Banning Books and Jailing Teachers: How American Anti-intellectualism Keeps Chugging Along, Next Stop Kansas

[AthenaAwakened]

Senate Bill 56 , introduced on Jan. 22 by state Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Shawnee, would amend Kansas' public morals statute by deleting an exemption that protects K-12 public, private and parochial schoolteachers from being prosecuted for presenting material deemed harmful to minors.
According to the bill, "harmful material" includes depictions of nudity, sexual conduct, homosexuality, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse "in a manner that is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the community with respect to what is suitable for minors."
Teachers could be charged with a class B misdemeanor and face up to six months in jail if teaching materials contain depictions that a "reasonable person" would find to lack "serious literary, scientific, educational, artistic or political value for minors."
Pilcher-Cook said she sponsored S.B. 56 in response to parental outrage over a poster affixed to a Shawnee Mission middle school door last year that asked the question: "How do people express their sexual feelings?" and listed answers such as "hugging, kissing, saying 'I like you' and talking" along with other possibilities: "oral sex, anal sex, masturbation, vaginal intercourse, grinding, and touching each other's genitals."
"Pornography and obscene materials are becoming more and more prevalent in our society, and it is all too common to hear of cases where children are not being protected from the harm it inflicts," Pilcher-Cook told the Topeka Capital Journal.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/...ers-in-jail-for-teaching-harmful-material.htm

The GOP and the GOD dumbing down the USA state by bloody state

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Next stop Kansas? Kansas is where the Central Hub is.

 

[funinspace]

I think it is just one of the major station stops, in the Circle Jerk Express

 

[Nexus]

What's wrong with preventing teachers from exposing middle schoolers to explicit sexual materials? Is sadomasochism truly necessary for a sex ed curriculum? Were the children harmed when that poster was removed? The poster explaining that people can engage in anal sex to express there sexual feelings.

 

[Draconis]

Kansas is one of the US states I have never visited. And it seems from this I should not be in a rush to do so.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

What's wrong with preventing teachers from exposing middle schoolers to explicit sexual materials?

Is that what you think middle school teachers are doing?

Is sadomasochism truly necessary for a sex ed curriculum?

Is this what is happening and by whose definition are we declaring something to be sadomasochistic?

Were the children harmed when that poster was removed? The poster explaining that people can engage in anal sex to express there sexual feelings.

Do we need a law to remove a poster?

 

[TSwizzle]

What's wrong with preventing teachers from exposing middle schoolers to explicit sexual materials?

The progressives want to frogmarch other people's children into sexual liberty. Get with the program you old fuddy duddy and don't dare complain.

 

[laughing dog]

What's wrong with preventing teachers from exposing middle schoolers to explicit sexual materials?

I think the problem is what is considered explicit sexual material. For some people, seeing a naked breast or a penis constitutes explicit sexual material even when it is on a work of art.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

Is sexual content the only critieria that is being considered as to determining offensive material?

Hardly.

Peep this

Here are just some of the books that made the American Library Associations of Banned or Challenged books from over a six-year period of time (2008-2013), and the reason for the ban or challenge.

2013 *Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey. Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group, violence
*The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group

2012 *The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
*Beloved, by Toni Morrison. Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

2011 *Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit
*To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Reasons: offensive language; racism

2010 *Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich. Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, and religious viewpoint
*Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer. Reasons: religious viewpoint and violence

2009 *The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
*The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier. Reasons: nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group (this is one of our son’s favorite books)

2008 *Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz. Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence
*And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group

Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/...pilcher-cook-wants-criminalize-harmful-books/

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Seriously, Twilight? Wasn't that movie a bit preachy with Edward wanting to wait until marriage?

And of course, this idea that students are being subjected to sexualization in school is utter bullshit, otherwise they'd actually be able to cite several specific instances, not vague claims.

 

[Keith&Co.]

The Chocolate War has nudity? I don't remember any pictures....

I guess if you're uptight enough, saying 'then she ran naked down to her bedroom' is nudity. Or saying 'anal sex' is sexually explicit, even if you don't explain how Tab A goes into Slot B...

 

[Keith&Co.]

Do we need a law to remove a poster?

Yes. Note that there aren't too many definitions in the law.

The standard is what a "reasonable person" would find offensive. Clearly the author means himself.

SO we're writing a law that says 'If _I_ am offended, you're going to jail..... Um, because children."

Without a law, he'd be forced to actually justify the offense. To show why it's without merit. To substantiate claims that saying 'boob' is tantamount to showing porn to a kid...

 

[marc]

Seriously, Twilight? Wasn't that movie a bit preachy with Edward wanting to wait until marriage?

First knew Twilight was likely a crappy book series when the author went on about her being a Mormon. Everything I've learned since then has only backed that impression up. Besides the waiting until marriage, the relationship was both verbally and emotionally abusive, controlling, and presented as an ideal romance.

 

[laughing dog]

Seriously, Twilight? Wasn't that movie a bit preachy with Edward wanting to wait until marriage?

First knew Twilight was likely a crappy book series when the author went on about her being a Mormon. Everything I've learned since then has only backed that impression up. Besides the waiting until marriage, the relationship was both verbally and emotionally abusive, controlling, and presented as an ideal romance.

In other words, a conservative Christian's idea of the perfect relationship.

 

[marc]

First knew Twilight was likely a crappy book series when the author went on about her being a Mormon. Everything I've learned since then has only backed that impression up. Besides the waiting until marriage, the relationship was both verbally and emotionally abusive, controlling, and presented as an ideal romance.

In other words, a conservative Christian's idea of the perfect relationship.

Quite probably. Never read the books myself, but did read a blog that gave a chapter by chapter summary (until the writer apparently gave up after chapter 9 in the third book). She did include a link to an abuse website, showing that the book was hitting quite a number of the warning signs. Yes I read it, it's still stupid.

 

[funinspace]

The Chocolate War has nudity? I don't remember any pictures...

I don't know about the Chocolate War, but the movie "Como Agua para Chocolate" certainly had some nudes in it.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

I have to ask. I always do.

Why is it perfectly acceptable to take out an entire regiment of Confederate soldiers in a book or movie, but the mention of a woman's nipple (not even the whole breast) elicits squeals of horror?

 

[Frikki]

What's wrong with preventing teachers from exposing middle schoolers to explicit sexual materials?

The progressives want to frogmarch other people's children into sexual liberty. Get with the program you old fuddy duddy and don't dare complain.

Troll harder.

 

[funinspace]

I have to ask. I always do.

Why is it perfectly acceptable to take out an entire regiment of Confederate soldiers in a book or movie, but the mention of a woman's nipple (not even the whole breast) elicits squeals of horror?

Well, duh...that is because war and death are natural

 

[Nexus]

I have to ask. I always do.

Why is it perfectly acceptable to take out an entire regiment of Confederate soldiers in a book or movie, but the mention of a woman's nipple (not even the whole breast) elicits squeals of horror?

Do you mean take out for drinks and dinner or out on the town?