“On the topic of prohibiting trans books from schools, that is not censorship either.”
Yes, it is.
“It is necessary to curate children's reading to ensure a proper education.”
WHich is why teachers need to be able to pick books for their lesson units.
“We pick the books that kids read.”
Teachers pick the books in the classroom, students pick the books in the library. Unless censors decide they have to limit their options…. Which is censorship.
"If high school libraries didn't have books for preschoolers, would that be considered censorship?
You haven’t seen the books my wife used to get book reports on. The kids today don’t like to read. Seniors in the college prep pipelines would review ‘Holes.’
There are those who would force them to read Moby Dick in 9th grade. That book kicked my ass as a senior. But, yeah, deciding what’s age appropriate based on what you think they SHOULD want to read at that age is censorship.
"Would those books be labeled "banned" by the general public? Nope.”
Because book banning is a discrete process. If you just take over the library and eject anything you don’t like, that’s censorship.
My main problem with current book banning is they SAY they’re trying to protect kids, but they’re doing the opposite.
Kids are interested in sex well before they’re of age. SOme of them are interested in sex that’s not cis-het. There are a variety of topics they’re curious about but unable to ask about, not anyone they can trust. Fearful and/or ignorant parents, humiliating relatives, untrustworthy peers…. So it’s 18 years of silence, silence, silence, until suddenly they’re “Old Enough.” And it’s their decision. All of it. It’s all on them. And we’ve done nothing to prepare them for the responsibility. And ignoring it did not make it go away.
SO they’re going to make mistakes and come to harm.
Thanks a lot, Jesus.