It was stunning the other day as I listened to excerpts from the debate between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and California Governor Gavin Newsom. First, it's clear that Newsom doesn't want to answer any questions about the destruction of his state economically and socially. He dances around those answers in the typical Progressive manner by throwing insults and deflecting from the real question. He is never direct.
When the topic came up about permitting pornography in the classroom, one would think this would be a slam dunk for any politician. Clearly, no one can support pornographic materials being distributed in our schools. Well, almost no one. Here's a transcript of the exchange during the debate:
HANNITY: Here is the question that I have for you, Governor Newsom. Some of the work you are talking about, one is called, the governor just brought it up, it is called "Gender Queer, a Memoir," explicit pornographic book showing sex acts. Another, "Flamer," a graphic book about young boys performing sex acts at summer camp. "This Book Is Gay," a book containing instructions on the ins and outs of gay sexuality. Let me finish. Lets talk about a book that contains graphic descriptions about how to masturbate for males and females. My question to you, Governor Newsom, those books, do you believe that is appropriate for school districts to teach kids, yes or no?
NEWSOM: Oh, come on, that's not part of the curriculum. They're not teaching that.
HANNITY: Those are books that were in school.
NEWSOM: Hold on. The bottom line is, you are on a book-banning binge in your state. 1,406 books, 3,362 in this country.
HANNITY: You didn't answer me. What about those books?
NEWSOM: We don't provide for K-3rd grade education, that kind of curriculum, it is just made up. These guys make it up. It is part of this cultural purge.
HANNITY: Should it be -- what grade would it be?
NEWSOM: What I find offensive, Sean and Ron, is the very significant number of these books happen to be LGBTQ books. A significant number of these books happen to be about African-Americans.
HANNITY: Is it appropriate?
NEWSOM: I told you --
HANNITY: Is it appropriate in school?
NEWSOM: We don't teach that. We have sex education in middle school and high schools where it is appropriate. This is a ginned-up, made-up issue to divide this country. You talk about dividing this country. This is part of the culture war, the weaponization of grievance. This is part using education, We are focusing on math, science. We are focusing on reimagining our schools. He is criminalizing teachers and criminalizing librarians.
Did you read that? Newsom calls the fact that the books Hannity mentioned ARE in school libraries "made up." Newsom's approach started out as "we don't teach that." Then he goes to "It's not in our K-3rd curriculum." He just can't decide whether it IS in their schools or not. In the end, he calls it a "ginned up issue" and accuses those against pornography in the classroom of criminalizing librarians and teachers. So typically Progressive. Lie and deflect.
He also says that the majority of these books are about LGBTQ and African Americans. Statistically, I can't tell you how many of the pornographic books are about LGBTQ, but I can tell you that the African American friends I have don't want pornography of ANY color in their schools. Another secret? My gay friends don't either.
But, here's the thing. Newsom is not the exception to the norm in Progressives. He actually supports this pornography in the classroom. He's not alone.
Here is a story about a School Board President in Central Bucks, Pennsylvania who is being sworn with her hands on a pile of "banned" books. Two of the books are sexually explicit.
The woman's name is, appropriately, Karen Smith and she said she and other Democrats ran for school board and won as a reaction to the "hate" in the community directed toward the LGBTQ community. What form did this hate take? It took form in groups protesting explicit pornography in books, some with an LGBTQ theme, that were in their child's classroom. One wonders if protesting heterosexual pornography in classrooms is "hate."
At any rate, Smith and four other Democrats elected to make them the majority immediately showed their "love" for the LGBTQ community by dismantling the book review process and allowing trans male athletes to compete in girls' sports in the district. Clearly, they are heterophobes and misogynists.
The question is, what is the motivation of people like Newsom and Smith as they deny the existence of or support pornography in our classrooms?
With Newsom it's clear. Everything Newsom does is politically motivated. There must be big campaign funds (teachers' unions, etc.) behind his views. Based on the duplicity of his answers, it's also possible that Gavin doesn't have a clue about what is going on in California's schools.
With people like Karen Smith, the motives are more confounding and disturbing to ANYONE with a sense of decency and a will to protect children. Of course, she could also be pandering to political supporters at the local level. But, I think there is something else going on here.
Is it possible that Karen and people like her think it is okay to expose children to graphic, explicit sex in books? It is. Remember in the 60's the counterculture promoted that "children are sexual beings" and their sexuality should not be repressed. The idea was that sex is a "natural" act and children should not be shielded lest they think it is bad. It was a nice fairy tale for those who wanted to live in denial of reality.
Research shows that the hippies of the 60's didn't understand the damage done by their open attitudes regarding children's exposure to sex at an early age. Studies show that the earlier the exposure, the more likely the child is to be targeted by sexual predators or participate in risky sexual behavior. It doesn't matter if they are LGBTQ or not.
Another reason why these people might be promoting pornography in the classroom is that they, themselves, are damaged people. Studies on those who sexualize children show that almost all of them had been sexually molested as children. Does misery love company? Or do they see this as normal since it happened to them?
There are also people who want to be seen as the most extreme, the most left leaning and radical. It's an adrenaline rush for them when they see the impact their outlandish statements and acts have on normal, rational people. I believe that this could also be the reason for people who claim to worship Satan. No one with a reasonable nature would worship a "deity" that is based on evil, human sacrifice, and the promotion of selfish, evil acts. One wonders if the two groups include the same members.
Which leads us to the final, and most extreme, reason, and that is that this pornography in the classroom is a way to groom our children for pedophiles and human trafficking. Hope for Justice, a non-profit group that fights human trafficking published these numbers regarding the profits from various forms of human trafficking and/or exploitation:
Illicit profits breakdown
US $169.9 billion from sexual exploitation
US $75.9 billion from forced labor in the private sector, including domestic servitude
TOTAL = US $245.81 billion
The bulk of this profit is from sexual exploitation.
Whatever the reason, those of us who truly care about children need to fight back against those who would normalize the unthinkable. If we don't, we are just as guilty as those who perpetrate this evil.
Jan Greenhawk, Editor, Radio Free Oxford
December 6, 2023
Jan is a retired teacher and a current Chapter Chair for Moms for Liberty, Talbot
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