To resort to such a crude tool shows how afraid and threatened they are
September 19, 2023 1:01 AM Subscribe
Anyone else slightly skeeved by Harper’s using this topic to push Rolexes and such in the author photos?
posted by leotrotsky at 6:29 AM on September 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 6:29 AM on September 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
The infographics in the first linked piece are a little hard to read, but the bubble chart of banned topics looks like a malignant cancer cell or something else inimical.
Zooming in to read the labels, it strikes me that the topics of the most-banned books are ones that most parents could best address with either an open conversation or else by living a good example.But I mean, if you're against topics like love, acceptance, and tolerance....well, I guess you'll need to turn to repression and fear, because that stuff just isn't defensible.
Banning things only makes kids more curious about what's being withheld from them. It literally never works.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:29 AM on September 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
Zooming in to read the labels, it strikes me that the topics of the most-banned books are ones that most parents could best address with either an open conversation or else by living a good example.But I mean, if you're against topics like love, acceptance, and tolerance....well, I guess you'll need to turn to repression and fear, because that stuff just isn't defensible.
Banning things only makes kids more curious about what's being withheld from them. It literally never works.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:29 AM on September 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
Also, from the map, what the hell Pennsylvania? How are you basically the worst? You were founded by Quakers! I know Pennsyltucky is a thing, but geez.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:34 AM on September 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 6:34 AM on September 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
I wish they wouldn't use the word "banned" for all of these books. In many cases, access was restricted, but "almost three quarters of the books that PEN listed as banned were still available in school libraries in the same districts from which PEN claimed they had been banned." Restricting access is a significant and real problem, so misleading language is just a distraction.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:35 AM on September 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:35 AM on September 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
McCarthyism, the communist-obsessed fever dream of Senator Joseph McCarthy that serves as a stain on the otherwise idyllic 1950s.
LOL tell me you know jack fucking shit about the 50s without telling me.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:27 AM on September 19, 2023 [41 favorites]
LOL tell me you know jack fucking shit about the 50s without telling me.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:27 AM on September 19, 2023 [41 favorites]
The idyllic 50's?!?
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:36 AM on September 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:36 AM on September 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
I mean it's such an absolutely insane statement I have to think it might be sarcastic???
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:45 AM on September 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:45 AM on September 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
almost three quarters of the books that PEN listed as banned were still available in school libraries in the same districts from which PEN claimed they had been banned.
Your evidence is a single Ed Week article, written by numbskulls from large right-wing hate groups dedicated to the criminalization and ultimately the eradication of POC and the LGBTQ communities?
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 8:49 AM on September 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
Your evidence is a single Ed Week article, written by numbskulls from large right-wing hate groups dedicated to the criminalization and ultimately the eradication of POC and the LGBTQ communities?
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 8:49 AM on September 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
Another piece of evidence is PEN's own definition: "PEN America defines a school book ban as any action taken against a book ... that leads to a previously accessible book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished. ... School book bans take varied forms, and can include prohibitions on books in libraries or classrooms, as well as a range of other restrictions, some of which may be temporary."
It's annoying when "right-wing hate groups" (correcting my earlier incorrect link) are the ones who note the facts that the good guys should have explained up front, but it doesn't make those facts any less true.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:26 AM on September 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
It's annoying when "right-wing hate groups" (correcting my earlier incorrect link) are the ones who note the facts that the good guys should have explained up front, but it doesn't make those facts any less true.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:26 AM on September 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
But those facts seem to be wholly sourced from said hate groups. And yes, the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute are right wing hate groups, no quotes necessary. These are not the people to take research from at face value, let alone conclusions that just so happen to prove their racist, fascist missions
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 11:08 AM on September 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 11:08 AM on September 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
In many cases, access was restricted, but "almost three quarters of the books that PEN listed as banned were still available in school libraries in the same districts from which PEN claimed they had been banned."
This is an easily tested assertion. I took PEN's raw data and ran it through a randomizer to sample five data lines from their original books-and-districts pairing, and then checked to see what information there was out there on those particular claims
Sample #1: Carmen Maria Machado's In the Dream House was banned from classrooms in the Leander Independent School District in Texas.
Research: A KUT 90.5 story links to a report from the Leander ISD's Community Curriculum Advisory Committee with the following language with reference to "In the Dream House" and 10 other books: "Between November 29 and December 17, district administrators will partner with our high school campuses to ensure these instructional materials are not accessible for HS Book Clubs and Classroom Libraries."
