How a YA oral-sex scene touched off Texas' latest culture war

[Valletta]

How a YA oral-sex scene touched off Texas' latest culture war
The war for the future of our country is in the schools. We have a party that has a thin majority that is trying to impose their views on the whole country. All of this wokism is tied into the Marxist exclusion of God. This is an older story but these battles are being fought today. The current press headlines try to paint the story:
Conservatives are removing 'pornographic' books from schools. Many feature LGBTQ+ characters.

 

[RileyG]

Hmmm....I think it should be reserved for older readers. I do not agree with the content of course, but I have a serious problem with book banning, regardless. I can understand both sides. I do not necessarily think its educational or should be in the library.

(Not completely off topic, but have you ever read It by Stephen King? I am almost completely sure my high school had it in their library. I won't go into detail or spoil anything, but it has some....interesting scenes to say the least).

 

[MehGuy]

I remember checking out a book about the history of films at my school's library. A few of the pages contained nude images of women in famous films like A Clockwork Orange. Although I am sure the school wouldn't have allowed the book in the library if they knew about it. I mean there are like thousands and thousands of books at your typical school library. Sometimes things are just innocent oversights.

 

[Valletta]

I remember checking out a book about the history of films at my school's library. A few of the pages contained nude images of women in famous films like A Clockwork Orange. Although I am sure the school wouldn't have allowed the book in the library if they knew about it. I mean there are like thousands and thousands of books at your typical school library. Sometimes things are just innocent oversights.

Good point, but I don't believe this is the case. Teachers are teaching the package, CRT, gender identity, things that go along with a Marxist philosophy--a political message.

 

[Tanj]

Good point, but I don't believe this is the case. Teachers are teaching the package, CRT, gender identity, things that go along with a Marxist philosophy--a political message.

What "things that go with a Marxist philosophy" are they teaching? That workers should control the means of production?

 

[SilverBear]

Some of the other 900+ books being targeted by Gov Abbott include:
Medical Ethics : moral and legal conflicts in health care
Thumbillina
The Cider House Rules
The Black Swan
The Year They Burned the Books
Fahrenheit 451
1984
The Diary of Anne Frank
A Handmaiden's Tale
We the Students: Supreme Court cases for and about students
They called themselves the K.K.K. : the birth of an American terrorist group
Wonder Woman unbound : the curious history of the world's most famous heroine
V For Vendetta

 

[Ringo84]

Things like the scene described in the title never happened before """""wokeism""""" and """"Marxism""""" ever. Heaven forfend.
Ringo

 

[rturner76]

Some of the other 900+ books being targeted by Gov Abbott include:
Medical Ethics : moral and legal conflicts in health care
Thumbillina
The Cider House Rules
The Black Swan
The Year They Burned the Books
Fahrenheit 451
1984
The Diary of Anne Frank
A Handmaiden's Tale
We the Students: Supreme Court cases for and about students
They called themselves the K.K.K. : the birth of an American terrorist group
Wonder Woman unbound : the curious history of the world's most famous heroine
V For Vendetta

I guess The Diary of Anne Frank paints Nazis in a bad light. Can't have that now. That book was actually required reading for us and that was a Lutheran school. I guess the point is to teach that racism, gays and trans people don't really exist.

 

[Jamdoc]

shouldn't be about banning books it should be about training up your children in the way they should go.
though that sort of book should definitely not be part of a school's curriculum it simply existing isn't the problem if you teach your children on biblical principles of gender, marriage, and sex.


In essence I think that the broad, sweeping guarantees of freedom of speech and religion are a good thing, otherwise if you try to apply moral tests to what is and is not free speech, even using the bible, with our fallibility, who's interpretation of the bible is declared right while all others are declared heresy? Never forget the amount of suffering caused when 1 church assumed control of a continent and persecuted all other churches that held differing interpretations.

 

[Valletta]

What "things that go with a Marxist philosophy" are they teaching? That workers should control the means of production?

Critical race theory is a spinoff from the Marxist critical theory. Marx taught that people are a not give a human nature from God, that people are a bunch of material thrown together and a product of their environment. Thus it is an easy argument that a white growing up in a white systemic racism environment must be a product of their environment, and must deal with their whiteness. The same for gender, the argument is you are not given a gender by God, you get to decide for yourself.

 

[Bradskii]

Critical race theory is a spinoff from the Marxist critical theory. Marx taught that people are a not give a human nature from God, that people are a bunch of material thrown together and a product of their environment. Thus it is an easy argument that a white growing up in a white systemic racism environment must be a product of their environment, and must deal with their whiteness. The same for gender, the argument is you are not given a gender by God, you get to decide for yourself.

Karl would be astonished in regard to how his work can be (mis)interpretted. In fact, were you to tell him what you just said, he would think you had him confused with someone else.

 

[Tanj]

Critical race theory is a spinoff from the Marxist critical theory.

No it isn't.

Marx taught that people are a not give a human nature from God, that people are a bunch of material thrown together and a product of their environment.

That's not true. Marx taught that the "species-being" is a social, group construct, not an individual one.

