Extremist Right drives away AL library book event

[AURex 1,998]

 

The extremist righteous right Moms For Liberty for the Huntsville/Madison Public Library to cancel a book reading/signing by non-controversial author/publisher. Moms For Liberty failed to acquire the necessary permits for a large gathering of extremists at the library, but apparently the locals are unable to deal with the situation. Extremists win ....... again.

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/canceled-kirk-cameron-riley-gaines-learn-alabama-library-cannot-host-them-book-event

 

[CoffeeTiger 5,108]

Right wingers are such snowflakes. Kirk Cameron and Moms for Liberty are complaining about being canceled and victimized because they were too stupid to properly plan and get permits for the event they wanted to hold. 

They told the library they wanted to hold an event for about 20 people and were approved. A few days/week before the event they came back and told the Library it'll actually be over 300 people that will show up. The library said they can't handle that many people safely and that they can't host the event. 

Moms for liberty/Kirk could have easily prevented this if they had gotten a permit for a larger event, worked with the city and paid for extra security/police, and/or picked a larger venue, but instead they lie to the library about how many people would attend and now are crying that they are the victims because the library says they can't safely hold the event under the new terms. 

 

 

 

 

 

[CoffeeTiger 5,108]

19 hours ago, AURex said:

 

The extremist righteous right Moms For Liberty for the Huntsville/Madison Public Library to cancel a book reading/signing by non-controversial author/publisher. 

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/canceled-kirk-cameron-riley-gaines-learn-alabama-library-cannot-host-them-book-event

 

I'll disagree with you on Kirk Cameron being non-controversial. 

He's 100% onboard and in bed with theswe far right moms for Liberty groups. 

 

But aside from that the Library has reversed course again and will let the Moms for Liberty event be held and limit the attendance to 225 people. 

[DKW 86 7,423]

I would go to see Gaines. Cameron? Not on your life. There is something just plastic and non-real the very few times I have seen him speak on cable in the past. I could not take more than 2-3 minutes of him. He is like Bush43 to me. I couldn't bear to hear the man speak for more than just a few minutes. With Bush43 tho, it was his complete lack of intellect. He is kind of like Carter, probably a good man up close and personal, but a failure in the WH. 

[LPTiger 5,159]

The event was a nice success even though the library limited it to 225 attendees.   Those crazy Christians you get too many of them together they might start praying.    100 people from the Democratic Socialist Party of America protested.   According to their public website, here are the three issues that they support -- "We want to win "radical" reforms like single payer medicare for all, defunding the police/refunding communities and the /green New Deal."   Who wouldn't want the federal government in charge of their health care?   Everything the federal government touches flourishes.   And, who could possibly argue against defunding the police.   Just look at how successful it has been everywhere it was tried.   Green New Deal -- let's please cripple our economy while China continues to steal from us, conducts naval maneuvers with Russia within 90 miles of Alaska and steals our technology.   Frankly, I'm surprised they had 100 people show up.    Maybe they were handing out "free" things. 

[I_M4_AU 7,830]

1 hour ago, LPTiger said:

The event was a nice success even though the library limited it to 225 attendees.   Those crazy Christians you get too many of them together they might start praying.    100 people from the Democratic Socialist Party of America protested.   According to their public website, here are the three issues that they support -- "We want to win "radical" reforms like single payer medicare for all, defunding the police/refunding communities and the /green New Deal."   Who wouldn't want the federal government in charge of their health care?   Everything the federal government touches flourishes.   And, who could possibly argue against defunding the police.   Just look at how successful it has been everywhere it was tried.   Green New Deal -- let's please cripple our economy while China continues to steal from us, conducts naval maneuvers with Russia within 90 miles of Alaska and steals our technology.   Frankly, I'm surprised they had 100 people show up.    Maybe they were handing out "free" things. 

Green New Deal would be costly and they don’t know how much it would lower the rise in temps.  Senator Kennedy is a gem:

 

[LPTiger 5,159]

1 hour ago, I_M4_AU said:

Green New Deal would be costly and they don’t know how much it would lower the rise in temps.  Senator Kennedy is a gem:

 

Kennedy graduated magna cum laude at Vandy and was Order of the Coif at UVA law school.    He will not lose many intellectual exercises.   Here, he made Mr. Turk look incompetent or complicit.

