Nobody can swim in an empty pool
You thought this newsletter was on a set schedule eh? I thought so too! It’s wild, babes!!
There’s so much going on right now but I just can’t dump it all here today. This week’s topic is book banning. Don’t worry, I’m not taking a break from being utterly outraged about abortion bans.1 But some good news for a change: Mega-respect to political strategist Olivia Julianna raising over TWO MILLION DOLLARS2 for abortion care after a congressman body-shamed her (what was his name? who gives a shaetz). And, major applause for the people of Kansas who voted to keep abortion protection in their state constitution.3 Keep abortion safe, legal and easily available!
So. Book bans. Brought to you by the same nefarious do-badders who believe some of us don’t have the right to make medical decisions about our own bodies! I have a google alert set for "book banning" and hoo-eee - constant state of alert lately. Some of the articles that pop up are centering rightwingers who try to frame censorship as "it’s not banning books if you can just buy them somewhere." Um yeah, yeah it is, you Nazi cows.
How a Debut Graphic Memoir Became the Most Banned Book in the Country - New York Times
Schools Banned Books About Black Life. Black Kids Are Reading Anyway. - Yahoo News
Book Banners Don’t Know What a Book Ban is - Book Riot
Is it me, or do people on the wrong side of history always want to constrict, restrict, and control, but claim to be all about freedom. Exactly whose freedom - to decide what someone else’s kids can check out from the local library? You don’t get to dictate what books are in a library. Librarians do that, so step aside. And do not fuck with librarians. Censorship harms us all.
I thought I’d leave you with a poem this week. Gwendolyn Brooks talking about and reading her poem "We Real Cool"4 - which was banned several times.
Carrie This. 📚
https://states.guttmacher.org/policies/
https://19thnews.org/2022/08/kansas-abortion-vote-constitutional-protections/