This last week could be an episode of “The Real Libraries of Alabama.”
How our state has become ground zero for sexualizing children is a fascinating subject, and after living under leftist tactics for most of my adult life, I can tell you these developments are not without calculation. If the left can flip a deeply red and freedom-loving state like Alabama, it will be a notch on their belt and evidence that they have the power to push any agenda they want across the country.
Thank God for Moms for Liberty, Clean Up Alabama, and other conservative coalitions which are proclaiming, “Not on our watch!”
This week’s fireworks began at the Fairhope City Council meeting last Monday. The place was packed with parents concerned about explicit content located in the children and teen sections of the public library.
Rebecca Watson, president of the Baldwin County chapter of Moms for Liberty, spoke about her own experience reading and reviewing the books, affirming that these are inappropriate for school children. Watson reinforced that Moms for Liberty is not asking for book bans. If parents want their children to have these books, they can purchase them on Amazon and at local bookstores.
However, Watson believes it is inappropriate for children to be exposed to "graphics, sexual, violence, abuse and LGBTQ ideologies," asking for such content to be moved to a different library section.
These children are not old enough to get a job, drive a car, see an R-rated movie, or vote but can read books in silence left to their own imagination without a parent's consent. In my opinion, it is common sense to relocate these books.
Wendy Pickering, who, according to Watson is not part of Moms for Liberty, also proceeded to read excerpts from one of these books alongside her grandson. Disruption broke out, as audience members in favor of keeping these books in the library began heckling, booing, and maligning them.
Pickering noted that “the fact that the books cannot be read in a city council meeting proves their point,” 1819 News reported.
‘We can't say that here but y'all have no problem with letting our babies read it,’ said Pickering. ‘You have no problem with our children being taught at 8, 9, 10 years old how to perform oral sex, how to have boy-on-boy sex, girl-on-girl sex, boy-on-girl sex, how to masturbate, and with vibrators. It is absolutely ridiculous.’
Pickering said the council funds the library and accused the council of funding ‘the destruction of innocence’ in children. Pickering, who is from Orange Beach, said her mayor, Mayor Tony Kennon, was able to remove inappropriate books from the juvenile sections, and Fairhope should be able to do the same.
This is the way. The discussion around supposed “banning” of LGBTQ-leaning content will remain academic and clinical as long as parents and council persons — who may or may not have children, or even darken the door of a library — talk in theoretical terms and bandy around words such as “bans” and “hate” at every turn. The public needs to be aware of exactly what is in these books, so let them hear the words and see the images.
This is part of John Amanchukwu’s mission. Through his organization “I Know God,” Amanchukwu travels the country visiting city councils and school boards to read these books.
Last year, Amanchukwu made a stir in Asheville, NC, at one city council meeting. He showed up at Tuesday’s Hoover School Board meeting, reading from "Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens,” in order to urge the board to remove these books from the school library.
Just listening to the content is nauseating, and if the boards and council members are honest, they are equally appalled. The gender lobby wanted to slip this content under the radar, but reading these books out loud exposes this agenda.
After Monday’s Fairhope meeting, Watson chose to record a “Story Hour” video, reading from “Hearts and Parts,” which she said is in the 6-year-old and under section of the library. The book’s author is a female who transitioned to male, and the book makes light of taking hormones and surgical mutilation, as if it is all unicorns and rainbows.
“These people are organized, and funded, and they are coming for our kids,” Watson warned. “And if we don’t all wake up, and speak up, where are you going to go?”
Writing and reading is a gateway to imagination and understanding one’s place in the world. When I was in elementary school, I was at the public library practically every day, checking out books and reading voraciously. The content was nowhere close to the garbage peddled today. Reading these works aloud at every possible opportunity and exposing the filth is the only way to make parents aware of the dangers, and to protect the children at whom they are targeted.
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
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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