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The South Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is rebuking what it describes as a “censorship proposal” from the S.C. Department of Education (SCDE) and its superintendent, Ellen Weaver.
Last week, this news outlet exclusively reported on a proposed SCDE regulation that would “establish a clear, transparent and uniform process” for removing “materials that are not age or developmentally appropriate” from government-run schools in the Palmetto State.
Not surprisingly, the ACLU views the proposal as a “book ban” – as well as an assault on local control of education.
“The ACLU of South Carolina rejects attempts by the State Board to usurp decision-making power and authority from local leaders, rejects this policy as written, and rejects the notion that such a policy is needed at all,” said ACLU executive director Jace Woodrum.
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Woodrum went on to say the proposed regulation would impose “arbitrary and narrow standards for age-appropriateness, effectively ending sex education.” He further attacked Moms for Liberty, a group whose members have been effectively challenging the escalating infusion of “porn propaganda” in South Carolina’s taxpayer-funded schools.
“If enacted, this policy would throw open the floodgates for extremist groups like Moms for Liberty to challenge books in bulk,” Woodrum noted. “With this policy in place, self-appointed censors could do an end-run around local control and enforce their view of the world on all South Carolina children. And we know where this is headed: books by and about LGBTQ people will come under increasing attack, and the book banners will find a sympathetic ear on the state board of education.”
To be clear: The SCDE proposal is not censorship. Nor would it “ban books.”
And frankly, the only “extremist” position I see in this debate is someone who believes they should make me pay to expose my middle- or high-school-aged children to material like this …
(Click to View)
(Via: Facebook)
Indeed, guidance language included in the SCDE proposal made the distinction between “book banning” and “censorship” – and what amounts to taxpayer-funded porn propaganda for children – abundantly clear.
“Students are still free to buy, own and read any book that they or their parents choose, and there’s no penalty to discourage them from doing so,” a draft version of the proposed regulation noted. “This regulation simply governs what books and other materials the government itself may purchase or provide to students through local districts or district employees.”
The guidance further noted that the proposed regulation “establishes permissible guardrails around government ‘speech’ as delivered within a public institution by public employees.”
Attempts by the far left to conflate this issue – and demonize those standing up for their children – continue to escalate as America’s culture wars rage on. In this case, the battle is particularly relevant as the deliberate mischaracterization of the conservative position has been extended to any attempt to restrict increasingly suggestive material being pushed on younger and younger audiences … on the taxpayer dime.
Do I find such material objectionable? Not among consenting adults. But its subsidization by taxpayers? For unrestricted consumption by middle schoolers and high schoolers? That is something my media outlet will never support … and not only that, I will continue aggressively defending parents, guardians and other advocates who fight against their children being exposed to such material without their consent.
Why? Because as I have consistently noted, this is bigger than porn.
“This isn’t just about porn – it’s about propaganda. It’s about institutional grooming … it’s about amplifying the programmatic woke onslaught being mainlined into our children’s minds via their smart phones, tablets and televisions 24/7/365,” I noted in a recent post.
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RELATED | SC SCHOOLS CHIEF TACKLES ‘PORN PROPAGANDA’
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For now, though, we are fighting a battle for intellectual honesty in how we address these issues.
The only way those pushing this ongoing indoctrination will emerge victorious is if they change the underlying framework conversation to make them the guardians of goodness and virtue. Or more to the point: If the media allow them to change the underlying framework of the conversation – to flip the script and portray them as defenders of what is right as opposed to mainliners of age inappropriate smut.
Better to be a “free speech champion” than a peddler of porn to middle schoolers, amiright?
Think of it like this: Swinging. Do I object to it? Hell no. Sounds like an enjoyable way to spend an evening, if I’m being honest (nudges wife). And any American adult who wants to try it, or wants their spouse to think about trying it, or wants to watch people doing it, or record people doing it, or write about people doing it … or make money off of themselves or other people doing it … well, they should be entitled.
