WARNING: This article contains suggestive/graphic themes.
I apologize in advance for what I’m about to show you, but, are you OK with this? Because it's a book for kids found at libraries across the state.
Recently, adults gave the green light to blue material. It's happened repeatedly in Alabama, but Prattville is the only place elected officials have shaken hands with what's wicked.
I guess those adults think that because kids see way worse on their phones or the screens in their homes, this sort of kiddie porn isn't that bad. What's wrong with a few of these books in the library?
And so by a vote of 4 to 3, the Prattville City Council decided not to move objectionable material from the kids’ section. But those city council members would not allow these books to be read aloud at city council meetings. Their ears were too precious to listen to such filth. For example, at a meeting back in July, “Hannah Rees, a leader of the growing movement, brought over a dozen ‘pornographic’ books to the podium and began to describe their content,” 1819 News reported.
“When describing one of the books, being sure not to read from the books as the policy required, Rees was interrupted by [City Council President] Boone, who asked Rees not to use language describing books or risk forfeiting her time at the mic.”
Um … OK. But they were a-OK with your kids checking those books out?
So, are these people okay with kiddie porn? Or are they in on the push to sexualize our kids? Are they alright with contributing to the delinquency of a minor?
We need answers.
And we need to know if they remember when we used to protect kids. Back in the day, soft porn was kept behind the counters, away from the children, in a brown wrapper. Remember that it was scandalous to see anyone ask for Playboy or Hustler?
Now we've introduced and normalized radical sexual education.
The result? Child porn is baptized, blessed and approved for local library shelves, complete with vicious pornographic images shoved in our kids' faces.
Yes, some of those images are merely cartoons. But have you seen them? Because you should, if you can stomach them. After all, our tax dollars paid for those books.
But here's what I wonder: Did the adults who said OK to this material consider what repeated pornographic exposure will do to our kids and their minds? Do they have any idea what they said yes to?
Let's look at the numbers. “Porn addiction affects millions of adults globally,” Gitnux Marketdata explains. “About 200,000 people in the U.S. are considered ‘porn addicts,’ with men being 543% more likely to be addicted than women.”
Gitnux Marketdata continues:
“Additionally, 40 million U.S. adults regularly visit porn sites, and 35% of all internet downloads are porn-related. The average age for first exposure to pornography is 13, and 50% of partnerships suffer due to pornography. Notably, 20% of men have accessed porn at work, and 115 billion adult-content searches were made worldwide in 2019.
Furthermore, 68% of young adult males and 18% of females use porn weekly. Remarkably, 79% of American men have viewed porn during their lifetime, as have 64% of Christian males and 15% of Christian females monthly. Around 9% report an addiction to online porn, while 20% of users feel controlled by their sexual desires from excessive use."
But that’s the adults. What about the kids?
Kristen A. Jenson, writing at Defend Young Minds, revealed this research about kids and porn:
● Pornography rewires the brain in negative ways and can lead to developing an addiction.
● Using porn can decrease self-control and erode executive functioning.
● Porn normalizes and fuels sexual violence and promotes objectification of self and others.
Then there’s this from the American Psychological Association:
“We found that the younger a man was when he first viewed pornography, the more likely he was to want power over women,” one researcher said. “The older a man was when he first viewed pornography, the more likely he would want to engage in playboy behavior.”
And then there’s this:
“Researchers found that the younger test subjects had ‘enhanced reward circuit activity’ when exposed to porn. This showed that higher dopamine spikes and greater reward sensitivity are major factors in teenagers being much more vulnerable to addiction and sexual conditioning.
…
Bottom line: pornography harms the brain almost exactly the same as drug addiction. For those who think that porn is just ‘harmless entertainment’, science is showing us the actual truth – porn addiction is real and it truly is the new drug in our society.”
And city council members in communities across the state, local library boards, and our state library director appear to be okay with this.
Word just reached me that the Prattville library board – not the city council – has now created a new rule. Their workaround is that parents must always keep their children with them. Their definition of a child is 15 years old and younger.
But what this change fails to address are the concerns of Prattville parents.
The books in question are still there.
The porn in those books is still there.
They have not moved anything that local residents found objectionable.
Regarding the Prattville library, and libraries like it across the state, elected officials could've voted to move the child porn to another spot.
But they didn't.
They left it for Alabama's kids to find.
Are you OK with that?
Amie Beth Shaver is a speaker, writer and media commentator. Her column appears every Wednesday in 1819 News. Shaver served on the Alabama GOP State Executive Committee, was a candidate for State House District 43 and spokeswoman for Allied Women.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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