It is a case of I don’t want my child to read these books so your child can’t read them either. These people want control over everyone, every child, they demand to rule your life. Hugs. Scottie
Hundreds of new books featuring characters of color and LGBTQ+ themes were found by the trash at a Staten Island elementary school, outraging some parents and sparking an education department investigation.
Gothamist obtained photos from a Brooklyn book lover that showed boxes of kids’ books left with the garbage at PS 55, known as the Henry Boehm School. Some had sticky notes on them detailing themes and content in the books, which appeared to be part of a 2019 initiative to diversify school materials. The city education department launched an investigation after Gothamist shared the images.
A note on “My Two Border Towns,” about a boy’s life on the United States-Mexico border, read “Our country has no room and it’s not fair.” A note on “The Derby Daredevils,” about a girls’ roller derby team, read “Not approved. Discusses dad being transgender. Teenage girls having a crush on another girl in class.” And a note on “We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know” read “negative slant on white people.”
A note on a copy of “My Two Border Towns” taken from the school reads “Our country has no room and it’s not fair.”
Holly Spiegel
Even books about the Marvel Comics hero Black Panther and legendary singer and activist Nina Simone were discarded.
It was unclear whether the removal of the books resulted from an objection raised by staff or parents. The education department said no formal challenge to the books was raised through official channels, though a part-time librarian had inquired about the process.
Until this incident, New York City had seemed largely immune from the high-profile efforts to ban books that are roiling school communities in Florida, New Jersey and other parts of the country.
“Our public schools do not shy away from books that teach students about the diverse people and communities that make up the fabric of our society,” education department spokesperson Nicole Brownstein said, noting the removal of the books was not sanctioned.
The school principal and PTA president did not respond to inquiries.
Many PS 55 parents were surprised to learn the books had been removed.
The education department said it was investigating why the books were discarded from the PS 55 library.
Jessica Gould
“I don’t believe in banning books at all,” said Angela Hartje, whose daughter is in third grade.
“It’s one step closer to ‘Fahrenheit 451,’” she added, referencing the classic sci-fi novel by Ray Bradbury about a dystopian America where books have been outlawed.
‘Not approved’
Holly Spiegel, of East Flatbush, alerted Gothamist to the controversy. Her neighbor, who was working near the school in November, retrieved hundreds of the books from the trash and gave them to Spiegel, knowing she could use them for the free “Little Libraries” she manages around their neighborhood. Spiegel then got in touch with the school and made two additional trips where she recovered hundreds more books in boxes marked “not approved.”
Sticky notes on the books pointed to apparent reasons why they were censored. A note on “Julian Is A Mermaid,” about a boy who dresses as a mermaid, read “Boy questions gender.” A post-it on “Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker’s Story,” cited a specific page, along with the question “white man’s world?”
A copy of “Derby Daredevils” had a note reading “Not approved. Discusses being transgender. Teenage girls having a crush on another girl in class.”
Holly Spiegel
Notes on pages of “Black Panther: The Young Prince” read “Witchcraft? Human skulls” and “Pact with Devil. Burned in fire.”
A note on “Nina: A Story of Nina Simone” read “This is about how black people were treated poorly but overcame it. (Can go both ways).”
“At its heart, this feels like censorship,” Spiegel said. “It feels like book banning.”
City statistics show the student body at PS 55 is 78% white, 11% Hispanic and 8% Asian. The teachers are 92% white.
Two parents at the school, located in Staten Island’s Eltingville neighborhood, said they had heard rumblings about some controversy over books. But Gothamist was unable to confirm who led the effort that led to the books being tossed.
An unusual book battle
School controversies over books are rare in New York City. Since 2019, there have been only three challenges of books at other schools under an official protocol that involves the formation of a committee of parents, librarians, teachers and administrators, the education department confirmed. None of those books were removed.
“Should a parent feel concerned about the literature in their child’s classroom, they are encouraged to reach out to the teacher, principal, or superintendent,” said Brownstein, the department’s spokesperson.