Claim veracity: If anything, PEN understated the situation. "Banned from Libraries" is a separate and additional notation to "Banned from Classrooms", and libraries are specifically . "Ensure these instructional materials are not available" for classroom activities surely meets the definition of "Banned from Classrooms".
Sample #2: Lupita Nyong'o's Sulwe was banned pending investigation from the Duval County School District in Florida.
Research: A JAX TDY story published in late 2022 listed Sulwe as one of 173 books which had been under review by DCSD over the previous year, and on which the final determination was "approved". According to the DCSD Library Catalog, there are three copies of Sulwe in the district, one of which is currently checked out (implying current availability).
Claim veracity: PEN's information on this is out of date, unless their criterion for "pending" is "ever was pending" rather than "is pending right now".
Sample #3: Jennifer Niven's Breathless was banned pending investigation from the Brevard County School District in Florida.
Research: Brevard Schools' K-12 Library Media Resource lists Breathless as having a formal review pending, with no review date set, and that "the books listed have been removed from circulation pending the outcome of review by the Book Reconsideration Committee".
Claim veracity: PEN's reported status for this book is accurate, in that it is under review, and has been removed from student access pending a (currently indefinitely scheduled) review.
Sample #4: Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer has been banned pending investigation from Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.
Research: A report from the FCPS Review Committee on October 26, 2021 "unanimously recommends that Gender Queer: A Memoir remain in FCPS libraries that serve high school students.". I can find no more recent stories about an actual ban or reveiw of Gender Queer in Fairfax: lots of fulmination from right-wing sites about it still being on the shelves. The FCPS library catalog asserts the existence of 14 copies of the 2019 publication, one of which is checked out, and two copies of the 2022 publication.
Claim veracity: This is long enough ago that it would be shockingly out of date for PEN to assert this, unless their criterion for "pending" is "ever was pending" rather than "is pending right now".
Sample #5: Brooke Khan's Home of the Brave: 15 Immigrants who Shaped U.S. History has been banned from classrooms in the Central York School District in Pennsylvania.
Research: His one was hard to find much on; it shows up on "CYSD banned book" lists without a primary source. It was apparently not on the Diversity Committee Resource List which had been removed in November 2020 and was reinstated in September 2021. A search of the CYSD library catalog indicates they don't have it in any of their libraries, but that's not proof in either direction (although, as regards the claim that "books that PEN listed as banned were still available in school libraries in the same districts from which PEN claimed they had been banned", it's a point against).
Claim veracity: My Google-Fu may be bad, but I can neither find any definite proof that PEN's statement is accurate nor that it is inaccurate. No ban of this particular work gained media attention, and no writings about reinstatements or reviews I can find associated with CYSD mentions it.
Overall verdict: In the five randomly sampled cases, PEN has accurately reported on two works which have unambiguously been removed from student access. In two cases their report seems to be describing historical rather than ongoing review, which seems a bit alarmist (a review is a reasonable part of an adjudication process, after all) although the reviews did drag on and during the reviews the works were unavailable. The fifth case, I honestly don't know about. Their information presumably comes from somewhere but I couldn't find anything about it, although the specific accusation made against PEN in this fifth case is false. I'd argue for a failure rate of 40% at the outside in this sample, which is considerably less than the alleged 75% rate.
posted by jackbishop at 11:29 AM on September 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is an easily tested assertion. I took PEN's raw data and ran it through a randomizer to sample five data lines from their original books-and-districts pairing, and then checked to see what information there was out there on those particular claims
Sample #1: Carmen Maria Machado's In the Dream House was banned from classrooms in the Leander Independent School District in Texas.
Research: A KUT 90.5 story links to a report from the Leander ISD's Community Curriculum Advisory Committee with the following language with reference to "In the Dream House" and 10 other books: "Between November 29 and December 17, district administrators will partner with our high school campuses to ensure these instructional materials are not accessible for HS Book Clubs and Classroom Libraries."
Claim veracity: If anything, PEN understated the situation. "Banned from Libraries" is a separate and additional notation to "Banned from Classrooms", and libraries are specifically . "Ensure these instructional materials are not available" for classroom activities surely meets the definition of "Banned from Classrooms".
Sample #2: Lupita Nyong'o's Sulwe was banned pending investigation from the Duval County School District in Florida.
Research: A JAX TDY story published in late 2022 listed Sulwe as one of 173 books which had been under review by DCSD over the previous year, and on which the final determination was "approved". According to the DCSD Library Catalog, there are three copies of Sulwe in the district, one of which is currently checked out (implying current availability).
