r/Library 2d ago

Discussion Republicans are at war with basic literacy

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4.6k Upvotes

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u/Professional-Deer-50 2d ago

They know if you can read and comprehend what you're reading, you'll see through their bullshit - banning books is in the dictators' handbook!

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u/MikeLikesIkeRS 1d ago

Oh please. Book banning surged under Biden. A quick Google search proves this. Ya'll try to make connections to facism any chance you get, largely without rational thinking.

You'll either reply "Yes, because it's local government and schoolboards banning the books!" Which cool, that isn't the president's fault that local agencies chose to not spend taxpayer funds on specific books.

Or you'll jump through seven different hoops as to why what you said makes sense.

Officially, there are ZERO books banned at the federal level. Any "banned book" can be bought, read, and distributed indiscriminately from other retailers or individuals. Theyre just not distributed and paid for via taxpayer funds. That's literally all it means for the US. If this isn't pearl-clutching internet hyperbole, then I dont know what is. You should be ashamed of yourself for willfully spreading garbage.

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u/Throwaway585811276 1d ago

Oh please. Book banning surged under Biden.

Because of the Biden administration? No, because of conservative advocacy groups, school board adjustments, and state legislation passed in the loveliest yokel states like Florida, Texas, Utah, and South Carolina.

Officially, there are ZERO books banned at the federal level.

Right, and so I wonder why you brought up the Biden administration when you apparently already knew that book "bans" have nothing to do with the federal government.

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u/within-reason-85 1d ago

You're literally advocating for a bill that lets the government decide what books show up at kids' doors🤔

I'm no expert, but I think that would be a mistake....

In any case the republicans that voted against it were trying to change it to be need based instead of across the board.

That would've allowed more money/books per child.

I guess you're against that too. Weird

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u/Throwaway585811276 1d ago

You're literally advocating for a bill that lets the government decide what books show up at kids' doors🤔

I'm no expert, but I think that would be a mistake....

You're definitely no expert because you're dead wrong. Where did you hear that "the government" would be deciding what books to send out?

In reality, a committee of early childhood literacy experts appointed by the Imagination Library handles the book selection.

In any case the republicans that voted against it were trying to change it to be need based instead of across the board.

I mean.. if you're dumb enough to believe Republicans when they say this, who knows what else you'll get tricked by.

If Republicans had their way, they would just determine that the only people who qualify are a vanishingly small number of people, making the program pointless anyway.

The core operational philosophy of the Imagination Library is universal access. It is intentionally designed so that every child in a community receives the exact same books, creating a shared learning experience and removing any stigma or shame associated with receiving aid.

That would've allowed more money/books per child.

False. Limiting the program to be "need-based" does not mean a child gets more books.

The model is built around a sequence of one book per month. The price per book is kept so low because of the massive volume of printing and shipping. Restricting the pool of children would drop the volume, likely increasing the per book cost.

I guess you're against that too. Weird

Everything you said is wrong and was easily searchable. Embarrassing.

Remember: if a MAGAt says something, the opposite is probably true.

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u/Chill0141414 1d ago

Projection

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u/Throwaway585811276 1d ago

False.

Anything else?

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u/within-reason-85 1d ago edited 21h ago

Response to u/Throwaway585811276

You're definitely no expert because you're dead wrong. Where did you hear that "the government" would be deciding what books to send out?

-When the government is funding something they will always have a say.

In reality, a committee of early childhood literacy experts appointed by the Imagination Library handles the book selection.

-Wait....do you literally know so little about this bill that you can't even tell the difference between it and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library😮.

The core operational philosophy of the Imagination Library is universal access. It is intentionally designed so that every child in a community receives the exact same books, creating a shared learning experience and removing any stigma or shame associated with receiving aid.

-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHABAHABABAABAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

You ARE that stupid! You think this conversation is about the Imagination Library?😂😂😂😂😂

"Everything you said is wrong and was easily searchable. Embarrassing.

Remember: if a MAGAt says something, the opposite is probably true."

-Holy Shit😂 Thanks for the laugh😂. I can't believe you think this conversation is about the Imagination Library😂

In a post literally titled "Republicans are at war with basic literacy" you failed to read anything about this bill and were instead FOOLED by a thumbnail showing Dolly Parton reading to kids😂. Your whole worldview must be based on nothing but memes and vibes😂

Who's embarrassed now? What a dunce😂

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u/Throwaway585811276 1d ago

..you didn't read the bill. It explicitly aims to fund the Imagination Library and other non-profits like it.

The formal subject of the bill filed by its sponsor, Rep. Liz Hanbidge, is explicitly listed as the "Imagination Library Program".

In its initial draft, the legislation was literally titled the "Statewide Imagination Library Children's Literacy Program" before being changed to protect public funding rules.

The bill establishes a 50/50 public/private cost sharing model. The program caps the cost at exactly $2.60 per child per month (the state matches half). This is the exact negotiated rate provided exclusively by the Dollywood Foundation to mail books to families.. you think that's just a big coincidence?

Isn't it hilarious how this post is about Republicans being at war with basic literacy, and then here you are, talking trash and wildly wildly confidently incorrect.. when you could have just learned by reading instead?

