It’s an irony of the book banning movement that the people who want to remove books from school libraries can’t stop themselves from reading aloud what they describe as “pornography” in crowded school board meetings, often with children present.
The nationwide tactic was on display at Round Rock ISD‘s first meeting of the school year, on Aug. 17. By this reporter’s count, eight of the 48 people who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting used their two minutes to read sex scenes from books they’d like to ban. It’s tempting to quote the passages, but we’ll refrain. (Of course, the speakers did not make an effort to show how the sex scenes fit into the narrative of the book.)
Several of the book banners, including Jill Farris and Christie Slape, who ran losing campaigns for the school board last year, wore T-shirts promoting Moms for Liberty, an organization widely described as a hate group. Most began their remarks with a warning: “I will be reading an excerpt from a sexually explicit book in the Round Rock ISD libraries. This is inappropriate for children. They should be removed from the room immediately.” No children were “removed,” however, and when one of the book banners was admonished for using the word “fuck” she complained that she had told the children to leave.
Katie Kizer, social media coordinator for Access Education RRISD, questioned why the book banners are still harping on the issue after the state’s passage this legislative session of House Bill 900, which will ban books across the state. “It’s clear that their only goal is to agitate,” Kizer said. “But their tactics won’t work here because parents are paying attention.” Indeed, the book banners were decidedly outnumbered. Many parents expressed support for the district’s librarians and opposition to banning books. Others were disinterested in the topic altogether.
This article appears in August 25 • 2023.
