Michigan school decides gay character is unsuitable for children, bans book from fair.

[Metaphor]

From here:

A Michigan public school’s decision to ban a children’s book that features a gay character is making local news, and the superintendent’s assertion that LGBT-related material is unfit for a learning environment has outraged some.

The popular “Captain Underpants” series was praised in September when author-illustrator Dav Pilkey revealed one of its major characters is gay. In Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot, the 12th installment in the series, young Harold travels into the future and discovers he will someday marry a man.

That fact, Monroe School District superintendent Barry Martin explained, makes the book unsuitable for children. He told WXYZ that’s why he and the Parent-Teacher Organization decided to remove the book from the upcoming Arborwood Elementary School Book Fair.

“Most of the kids come in and they buy books and the parents aren’t part of the selection. In this case, we felt it was necessary that if this book was going to be purchased, the parent needed to be involved in that,” said Martin. “I support the decision of the parent group and the principal for handling it this way.”

Critics of the school’s decision suggest their actions are tantamount to anti-LGBT censorship, claiming children who intend to shop at the book fair have preemptively had their civil rights violated because they’re being refused the option of browsing and buying LGBT-related material.

As if foreseeing the potential drama, Pilkey issued the following statement when the book was released in September: “When it comes to books, we may not all agree on what makes for a good read, but I hope we can agree that letting children choose their own books is crucial to helping them learn to love reading.”

Martin noted that parents who wish to buy the book can do so via the Scholastic website, as if that’s some kind of progressive or inclusive option for families who feel slighted.

I think it's lovely that Super Nintendo Martin has got the back of homophobic parents. I know personally that once I became aware of same-sex attraction as a concept, I became an INSTANT POOFTA.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Yup, that liberal indoctrinating public school system...

 

[Keith&Co.]

Critics of the school’s decision suggest their actions are tantamount to anti-LGBT censorship, claiming children who intend to shop at the book fair have preemptively had their civil rights violated because they’re being refused the option of browsing and buying LGBT-related material.

Oh, that's silly. This has nothing to do with the rights of gay kids.

It's all about the plans of the homophobes to shame and demonize homosexuals, and a fear that the book will make it harder to convince their otherwise obedient kids to shame and demonize people who are 'diffrunt.'

Can't have the little blighters saying 'But Captain Underpants says it's okay!'

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It is best to ignore things that are different and we are uncomfortable with. School is no place to discuss and educate about it.

 

[Keith&Co.]

It is best to ignore things that are different and we are uncomfortable with. School is no place to discuss and educate about it.

Except for evolution. Kids should get ALL the data there, and make their own decision. For LGBT issues, and most sex practices, sex dangers, birth control, we need to protect them from the data.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

It is best to ignore things that are different and we are uncomfortable with. School is no place to discuss and educate about it.

Except for evolution. Kids should get ALL the data there, and make their own decision. For LGBT issues, and most sex practices, sex dangers, birth control, we need to protect them from the data.

And by "all the data" we do, of course, mean half the data. If they want to look into non-Biblical sources of knowledge once they become adults, that's their own choice in a free society. It's not the sort of thing that's appropriate for children, however.