Thus it is an easy argument that a white growing up in a white systemic racism environment must be a product of their environment, and must deal with their whiteness. The same for gender, the argument is you are not given a gender by God, you get to decide for yourself.

That's nothing like what Marx wrote. Why not just be honest, and admit you use "Marx" as a swear word

 

[RileyG]

Some of the other 900+ books being targeted by Gov Abbott include:
Medical Ethics : moral and legal conflicts in health care
Thumbillina
The Cider House Rules
The Black Swan
The Year They Burned the Books
Fahrenheit 451
1984
The Diary of Anne Frank
A Handmaiden's Tale
We the Students: Supreme Court cases for and about students
They called themselves the K.K.K. : the birth of an American terrorist group
Wonder Woman unbound : the curious history of the world's most famous heroine
V For Vendetta

I read 1984 when I was 13. Same with the Diary of Anne Frank. In some cases those books are required reading in high school.

Fahrenehit 451 was required reading during my Junior year of high school.

Ridiculous

 

[SilverBear]

I read 1984 when I was 13. Same with the Diary of Anne Frank. In some cases those books are required reading in high school.

Fahrenehit 451 was required reading during my Junior year of high school.

Ridiculous

The Diary of Ann Frank has become one of the most banned books in American Schools. around 2005 some preacher decided that Ann was a lesbian and fundamentalist began demanding it be removed from schools because it advocated homosexuality.

Yes it is ridiculous

 

[RileyG]

The Diary of Ann Frank has become one of the most banned books in American Schools. around 2005 some preacher decided that Ann was a lesbian and fundamentalist began demanding it be removed from schools because it advocated homosexuality.

Yes it is ridiculous

In her diary, she mentioned she kissed Peter behind her parent's back and was obviously interested in boys. She also mentioned her fantasies about her female friend. I think she was probably bisexual, but because she is not here to defend herself, her sexuality will always remain a matter of dispute.

Agreed, regardless, as an important historical figure, banning her diary is beyond ridiculous.

 

[FireDragon76]

People that hold a book sacred that mentions sexual seduction of ones father and references horse sperm (in a lurid description in Ezekiel), shouldn't be throwing around the accusation that other peoples literature is nothing but filth.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

The war for the future of our country is in the schools. We have a party that has a thin majority that is trying to impose their views on the whole country. All of this wokism is tied into the Marxist exclusion of God.

A couple points worth noting here...

Our parties are broad and encompass quite a range of ideas (and to varying levels)

You have moderate democrats (like Joe Manchin) and further left ones (like AOC or Bernie Sanders), they both may be part of the same party, but they're not "the same thing" obviously. So while "Democrats" may have a thin majority, that doesn't mean every democrat is "for" or "against" the same things.

With regards to some of the ideas that you're labeling as the "woke" ideas, not all of them have "thin majorities"

For instance, while the Democratic party may be the ones who give vocal support (or advocate) for gay marriage and gay rights, with regards to that issue itself, it's far from a thin majority that are in support (even when factoring in the people who vote GOP)

The other thing you mentioned, that wokism is tied into marxism, I'm not seeing the connection.

I think it's important to make sure one doesn't fall into the trap of conflating overlap with affiliation.

While it's true that just about all people in the US who self-identify as supporting marxist principles are probably "woke", that doesn't mean that all "woke" are marxist, nor does it establish any sort of connection between the two sets of ideas.

For instance, a person's position about where a Trans person can use the bathroom has nothing to do with topics surrounding the means of production or preferences for the size and scope of the nation's public sector vs. private sector.

Same goes with other issues...

China leans far more toward the economic-left (communist/marxist) direction than the US democratic party (by all measurable metrics, and by large magnitudes), as does Russia for that matter. Yet, I'm pretty sure the democratic party in the US isn't a Russia-fan, and I'm pretty sure that most of the "woke" college kids wouldn't have many points of agreement on the "woke stuff" with the official policy platforms of the Chinese Communist Party (like jailing Muslim minorities, and censoring LGBT content in TV and movies, and having same-sex adoption being illegal there)

 

[Goonie]

You have moderate democrats (like Joe Manchin)

Given Joe manchins wholehearted support of fossil fuels, in the face of climate change he is not a moderate. It is not a moderate position to support destroying the environment we live in.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Given Joe manchins wholehearted support of fossil fuels, in the face of climate change he is not a moderate. It is not a moderate position to support destroying the environment we live in.

In the context of US politics (the spectrum from liberal to conservative), he'd be a moderate.

For instance, if a hypothetical candidate was against guns, pro-choice, pro-LGBT, pro-union, pro-universal healthcare, but still supported fossil fuels...you'd be right in saying they're not "moderate" on climate. But one certainly wouldn't say the hypothetical candidate was "conservative", overall, simply because of their stance on that solitary issue.

 

[FireDragon76]

Given Joe manchins wholehearted support of fossil fuels, in the face of climate change he is not a moderate. It is not a moderate position to support destroying the environment we live in.

Manchin is a very conservative Democrat... one of the last of the "Blue Dogs".