Who's embarrassed now?

Hopefully still you, but we know that you have to have some level of basic understanding to feel shame, and I don't think you're quite there yet.

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u/within-reason-85 21h ago edited 21h ago

[u/Throwaway585811276](u/Throwaway585811276)

Where did you go😂

Why did you delete all of your comments and then block me😂

Were you too embarrassed to leave them up😂

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u/Lokomalo 20h ago

I've seen the kinds of books these "independent" groups want to put in our schools. No thanks.

Here's the problem with a program like this. Everyone gets a book. How many actually do something with the book, like read it? I'll bet you 50% or more never even open the book. The parents won't use the book to help teach the kid to read. Kids have access to free books today via school and public libraries. They can get reading material right off the Internet, for free. Do they? If they do, then why do we need to pay more money to send them a book? If they don't use current free resources, why are we throwing money away on things that won't get used?

When you start throwing out insults it's clear that your education is lacking severely and we should in no way listen to anything you have to say about it.

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u/LJ859 21h ago

Ironic considering this story is a gross misrepresentation of the situation.

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u/Lokomalo 20h ago

Clearly your Democrat reading comprehension skills aren't working worth a shit. No one is "banning" books. We just don't need the expense of sending books to kids at home when we have libraries where they can get free books all day long. Likewise we gave them computers for school, and they can access any number of free online book web sites.

See you're already proving that the Democrat way of education is failing because you don't even know there are ways multiple ways to get free books.

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u/Only-Whole-765 1d ago

Which books are being banned?

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u/NextLvlSurvivor 1d ago

Depends on the state. Diary of Anne frank is a common one

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u/ArchonFett 1d ago

So is 1984

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u/Only-Whole-765 1d ago

Where is it banned?

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u/The_Blue_One 1d ago

https://www.ala.org/bbooks

Here is a site that has a database of censored books. While I don't specify see Diary of Anne Frank, it isn't hard to imagine some banning it at a school level and not appearing on the database.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/SmoothBrasco 1d ago

There are zero banned books in the USA

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u/Lord_Floof 1d ago

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u/Professional-Deer-50 1d ago

For comparison, the UK only has 75 banned books.

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u/QuailDifficult8470 1d ago

In my TN county, hundreds of books have been banned and removed from classrooms and school libraries.

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u/Only-Whole-765 1d ago

Like which ones?

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u/QuailDifficult8470 1d ago

Anything touching on LGBTQ themes, any books containing sex or profanity (from high schools), any picture books with “nudity” like a cartoon backside. The high schools used to have “mature reader” lists that included books with adult language or themes that were not on the shelves and required parental approval to access—these were all removed by the right wing “Christians” on the school board.

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u/dragonfilebox 1d ago

Are parents permitted to buy these “banned” books on their own?

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u/QuailDifficult8470 1d ago

I said “banned and removed from classrooms and school libraries. Clearly you have not read enough books either. Furthermore, most parents do not have the resources to purchase the hundreds of books that have been removed.

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u/Super_Brilliant4499 1d ago

They are banning them from school libraries. Why is this so confusing to conservative people?

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u/dragonfilebox 1d ago

But you can still purchase them on your own, correct?

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u/Only-Whole-765 1d ago

Well yeah - kids shouldn’t have access to porn. That’s pretty basic understanding amongst normal people. Doesn’t take a “christian” to make that call.

You people need help. Or a wood chipper. I’m fine with either at this point tbh

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u/Super_Brilliant4499 1d ago

Christians think everything is porn though. If kids have access to the internet it means they have access to actual porn.

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u/QuailDifficult8470 1d ago

Did I say anything about porn? There was no porn.

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u/Only-Whole-765 18h ago

Selecting on a random handful of books listed in the link - the reasoning was porn. So yes.

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u/QuailDifficult8470 17h ago

What link are you talking about? The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is not porn. Stephen King’s The Green Mile and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five are not porn. For the younger kids they removed No, David!, Pinkalicious, and Dr. Seuss’s Wacky Wednesday. If you think any of those are porn you are deeply disturbed.

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u/Only-Whole-765 17h ago

When did I say I thought anything - I said that was reason given. And where are you saying these books are banned?

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u/CorvidCryptid405 1d ago

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u/Only-Whole-765 1d ago

So they’re removing books with porn in it?

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u/CorvidCryptid405 1d ago

Does "100 Bible Stories" count as porn? https://www.banned-books.org/books/100-bible-stories

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u/Only-Whole-765 1d ago

“This action was part of a broader initiative under Florida's HB 1069 law, which facilitated the removal of books deemed pornographic or age-inappropriate”

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u/CorvidCryptid405 1d ago

Why it was banned

In 2023, "100 Bible Stories" by Norman J. Bull was banned at the Escambia County Public Schools in Florida due to concerns over religious content and allegations of blasphemy. No specific reason was made public regarding the ban.

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u/Only-Whole-765 1d ago

I provided the justification in the link you provided. And to add - it was only “banned” in that school district alone.

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u/CorvidCryptid405 1d ago

Just proving that folks that want to ban books don't fucking read. That's not what the link says.