I used to think banning books was just a thing from the past

I saw a news story last month about a school board meeting in my own county, just 30 miles away, where people were arguing to pull a graphic novel from the high school library. I figured it was just a few loud voices, you know? But then I actually looked up the book, 'Gender Queer' by Maia Kobabe. I read it in one sitting. It's a personal story, not some agenda. Seeing the actual pages they wanted to ban, the real words and drawings, flipped a switch for me. It's not about protecting kids from ideas, it's about erasing people. I went from thinking this was old news to realizing it's happening right now, in my own backyard. Has anyone else had a moment like that, where a specific book made the whole issue feel real?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthewh281mo ago

Yeah, reading 'Maus' did that for me. I mean, seeing the actual pages they wanted gone made it all click.

patricia_wells1mo ago

What was the page that got you?