It’s more common for discussions in the city to focus on ensuring access to the materials. The Brooklyn Public Library runs a program where local students talk about controversial books with students in other parts of the country where they’re actually being banned.
Alissa Barakakos, a PTA member at PS 55, said she was surprised that books about race, culture and sexuality had been removed — and that she would have opposed the effort if she’d known about it. She noted her son’s class just finished a series of discussions on Black History Month, and a unit on Native Americans.
“I don’t know why the books would be thrown out,” Barakakos said. “I want my kid to be a part of the school community where everything is open and honest and kids are being educated.”
Spiegel said she was upset to see the books were kept from children. “The books aren’t getting into the hands of kids who would identify with the characters, but they’re also not getting into the hands of kids whose worldview would be broadened by reading about people who aren’t like them,” she said.
‘Mosaic’ problems
Some of the boxes Spiegel retrieved were labeled “Mosaic,” the name of a $200 million initiative launched late in the de Blasio administration to diversify school lessons and materials. An analysis by the New York City Coalition for Educational Justice found in 2019 that only 16% of elementary and middle school books were by authors of color.
“Black Panther: The Young Prince” was also removed from the Staten Island elementary school.
Holly Spiegel
De Blasio called for a total rethinking of the K-12 curriculum with an eye toward diversity. Mayor Eric Adams then scaled back the Mosaic plan, launching his own literacy initiative and supplementing lessons with materials reflecting LGBTQ+, Asian American and Black communities.
Thousands of Mosaic books were still sent to school and classroom libraries. But Natasha Capers, the director of the Coalition for Educational Justice, said schools received little guidance about what to do with the new books.
“They just were like, ‘here’s a big box of books,’” said Capers, whose group advocates for more equity in public schools.
She added that she was glad to know the books found with the garbage at PS 55 were “rescued.” But she said she was outraged to hear they had nearly been discarded.
“I watched my children throughout their schooling read so many books that used horrific language about Black people,” Capers said. “There’s a book [that] used the N-word. You just had to suck it up because it’s part of the ‘canon.'”
She scoffed at the apparent discomfort with witchcraft and human skulls in the Black Panther book.
“You read Shakespeare, and [“Macbeth”] starts out with three witches around a cauldron,” she said. “Hamlet,” she noted, “is legitimately talking to a skull.”
Tagged
BOOKS
EDUCATION
STATEN ISLAND
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email jgould@nypublicradio.org
Read the full article. The bill has the backing of the “Christ-centered” anti-LGBTQ hate group, the Kansas Family Voice. Its author is GOP Rep. Susan Humphries, whose bio notes that she is a graduate of Texas Christian University.
I saw this story. I tried to post it from the newspaper but it was impossible. Then I see that Joe My God posted it. So here it is.
The author of the bill is a fundamentalist Christian and graduated from a Christian college. On democrat claims the bill is written too vague by mistake and would basically keep young people from any website that even mentions gay couples / LGBTQ+ information. Dude that is not a mistake it is what they want to use the law for. The goal is to remove any and all positive mentions from anyone under 18 in society. The further goal is to wipe the LGBTQ+ from society totally. The people behind these bills hate that LGBTQ+ people are treated with respect, affection, and equality. They hate that kids accept and like their LGBTQ+ fellow students. The right wants those kids to hate and target any other kid who is different for harassment and harm. Beat and scare those kids straight and cis. Hugs. Scottie
A Kansas bill could consider a photo of a same-sex couple holding hands pornographic, some Democratic lawmakers warn. They say a bill aimed at barring children from accessing online material considered harmful to minors could carry serious unintended consequences for LGBTQ+ communities.
The bill would require users to verify they are over 18 years old to enter any website where more than 25% of its content is deemed “harmful to minors.” It aims to restrict children’s access to pornography. However, homosexuality is listed in the statute alongside overtly sexual acts as harmful to minors.
The statute has raised questions about whether the law could be applied to censor LGBTQ+ content in books, chat rooms, and non-explicit photographs of same-sex couples. Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, would be in charge of determining what is considered obscene.