[GoAU 1,600]

On 8/3/2023 at 10:25 PM, AURex said:

 

The extremist righteous right Moms For Liberty for the Huntsville/Madison Public Library to cancel a book reading/signing by non-controversial author/publisher. Moms For Liberty failed to acquire the necessary permits for a large gathering of extremists at the library, but apparently the locals are unable to deal with the situation. Extremists win ....... again.

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/canceled-kirk-cameron-riley-gaines-learn-alabama-library-cannot-host-them-book-event

 

You love throwing around the term “extremist” - but what exactly is “extreme” in what they are promoting?   Or is that just a tag line for someone that doesn’t agree with you?

[homersapien 11,373]

2 hours ago, GoAU said:

You love throwing around the term “extremist” - but what exactly is “extreme” in what they are promoting?   Or is that just a tag line for someone that doesn’t agree with you?

https://thehill.com/opinion/education/4086179-six-reasons-why-moms-for-liberty-is-an-extremist-organization/

1. Featured speakers at the “Joyful Warriors Summit” included Katharine Gorka, an anti-Muslim activist, who has advocated “shutting down radical mosques” in the U.S.; North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who believes teaching children about sexual orientation and gender identity is child abuse, homosexuality is “filth” and the transgender rights movement is “demonic” and “full of the Antichrist spirit”; and KrisAnne Hall, who compared the U.S. Capitol police to Nazi SS troops and claims the government of the United States “has no authority outside the PERMISSION of the sheriff” and “is just as much of a federal power as France or Texas within your state.”

2. Prominent members of Moms for Liberty have close ties to the Proud Boys, Three Percenters, QAnon and white Christian nationalists. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio once boasted that Moms for Liberty is “the gestapo with vaginas.”

3. The front cover of “The Parent Brigade,” the newsletter of the Hamilton County, Ind., chapter of Moms for Liberty, recently carried a quote from Adolf Hitler: “He alone, who OWNS the youth, gains the future.” At a media training session at last week’s summit, Christian Ziegler, chair of Florida’s Republican Party (and Bridget Ziegler’s husband), questioned the decision of chapter leaders to apologize: “The media is not your friend … Never apologize. Apologizing makes you weak.”

4. Tiffany Justice’s confrontations with teachers were “so disruptive and disrespectful,” administrators threatened to bar her from the school. The chair of the Monroe County, Pa., chapter of Moms for Liberty was arrested for harassment; the head of communications for the Lenoke County, Ark., chapter allegedly threatened librarians with gun violence; a restraining order was issued to the chair of the Livingston County, Mich., chapter after she reportedly told school board members, “We’re coming after you. Take it as a threat. Call the FBI. I don’t care.”

5. The chair of the El Paso County, Colo., chapter raised the hypothetical of a teacher telling a tomboy, “it might be time to transition. Let’s go talk to the school therapist. Let’s go talk to a physician. Let’s do this.” She believes “teachers, unions and the president” are engaged in a coordinated effort to make children trans and gay to “break down the family unit, conservative values,” and “slowly erode constitutional rights.” However, she does not know of anyone who transitioned because of social pressure.

6. The Williamson County, Tenn., chapter of Moms for Liberty alleged a book about Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on Washington promotes “anti-American, anti-White, anti-Mexican” instruction, singling out a photo of segregated water fountains and an image of firefighters hosing down Black children. The chapter also demanded the removal of “The Story of Ruby Bridges,” about a six-year old who integrated a school in Louisiana in 1960.

All Americans should welcome more active engagement of parents in their children’s schools. They should also agree that Moms for Liberty extremists are making our schools — and our democracy — worse.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/06/moms-for-liberty-long-history-rightwing-activism

The activist group Moms for Liberty has become the loudest voice in the culture wars around education. After forming in 2021, Moms for Liberty spread across the United States, exploiting the Republican-led moral panic over a “woke ideology” that is supposedly sweeping public schools and “indoctrinating” children. At present, the group counts 285 chapters in 45 states.

The organization’s recent national summit in Philadelphia reflected its rising stature. The event was a veritable parade of Republican presidential contenders, each of whom praised the organization as a force remaking the nation. Donald Trump, for instance, lauded the group as “the best thing that’s ever happened to America.”

As the group has grown, so too have its political ambitions. Moms for Liberty places particular emphasis on capturing local school boards to control school policy. More broadly, the group endorses legislation that would limit the topics that can be discussed in the classroom (for instance, Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation), and they promote policies that allow parents to target books for removal from school libraries and classrooms.

