Spotsylvania County has become the subject of much scrutiny after one parent brought to the attention of the school board, that she found violent and sexually explicit books in her child’s library.
She claimed that there were many books that contained subjects of rape, prostitution, pedophilia, and pornography. One of these books, even being promoted on the front page of the school’s online library.
The book in particular, a book called ‘Call Me By Your Name’ is a book about a young man, and his sexual relationship with an adult man. This book was adapted into an R rated movie.
The problem the parent had with this book, is not the fact that it dealt with a gay relationship, but rather that it was sexually graphic in nature. Commonsense media writes that it has “strong sexual content, and it implies oral sex. There is a scene in which a man ejaculates with a fruit, and the fruit is handled after”. This is one of many sexual encounters that take place within this book.
There were a plethora of other books of the same nature. One of them even detailing a sexual relationship with a teenage girl and her adult teacher. This is a common theme among these books.
When parents brought this before the school board, two members reacted in disgust:
“I’m sure many others, and I want to see these books burned.”
School board Chairman Kirk Twigg responded. Although in a later meeting, he cleared up his statements after blowback from parents and activists. His message was not to literally burn books, but to see them removed quickly.
Another board member, Mr. Rabih Abuismail, was also assailed on social media for this statement:
“I guess we live in a world that, we would rather have kids read about gay pornography than Christ.”
This triggered dozens of responses from both parents and LGBTQ+ activists in the following board meeting. They claimed that these statements were “hurtful to gay students and students that live alternatively” and that removing books was a ploy by “straight white Christians” to censor educational books from libraries.
They followed this by calling Mr. Rabih Abuismail a Nazi, stating that these books were “helpful” for students who wish to read them. Overwhelmingly, the argument on the side to keep these books in schools was that kids can access porn and explicit content on the internet, so it shouldn’t be limited in schools.
However, there were also students who supported banning these explicit books from schools. Following comment from an overwhelmingly activist crowd, Braelynn Green, a senior at Riverbend High School, testified:
“Last week in my government class, we watched a clip of last week's meeting, and when it came for discussion, I didn't think I would be the only one on the side of the parents who spoke.”
She followed by questioning teachers and board members who supported keeping these books in schools:
“I suppose, I didn't believe or want to believe that the teachers and school board members would argue to keep pornographic materials in public school libraries. I wasn't surprised that some of the kids didn't find this to be a problem. A lot of the arguments were that we can see all these things on the internet anyways, but that is not always the case. Not all parents allow their children free reign on the internet, and they may not want their young children to have access to books that go against their family morals.
Parents who wish their children to read stories about teenage boys, having sexual relations with grown men can go to a library or a bookstore to get such material.”
Ms. Green closed with this:
“Parents should be able to trust that they're sending their kids to a school to get an academic education, not a social indoctrination.”
This testimony raised many questions about the agenda of certain board members and teachers who wished to keep such explicit books in k-12 schools, and many of these questions remain unanswered, as the board unfortunately rescinded the motion to pull sexually explicit books from schools:
“After midnight the Spotsylvania School Board rescinded their earlier plan to pull books with sexually explicit content from library shelves. Their vote last week & two members’ talk of book burning earned the district negative publicity nationally.”
— Julie Carey (NBC)
This decision was made after midnight, following hours of loud and passionate testimony from LGBTQ+ activists and students.
One board member, Dr. Lorita Daniels, supported keeping such material in libraries:
“I believe that all of our children want to see themselves reflected in the books - and they choose the books that are interesting to them. So I want to ensure the inclusion of all students, no matter their ethnicity, race, and sexual orientation.”
However, Mr. Rabih Abuismail pointed out that this is besides his point:
“Madam Chair, my problem with these books, is not that they portray anything homosexual, it is that they portray graphic scenes of pedophilia and sex.”
Mr. Rabih Abuismail was practically the only one defending the students and parents who wanted to remove such graphic and violent literature, but his concerns were followed suit by calls for him to resign.
This raises a larger question about the legitimacy of the school board, and whether or not they are trying to protect the rights of students, or whether they dismiss valid concerns as a result of their own political biases.
It is clear that public bullying and activism in large part, prevented action being taken against sexually explicit materials being taken out of schools, which are meant to provide basic education. Public bullying that persists following each board meeting.
A group called the “Ponax Advocacy Coalition” are at almost every board meeting, defending their own agenda and politics. Their two founders, Sydney and Dante, are vocal advocates of LGTBQ+ rights, and mandating masks. They have also been in large part, coordinating protests and walk-in events at these board meetings.
They claim to represent every student in Spotsylvania County schools, but are quite aggressive against any students who oppose their agenda.
Regardless, their activism in large part aided the minority on the school board in rescinding a motion that would have protected children from pornographic books. It was all done in the name of “defending students with alternative lifestyles”.
Here at the Conservative Student Outlet, we like to offer a different view from the mainstream. From the activists who claim to represent us students here in Spotsylvania Schools. Sexually Explicit, and pornographic books do not belong in our schools. Any attempt by teachers and activists to keep these books in schools, is simply performative activism.
This issue is not about gay rights, or representation. It’s about focusing on real education, and keeping sexually explicit and adult content out of k-12 schools.
Do you want to support our cause, and remove these books from our schools? Follow us on social media, and write your representatives to make a new motion to keep this kind of content out of schools.
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