Read the full article. The bill has the backing of the “Christ-centered” anti-LGBTQ hate group, the Kansas Family Voice. Its author is GOP Rep. Susan Humphries, whose bio notes that she is a graduate of Texas Christian University.
Could a Kansas bill censor non-explicit, LGBTQ+ content? Lawyers, lawmakers disagree https://t.co/XrXtWlLkg0
Funny thing is that we didn’t have access to any websites yet still turned out gay.
I would have loved to have had access to a site like JMG when I was a kid, it would have been so nice to have a supportive community like we have here on JMG
The fascists will go as far as they possibly can, implementing countless anti-LGBTQ laws, before they are pushed back. We still have time before we hit the iceberg but it’s a huge ship to turn around.
OMG…how much happier a struggling, self-tormented teen Mark would have been if there was a site like this, with so many wonderful, intelligent, funny & awesome people to let me know I wasn’t alone and that I would be alright.
In high-school I had a friend who came out to me as a transgender woman. Because this was the early 90’s, while she had come out to her parents who were supportive, she was waiting until she was 18 to go on HRT and living as her true self. One Monday in our junior year, she just never showed up for class. The teachers were told her parents had moved, but the administration was rather cagey when I tried to ask. I hope they had moved to help keep her safe, but I never saw her nor heard from her again. In a way, to me, she’s the sign on the easel. 😿
“They say a bill aimed at barring children from accessing online material considered harmful to minors could carry serious unintended consequences for LGBTQ+ communities.”
How fucking naive can they be? This isn’t an unintended consequence. They want us to be considered legally obscene
This is what terrifies the fundamentalists and right wing. The acceptance and normalizing of kids / people who are not straight and not cis. Schools have long taught kids to get along with each other and to not bully those who are different. But republicans in red states want to change that teaching of acceptance and tolerance so they pass don’t say gay bills and anti-woke bills which simply mean get all representation of LGBTQ+ kids out of schools, libraries, and keep kids off social media. It means stopping positive representations of LGBTQ+ people and stopping anti-bullying programs. It means making LGBTQ+ kids targets of hate, anger, and labeling them as not normal. It is othering them so they can be mistreated. This is what it was like in the regressive past these older legislatures and fundamentalist religious leaders desperately want back. These people want a straight cis Christian world only, no one else will be allowed. Since these laws passed attacks on LGBTQ+ kids in schools and people in general have risen quickly. It is a green light to thug gang rule. Luckily the old kids won’t accept the intolerance and hate, but sadly it is working on the younger new students in schools. They are being taught to hate and not accept the ones who feel different. We have to stop these laws and reverse them. Please help get the word out. Please keep speaking up in support. The haters and religious people on the other side are driven, they won’t stop, they will fight hard. We have to also fight back as hard, and be louder than they are. Hugs. Scottie
Wichita East high schoolers used their first amendment rights and walked out of class Tuesday to stand up for transgender youth rights.
Dozens of Wichita East students made their voices heard at a walkout in protest of a piece of anti-trans legislation that bans minors from receiving gender affirming care. That piece of legislation is Senate Bill 233, and has already received approval from the Kansas House and Senate.
“This will cause suffering that cannot be overstated. This will cause suffering,” said sophomore Juan Carlos Garcia.
Garcia spoke up at the protest, to tell his peers about the importance of gender affirming care.
“I have hope that those I love and those that need it will get their treatment. I hope that they will feel comfortable and I know if this bill is passed then they won’t be able to,” said Garcia.
Miles Wilson organized the protest, and he shared his experience as a person in the transgender community.
“I thought I would not make it past 14, but I am 17 now,” said Miles Wilson, junior at East.
The students discussed how validating gender affirming care was, and in a world without gender affirming care, many believe that would lead to an increase of youth trans suicide.
“I hope that people learn that the students of East High are not going to stand for discrimination and oppression and we support the trans community and the cis kids here stand in solidarity with the trans community and the trans community here will not sit back and let people oppress us,” said Wilson.
The bill that started the protest is currently sitting on Governor Kelly’s desk awaiting approval or veto.
After chanting, holding signs, and having a great discussion, the students said the walk out was a success.