The materials challenged by Moms for Liberty reflect the “war on wokeness” announced by conservative figures such as Tucker Carlson and Ron DeSantis. Group members regularly disrupt school board meetings to rail against books that address the nation’s history of racial violence (maligned under the fuzzy category of “critical race theory”). Likewise, the group condemns materials that explore gender identity or advocate for LGBTQ+ acceptance – particularly those that explore transgender identity. Librarians, teachers and parents who defend these materials have been repeatedly harassed by group members as “groomers” or “pedophile sympathizers”.

The group’s fixation on “CRT” and “gender ideology” as “toxic for children” may appear to be a radical new strain of activism. In reality, Moms for Liberty draws from a robust tradition of rightwing mothers’ movements in the United States. Where mothers’ movements are often associated with projects of social welfare, a counter-tradition of women’s activism has long politicized motherhood to pursue staunchly conservative aims.

As the historian Michelle Nickerson demonstrates, the period surrounding the cold war is a useful lens for understanding how mothers’ movements became a pillar of American conservatism. Like Moms for Liberty, these groups responded to cultural change by condemning the spread of progressive ideologies through public school systems. Fueled by anti-communist panic, they fought for the removal of textbooks, teachers and administrators they judged to be tainted by progressive ideals. A defining feature of these groups was how they leveraged cultural beliefs surrounding motherhood for political ends. They invoked motherhood to argue that they were uniquely connected to the domestic sphere and childrearing and therefore uniquely able to speak for the moral interests of parents, families and children.

Moms for Liberty pulls deeply from this established playbook of “housewife populism”. Behind their challenges to school policies rests a repeated assertion: as mothers, they possess a right to speak for the welfare of children, as opposed to government bureaucrats, educational elites or teachers’ unions (who they deride as the “K-12 mafia”). This insistence rests at the heart of the slogan that defines the group: “We don’t co-parent with the government”. In the Moms for Liberty worldview, parents hold an “innate” or “natural” right to decide what their children should be learning, the health protocols they should observe, or the ideas they are exposed to. And parents must wield this right in an uncompromising, militant sense to protect their children against elite campaigns of “woke indoctrination”.

The specific aims pushed by Moms for Liberty reflect a more troubling thread from the history of rightwing mothers’ activism. Scholars such as Elizabeth Gillespie McRae have detailed how white mothers’ organizations were some of the most committed players in the mid-century project of “massive resistance” fought to preserve the Jim Crow order. This segregationist battle was particularly concerned with legal mandates for school desegregation. And one of its battlegrounds remains central to the mission of Moms for Liberty: textbooks and school curricula. In the south and beyond, mothers’ organizations fought to eliminate books and teachings that highlighted white violence or white supremacy. Furthermore, they routinely attempted to remove books from the curriculum that highlighted Black contributions to the nation, its history, or its culture.

The challenges posed by Moms for Liberty, then, exceed its disruptive brand of activism, its ties to far-right organizations, or the campaigns of harassment its members have allegedly waged against school boards or rival parent groups. More broadly, the group’s mission resonates with an established history of rightwing mothers’ movements that focused on schools in order to block movements for social equality.

Moms for Liberty channels this troubled racial legacy while broadening its exclusionary mission to sexuality and gender identity. Group chapters persistently invoke motherhood and parental rights as cudgels to shape public schools toward their particular vision of history, race, sexuality and faith. Narratives that complicate conservative visions of gender identity are demonized as efforts to corrupt children and are targeted for removal. In this way, Moms for Liberty weaponizes family rights to undercut equal access to schools for other families with other values. This project becomes more ominous yet through the group’s cozy relationship with Republican officials who have pushed for policies to limit support and visibility for already vulnerable LGBTQ+ students.

The culture wars have long fastened upon schools as institutions that shape the future of the nation. The politics of Moms for Liberty pose new threats in these battles – reflected in the group’s classification as an extremist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Group chapters routinely exploit the moral authority of the family to erase other ways of experiencing race, gender or sexuality, while reshaping schools and curricula around their own fears, interests and beliefs.

In doing so, Moms for Liberty continues one of the most troubling aims pursued by historical rightwing mothers’ groups: to hijack public institutions to stall the tides of cultural change.

Edited August 12, 2023 by homersapien

[GoAU 1,600]

So they don’t cave to wokeness in the school system, got it.  What exactly is it that they espouse, other than “antiwokeness” that is extreme?   Are left leaning groups and movements that are also taking the culture wars to the schools equally extreme?

[LPTiger 5,159]

13 minutes ago, GoAU said:

So they don’t cave to wokeness in the school system, got it.  What exactly is it that they espouse, other than “antiwokeness” that is extreme?   Are left leaning groups and movements that are also taking the culture wars to the schools equally extreme?

