I Can't Sit Back Any Longer
Polk County Florida. Say it. Aloud. I'm serious. It doesn't sound too bad, does it? Now I want you to say, "Bartow." Say it three times into your bathroom mirror. Have you conjured demons yet? I ask because I'm the not-so-proud resident in this axis of evil... conservative central, U.S.A.
Oh sure, I get a great blog entry out of some of the ridiculous letters to the editor... but we're getting national media attention. Remember that Baptist church that scaled a fence in the middle of the night and erected a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn over Christmas? Yep. That was my town. Now this: Some mommy with too much time on her hands has met with the school board and insisted they review a Newberry award winner's books and promptly remove them from the bookshelves of her child's elementary school. Why you ask? One book actually contains the word, "damn" and others deal with such topics as bra stuffing and bra strap snapping (Judy Blume, anyone?) Wait. It gets better. The newspaper ran the story and quoted the mother's dad... yes, you guessed it... a PREACHER. He said, "Christians have rights too."
Well damned straight we Christians have rights. Guess what? I have to right to disagree vehemently with this mother of the year. And I'm not going to sit around and bitch about it anymore.
Help me. Please. How do I stand up to this? Petitions? I'm not going to fire off another smart-assed letter to the editor. This calls for ACTION. I work for the school board, and I'm majoring in education. I could lose my job... ruin my chances as landing a job in this state even... but right now I do NOT care. I want to stand up to this. It's small, I know... but I need to. I don't know how to explain WHY I need to... but everything in me says it's time to stop it...be a part of stopping this from happening. She doesn't have to read the fucking book... she can tell her daughter not to read the fucking book... but I'll be DAMNED if I sit by and let this crazy bitch remove them from all the bookshelves in my county.
Oh sure, I get a great blog entry out of some of the ridiculous letters to the editor... but we're getting national media attention. Remember that Baptist church that scaled a fence in the middle of the night and erected a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn over Christmas? Yep. That was my town. Now this: Some mommy with too much time on her hands has met with the school board and insisted they review a Newberry award winner's books and promptly remove them from the bookshelves of her child's elementary school. Why you ask? One book actually contains the word, "damn" and others deal with such topics as bra stuffing and bra strap snapping (Judy Blume, anyone?) Wait. It gets better. The newspaper ran the story and quoted the mother's dad... yes, you guessed it... a PREACHER. He said, "Christians have rights too."
Well damned straight we Christians have rights. Guess what? I have to right to disagree vehemently with this mother of the year. And I'm not going to sit around and bitch about it anymore.
Help me. Please. How do I stand up to this? Petitions? I'm not going to fire off another smart-assed letter to the editor. This calls for ACTION. I work for the school board, and I'm majoring in education. I could lose my job... ruin my chances as landing a job in this state even... but right now I do NOT care. I want to stand up to this. It's small, I know... but I need to. I don't know how to explain WHY I need to... but everything in me says it's time to stop it...be a part of stopping this from happening. She doesn't have to read the fucking book... she can tell her daughter not to read the fucking book... but I'll be DAMNED if I sit by and let this crazy bitch remove them from all the bookshelves in my county.
posted by Robin at 5:45 PM
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