“We deserve to feel safe in our bodies, we deserve autonomy. We deserve happiness, we deserve to grow up,” said Wilson.
Ron’s brother passed at about 4 pm today. His long time friend was holding his hand. How is Ron doing … he is simply denying and emotional involvement.
We already made plans for the next steps. But first Ron has to make all the phone calls to family and friends, and his brother’s long time boyfriend. We had gone to the bank and gotten a credit card in case Ron needed it. We had money in our savings, but Ron was worried … understandably and he does have to go to New Hampshire. But now tomorrow he has to go to the Ford Dealer and have the car serviced. I just suggested to him his favorite older sister fly into our area and they go up to NH together. He likes the idea. Go to go, lots going on. Best wishes, hugs, loves. Scottie
For legal purposes the title of this video is a question and not to be construed as a statement of fact. The Nex Benedict story has been tied to Libs of TikTok and its founder Chaya Raichik. Is she to blame? Why does the first amendment protect Libs of TikTok?
Long time followers / readers may remember the struggle we had getting Ron’s older brother in a nursing home as he lost touch with reality and couldn’t care for himself. He actually knew it was happening and drove himself to the VA to get help, but it progressed so quickly. The VA stabilized him and sent him home, but he got both physically and mentally worse. He is a long time cancer survivor from the time when they over radiated cancer patients, causing his intestines to harden and die, requiring many surgeries to remove them to stop internal bleeding. So he got so bad he was constantly bleeding out from his butt and pooping everywhere along with not being mentally able to clean himself, up after himself, or even understand the issue.
Ron and his sister worked hard to get him into a nursing home that could care for him. It took a lot of money, his sister had to pay over 5 grand for the first month to even get him into a nursing home. Medicaid rules said a person had to be in a nursing home for a month before they could be covered my medicaid and medicare. Ron’s brother is very low income so he got a small $100 supplemental income from the military for his illness in the military, and had medicaid. But because he was on medicaid he couldn’t have a lot of assets and the nursing home would take all but 30 dollars of his income. Which meant Ron and his sister would have to put money into his bank account every month to pay his credit card bill, other expenses, give him extra money in his home account to buy treats and stuff, and his car insurance. The other siblings despite having far more money than Ron and I simply couldn’t find it in their hearts to help pay their brother’s bills. One sister tried a few times to help, but she was losing her own grip on the world and couldn’t figure out how to do it or would forget, so Ron and his other sister just started covering the entirety themselves. The paid off his card and sold his car. They had to stop his military supplement because that would have put him a few dollars over the Medicaid limit, and Medicaid was paying for his care. His brother went into the nursing home the end of 2019 or beginning 2020. That required twice a year expensive trips to NC.
Ron would drive up to NC and get a hotel room just outside the airport. Ron’s sister would fly into the airport and they would go to the town that the nursing home was in and get a hotel room. They would spend a week or so with their brother, buying him clothing or things he needed / wanted. At first they bought him electronics like phones but he was unable to use them and they realized that was useless. A year ago they moved Ron’s brother to in nursing home hospice care. And at some point they started doing Zoom calls every couple weeks first with the brother and family done by the home staff then hospice staff included.
While writing this Ron was heading for a nap. I went to restart the 17 year old dryer as it had stopped. It wouldn’t start. I looked and the door switch which had been getting flaky the last year gave up the ghost. It had all our only deep pocket bedding for the Purple mattress we bought. So no nap for Ron, he got up, together we pulled it out, he is cleaning it and trying to figure out how to get to the switch.
Over the last 3 and half years his brother got worse. Sometimes he would go months tracking reality, but then he would slip and lose touch with the real world. This year he has been out of reality, and a lot of the time his health was so bad he couldn’t really hold himself upright and needed support. Ron and his sister started getting calls this last month that his brother got out of bed during the night without calling for staff and tried to go to the bathroom by himself. He can’t walk. So he falls. It has happened I think three times. The first were minor but this last time was serious. Remember this is a nursing home, not a prison and they couldn’t restrain him in bed.