He lost me early on when he had an issue with a guy who objects to teaching CHILDREN about sexual orientation and gender identity.    You would think we could all agree on some things.

[Son of A Tiger 561]

Some posts above are a classic case of not knowing the facts of what led up to this event and it's occurrence. Superintendent of Huntsville city schools is a very close friend I have known for years. She is definitely not extremist. I have to laugh at the OP using FOX News when ordinarily many here would have a negative reaction to that.

Edited August 13, 2023 by Son of A Tiger

[LPTiger 5,159]

7 minutes ago, Son of A Tiger said:

Some posts above are a classic case of not knowing the facts of what led up to this event and it's occurrence. Superintendent of Huntsville city schools is a very close friend I have known for years. She is definitely not extremist. I have to laugh at the OP using FOX News when ordinarily many here would have a negative reaction to that.

Huntsville is a wonderful school system and has been for a long time.

[homersapien 11,373]

20 hours ago, GoAU said:

So they don’t cave to wokeness in the school system, got it.  What exactly is it that they espouse, other than “antiwokeness” that is extreme?   Are left leaning groups and movements that are also taking the culture wars to the schools equally extreme?

 

You are "begging the question". 

With few exceptions these "left leaning groups and movements" - as you describe them - are intelligent, educated professionals in child development and education who appreciate the existence of divergent individuals (and families) as well as appreciating the benefit of educating all children in such a way that minimizes bigotry and promotes acceptance of everyone. 

I submit that is of general benefit to our society and is appropriate policy for the public school system. You - of course - are allowed to indoctrinate your children in whatever religious-based bigotry as you please, just not in the public school system which is supported by my tax dollar.

Edited August 13, 2023 by homersapien

[GoAU 1,600]

2 hours ago, homersapien said:

You are "begging the question". 

With few exceptions these "left leaning groups and movements" - as you describe them - are intelligent, educated professionals in child development and education who appreciate the existence of divergent individuals (and families) as well as appreciating the benefit of educating all children in such a way that minimizes bigotry and promotes acceptance of everyone. 

I submit that is of general benefit to our society and is appropriate policy for the public school system. You - of course - are allowed to indoctrinate your children in whatever religious-based bigotry as you please, just not in the public school system which is supported by my tax dollar.

Translation: Because you feel this is appropriate, it must be true?   
 

Im sorry, but I refuse to believe discussions regarding sexuality with young, school aged children is appropriate in any context.  That’s not bigotry at all, it’s just acknowledging right and wrong.  I have no issues with whatever preferences a kid has, or how that kids parent(s) want to raise them.  What I do have a problem with is teachers discussing sexuality with children that aren’t theirs.  You may feel comfortable with people talking about sexuality with kids, or even doing it yourself, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. 

[CoffeeTiger 5,108]

On 8/12/2023 at 8:54 PM, Son of A Tiger said:

Some posts above are a classic case of not knowing the facts of what led up to this event and it's occurrence. Superintendent of Huntsville city schools is a very close friend I have known for years. She is definitely not extremist. I have to laugh at the OP using FOX News when ordinarily many here would have a negative reaction to that.

What did the school superintendent have to do with any of this? 

[Son of A Tiger 561]

2 hours ago, CoffeeTiger said:

What did the school superintendent have to do with any of this? 

Read the posts above referring to the school system.

[homersapien 11,373]

16 hours ago, GoAU said:

Translation: Because you feel this is appropriate, it must be true?   
 

Im sorry, but I refuse to believe discussions regarding sexuality with young, school aged children is appropriate in any context.  That’s not bigotry at all, it’s just acknowledging right and wrong.  I have no issues with whatever preferences a kid has, or how that kids parent(s) want to raise them.  What I do have a problem with is teachers discussing sexuality with children that aren’t theirs.  You may feel comfortable with people talking about sexuality with kids, or even doing its yourself, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. 

That's because your paradigm of what is actually happening generally is wrong.

You are taking the highly unusual - or exceptional - and projecting it generally to every school in America, and reacting accordingly.

[GoAU 1,600]

14 minutes ago, homersapien said:

That's because your paradigm of what is actually happening generally is wrong.

You are taking the highly unusual - or exceptional - and projecting it generally to every school in America, and reacting accordingly.