Claim veracity: PEN's information on this is out of date, unless their criterion for "pending" is "ever was pending" rather than "is pending right now".
Sample #3: Jennifer Niven's Breathless was banned pending investigation from the Brevard County School District in Florida.
Research: Brevard Schools' K-12 Library Media Resource lists Breathless as having a formal review pending, with no review date set, and that "the books listed have been removed from circulation pending the outcome of review by the Book Reconsideration Committee".
Claim veracity: PEN's reported status for this book is accurate, in that it is under review, and has been removed from student access pending a (currently indefinitely scheduled) review.
Sample #4: Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer has been banned pending investigation from Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.
Research: A report from the FCPS Review Committee on October 26, 2021 "unanimously recommends that Gender Queer: A Memoir remain in FCPS libraries that serve high school students.". I can find no more recent stories about an actual ban or reveiw of Gender Queer in Fairfax: lots of fulmination from right-wing sites about it still being on the shelves. The FCPS library catalog asserts the existence of 14 copies of the 2019 publication, one of which is checked out, and two copies of the 2022 publication.
Claim veracity: This is long enough ago that it would be shockingly out of date for PEN to assert this, unless their criterion for "pending" is "ever was pending" rather than "is pending right now".
Sample #5: Brooke Khan's Home of the Brave: 15 Immigrants who Shaped U.S. History has been banned from classrooms in the Central York School District in Pennsylvania.
Research: His one was hard to find much on; it shows up on "CYSD banned book" lists without a primary source. It was apparently not on the Diversity Committee Resource List which had been removed in November 2020 and was reinstated in September 2021. A search of the CYSD library catalog indicates they don't have it in any of their libraries, but that's not proof in either direction (although, as regards the claim that "books that PEN listed as banned were still available in school libraries in the same districts from which PEN claimed they had been banned", it's a point against).
Claim veracity: My Google-Fu may be bad, but I can neither find any definite proof that PEN's statement is accurate nor that it is inaccurate. No ban of this particular work gained media attention, and no writings about reinstatements or reviews I can find associated with CYSD mentions it.
Overall verdict: In the five randomly sampled cases, PEN has accurately reported on two works which have unambiguously been removed from student access. In two cases their report seems to be describing historical rather than ongoing review, which seems a bit alarmist (a review is a reasonable part of an adjudication process, after all) although the reviews did drag on and during the reviews the works were unavailable. The fifth case, I honestly don't know about. Their information presumably comes from somewhere but I couldn't find anything about it, although the specific accusation made against PEN in this fifth case is false. I'd argue for a failure rate of 40% at the outside in this sample, which is considerably less than the alleged 75% rate.
posted by jackbishop at 11:29 AM on September 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
I for one am just fine with those who oppose the restriction of access to culture employing hyperbole, janky statistics, overstatement, outright exaggeration and even bald-faced lies because of course those who are out to restrict access to culture aren't going to quibble with the niceties when making their lists & deploying their evil minions.
posted by chavenet at 11:37 AM on September 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 11:37 AM on September 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
There's two things everyone should know about book bannings:
1. They are overwhelming pushed by social conservatives.
2. Those social conservatives never actually read the books they ban.
posted by AlSweigart at 2:59 PM on September 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
1. They are overwhelming pushed by social conservatives.
2. Those social conservatives never actually read the books they ban.
posted by AlSweigart at 2:59 PM on September 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
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I have a friend that used to teach there. After her first two years, she was moved to a majority black school. About a year later, she was taken to lunch one weekend by a senior teacher who counseled her to be careful about being seen to be too friendly to the black teachers and parents. (My friend is white). She played dumb - "I don't understand what you mean. Why wouldn't I be friendly to my co-teacher? Or my aide? Aren't I supposed to be nice to all the parents?"
She taught for 12 years, I think, and every year her principal told her it was questionable if they'd have a place for her the next year. She got very little support from the administration, and got great reviews from parents at the same time that she got mediocre ones from the administration.
She left when pregnant with her first, and is waffling on whether she'll return when her youngest starts school. I don't blame her for that - teaching ESE is stressful enough with help, worse without.
My point is, I guess, that Escambia's racial and queer issues are nothing new, and I'm not sad that somebody is calling them out. I wish it weren't both necessary and appropriate.
posted by Vigilant at 2:44 AM on September 19, 2023 [15 favorites]