It’s a free country. And where consenting adults are concerned, as I’ve often opined, “the kinkier the better.”
My point is this: Leave other people’s kids out of it. And don’t expect the government to subsidize it.
Like I said a few weeks back, “I’m a libertarian. I’m no killjoy.”
“As long as there are no children, no animals and no clown masks involved, I’ll try pretty much anything twice,” I wrote.
But make no mistake: I will be double dipped in the foulest of feces before I permit my tax dollars to subsidize the coercive indoctrination of my children with such overtly sexual propaganda.
One last point: This battle underscores the urgent need for “Republican” lawmakers to enact universal school choice in the Palmetto State. It is past time South Carolina followed the lead of states like Florida and Arizona and empowered parents with the ability to choose the academic setting they believe is best for their children.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.
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7 comments
I mean 25 years ago there was assigned reading that was objectionable. I remember my brother having to refuse a summer reading book on such grounds and he was accommodated. Not “nobody gets to read the book now” accommodated, but “sure you can read that instead” accommodated. Believe it or not the world continued to revolve.
The real truth is that these books exist for a microscopic subset of people in the schools that read them due to the representation they don’t find in other books, and pretty much nobody else knows they exist until whiny parents complain about it non stop. Hello, Barbara Streisand effect.
What I remember from my time in middle school is kids bringing Playboy magazines into school and people surfing porn in the library because the god-awful protection the schools used had so many workarounds that even the not-so-tech-savvy people knew two or three ways around it. People used to torrent entire movies and use the computers to burn them to a CD to take home.
School computers probably aren’t this level of wild west anymore but who cares, your kids have smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. It seems laughable you’re worried about the fraction of a penny you “spent” to buy this book when they’re using the WiFi and 5G to stream infinitely worse from the comfort of their bedroom.
Also, the ACLU is correct. This is how it always starts. Censorship starts out small and just moves goalposts as it goes along. The history on this isn’t even that long ago. Again, the CRT panic resulted in MLK Jr.’s own writings being banned in some places. We also only have to look to Florida to see the same happening to LGBTQ+ reading material. You’re being intellectually dishonest to pretend you don’t know where this is going, dude. It is always, always a game of testing the waters to see how far you can get when it comes to book bans.
Republican extremists, like the one that runs this blog, want to control what other people’s kid see. If you lack the maturity to explain these simple things to your children now, they’ll grow up ignorant like you.
Homeschool your kids if you want to shield them from things you are confused and scared by. Don’t hold back everyone else’s kids and hamper their rights to free speech.
I do not agree with this being part of the school system. Just the little bit I read was enough for me, then to think ours could read this in middle school! Fortunately, not where he goes and he does have a phone that is heavily monitored with several things blocked. He is ours! We explain things to him when it comes to this! Luckily he comes to us to ask questions or talk and I’m sure that won’t be forever but it is NOW! The schools need to teach them what will prepare them for their future, what they need for college. Parents will teach them as they see fit for the rest!
Anytime “moms” get involved, look out, they’re Karens with a political agenda.
Wow. The samples you used are clearly pornography, and that is not even debatable. If any adult wants children to see this and have access to it, there is clearly something wrong with that person. I can think of no healthy or honorable reason to introduce this filth to anyone that is not a consenting adult-under the age of 18. After that they can make their own choices about what they see or read. This woke indoctrination of children has no good intentions. These are the same people who would advocate that sex with a 12 year old is okay. It is one short step away from pedophilia. I could not agree with you more on school choice. It is past time. This kind of indoctrination using our tax dollars is 100% why people are fleeing public schools.
Of all the schools who want the kids to read porn, Lexington 2 has to be the worst. Drain that swamp.
Reading some of the comments that actually thing these books are fine and belong in schools shows me society has plunged into the level of a cesspool cause nothing else makes any sense. If you think it’s ok go out and buy it for your own kids……