Am I though?   You have nothing to base that on, just wild guesses to try and reinforce what you want to believe.  In the end, it really doesn’t matter though, does it.  If you put the protections of the children in place to ensure it doesn’t happen - if it’s not already happening, nothing changes, right?  
 

My stance is simple - if it’s happening at all, it shouldn’t.  This is not in the school’s scope.  
 

Do you feel it’s appropriate to talk about sex and sexuality with children?

[homersapien 11,373]

16 minutes ago, GoAU said:

Do you feel it’s appropriate to talk about sex and sexuality with children?

Nah, let'em learn it from trashed pornography and gossip from their friends.  Or like some kids in my neighborhood - experimentation.

Meanwhile, throw rocks at those queers!

 

[homersapien 11,373]

18 minutes ago, GoAU said:

Am I though?   You have nothing to base that on, just wild guesses to try and reinforce what you want to believe.  In the end, it really doesn’t matter though, does it.  If you put the protections of the children in place to ensure it doesn’t happen - if it’s not already happening, nothing changes, right?

 

Question:  Do you have school age kids?

If so, is or has anything inappropriate been presented to them in school.

[GoAU 1,600]

55 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Nah, let'em learn it from trashed pornography and gossip from their friends.  Or like some kids in my neighborhood - experimentation.

Meanwhile, throw rocks at those queers!

 

Nah - I’ll just do my job as a parent, rather than expecting someone else to raise my kids for me.   Especially a virtual stranger that I’ve met only in parent / teacher conferences.  
 

As for your second comment, I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.  I’ll challenge you to find even a single post where I’ve disparaged anyone for being homosexual.  

53 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Question:  Do you have school age kids?

If so, is or has anything inappropriate been presented to them in school.

Yes - I have 6 kids.  2 have completed college, one is in his senior year at AU, one who started today, and my youngest (twin girls) just started their freshman year of HS.  
 

When you say presented to them, I’m assuming you mean by a teacher, not kids talking crap.  The answer to the would be no, but I’m not sure I’d call small town TN exactly representative of the country as a whole.  
 

If it’s not a problem, why are you opposed from removing it from the schools?

[homersapien 11,373]

1 minute ago, GoAU said:

Nah - I’ll just do my job as a parent, rather than expecting someone else to raise my kids for me.   Especially a virtual stranger that I’ve met only in parent / teacher conferences.  
 

As for your second comment, I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.  I’ll challenge you to find even a single post where I’ve disparaged anyone for being homosexual.  

Yes - I have 6 kids.  2 have completed college, one is in his senior year at AU, one who started today, and my youngest (twin girls) just started their freshman year of HS.  
 

When you say presented to them, I’m assuming you mean by a teacher, not kids talking crap.  1) The answer to the would be no, but I’m not sure I’d call small town TN exactly representative of the country as a whole.  
 

2) If it’s not a problem, why are you opposed from removing it from the schools?

1) And thus, my original point.  The "culture wars" are spawned from politically-based hysteria.

2) I didn't say I was opposed to removing inappropriate material from schools.

(You really need to lose this "begging the question" habit you've fallen into. I suggest you go back and find what people have actually said before you characterize their positions in such a self-serving manner.)

I am opposed to the issue being exploited by politicians at the state level who are pandering to voters worst instincts regarding race and sexuality to pass legislation that is ultimately counter-productive in creating a more educated and tolerant populace. (Florida being the primary current example.)

I trust administrative, educational and sociological professionals to make such decisions in the local school systems, not politicians running at the state or federal level. 

The former are interested in educating our youth.  The latter are simply looking for an issue to incite potential voters by creating an enemy or villain, typically at the expense of the innocent. 

 

 

[homersapien 11,373]

17 minutes ago, GoAU said:

As for your second comment, I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.  I’ll challenge you to find even a single post where I’ve disparaged anyone for being homosexual.

Did you seriously think I was directing that at you personally??   I thought my entire post was clearly rhetorical - "tongue in cheek".

I mean, did you really think I was dead serious about response to how kids should learn about sex?

One of us is totally out of calibration when it comes to judging the other. 

 

[GoAU 1,600]

48 minutes ago, homersapien said:

I trust administrative, educational and sociological professionals to make such decisions in the local school systems, not politicians running at the state or federal level. 

The former are interested in educating our youth.  The latter are simply looking for an issue to incite potential voters by creating an enemy or villain, typically at the expense of the innocent. 

 

 

I trust school professionals when it comes to education on academic issues.  For things related to faith and values, that’s a parenting issue.  
 

Except Common Core - whoever invented that crap needs to be removed from education totally…..