones and the ALA claim the challenges are censorship and hateful rhetoric against LGBTQ-themed books," Based Librarian continued. "This is far from the truth when the pages of 'Let's Talk About It' show explicit heterosexual and homosexual acts, graphically teach masturbation, and even dedicate a chapter to 'kinks, fantasies, and porn.'"
It's the highly influential ALA that's the "problem," Based Librarian argues. "It needs to be questioned and challenged as a tax-funded organization that defends and promotes sexually explicit materials for minors."
Needless to say, the ALA never did explain its decision to delete the tweet. One can only guess it's difficult to defend the indefensible.