This time he fell and broke his leg bone right at the hip joint. The home and hospice people called Ron but they did not know how bad it is. He was so bad that when Ron authorized him to be taken to a hospital, the hospital called him and said he would only last a couple of days and that he had internal bleeding they couldn’t trace that may have been going on for a while. His brother had the issue with his intestine hardening and getting so brittle they would tear apart. The last few years the doctors removed as much as they could, but it was dicey if anything they stitched to would hold. That was yesterday. Ron and his sister were making plans to quickly go see him.
They may have just run out of time. As I am writing this at 2:32 pm on 4/10/2024 and while Ron was working on fixing the switch from the dryer the hospital called. His brother was stopping breathing and then after a few minutes would suddenly take a breath. The intervals are increasing as they watch him. Remember that he is on hospice, we knew he was dying for the last few years and so while all comfort measures can be given, no lifesaving care can be. No intubation nor resuscitation. We just had no idea it would be this soon or Ron and his sister would have gone to see him again. But normally a hip or upper leg break is hard for an elderly person to come back from, most people in their 80s who break a hip die soon after.
Ron is on his phone, but 17 years working in ICUs tell him his brother has only hours to live. The nursing staff at the hospital agreed. There is no way short of a Star Trek instant teleporter that Ron could get there in time. He so far is calling people and holding it in. But he is going to need all my sympathy and support tonight. Thank you everyone. But I may be a few days before I get back online depending on how much Ron needs me. He comes from a large once very tight family, 8 siblings. He has handled the loss of the older ones but it gets harder for him as he ages and more have died. He may need a lot of support. Best Wishes. Hugs. My love for all of you. Scottie
I want to thank Barry for sending me the link to this video. Best wishes friend. Scottie.
The video is about the politically driven fight to end trans care in Texas for minors and adults. And how it is affecting four trans families and others. In it you will hear false claims made about chopping off little boys penises which is not happening, but no mention of breast augmentation and nose jobs for teenage girls. You will hear claims made that are misinformation, lies, and myths. The goal is to create a straight cis fundamentalist Christian republican society ruled by men, and to do this they use the claims of saving the children to rile up the base and muddy the water to get more votes. They don’t care who they hurt in the process, they wouldn’t even allow current minors on puberty blockers and hormones to be weaned off or to continue treatment. This is not about the health of children as Texas did not accept summer food assistance for poor people, they did not do anything about school shootings and gun control, they did not increase child health care at all they only removed the medically accepted best practices for gender nonconforming kids. Hugs. Scottie
When Texas lawmakers introduce a record number of anti-trans bills, transgender kids and their families from across the state converge on the Capitol to fight back.
Another great video destroying anti-trans propaganda, myths, and misinformation. He talks slow, is methodical, and uses sources he displays and has in his description box to make his points. Often he will go through the studies that the anti-trans people use to show they either did not say what is claimed, are way out of date, used the wrong methods, or simply were created to be used for anti-trans propaganda. He shows not only the bad studies and debunks them, but the real modern medically reviewed and approved studies showing that very few detransition and those that do mostly do so because of negative treatment from society, peers, and family. People who live all their childhood knowing and claiming they are a different gender are not suddenly going to stop saying it at 18 or 21. If they are going to suffer all that mistreatment and hate growing up, they are what they are telling you. Hugs. Scottie
Frank Turek and Sean McDowell make ridiculous pseudoscientific claims about LGBTQ people. Here I debunk them with actual scientific research.
Subscribe using my link for 30% off unlimited access or try it this month for less than $1. Claims I debunk: Abuse and trauma cause non-heterosexuality and gender non-conformity, not affirming queer people is the best way to help them, being gender nonconforming is a social media contagion, rapid onset gender dysphoria is real, gender dysphoria can and should only be treated with therapy or prayer, gender dysphoria is similar to and should be treated in the same way as anorexia, 80% of gender dysphoric youths grow out of it by age 18, medical intervention for gender dysphoria does not help mental health outcomes, and trans s rates skyrocket 10 years after transition.
Scottie's Playtime 