Books – Deep Left Field

Unless you live in the state of Oklahoma or are a U.S. Senate junkie, you’ve probably never heard of Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), but after today, you may never forget his name or the ridiculous things he said at a hearing on the banning of children’s books.

During a hearing of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Mullin asked a witness if she thought a children’s book about race entitled Our Skin contained a better lesson on race than the well-known Christian church tune for kids, “Jesus Loves Me.”

Mullin began by reading a section of Our Skin which states that white people created a thing called “race” and then sorted humans based on their color.

“If you don’t want to answer my question, that’s fine. Let’s move on down the panel. Which one is better to be taught? This book or the ‘Jesus Loves Me’ lyrics, that say everybody’s skin doesn’t matter. They’re all precious in his sight,” Mullin angrily demanded.

Cheryl Morman, president of the Virginia Alliance for Family Child Care Associations said she agreed that Jesus was important, but Mullin cut her off to continue his ranting.

“So, which one is better?” he asked.

“But the reality is —” Morman began to respond, only to be interrupted by Mullin yet again.

After being admonished by committee chair Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to let the witness answer, Mullin started up again: “That doesn’t answer my question. You’re not answering my question. If you don’t want to answer my question, that’s fine,” he said in a shout.

Morman: “The reality is —”

“I don’t want reality! I’m asking the question! Which one is better? That’s exactly what it is,” Mullin thundered.

Committee members began laughing and one could be heard to say, “Got it on tape.”

Backing down from the reality statement, Mullin suggested he had misspoken, but added, “Jesus is always first.”

Jesus is always first, Senator Mullin? But what if the child was raised in an agnostic or atheist household? What if the child is Muslin, or Jewish, or another denomination that doesn’t accept Jesus as savior? Are we supposed to force-feed Jesus to them? And if so, does that mean that next week we can require the Koran be read by all students? What about the Book of Satan? Will we also put that on school reading lists?

Religion has it’s place. But that place is NOT in a public school, no matter what Jesus freaks like Sen. Mullin say.

Mullin was also mocked on Twitter:

@SenMullin 😂😂😂😂😂😂You don’t want reality 😂😂😂😂😂
— Stop Voting for Republicans (@MBershod) May 31, 2023

His “mind “ is made is made up. Don’t confuse him with facts . You either give the answer he wants or he’ll cut you off !
— j a harris (@jaharri18763940) May 31, 2023

First, there’s supposed to be a separation of church and state, so those two choices aren’t relevant
— Donna B (@Dbtex49) May 31, 2023

This is why politicians trying to enforce personal, religious ideology into our government isn’t healthy governance for a multicultural 21st century society in America’s democracy.
— Valerie White Cosmic Misfit 🌊 (@trustingmyvibes) May 31, 2023

Translation="I don't want white kids learning about how badly we treated n**ers." Fixed it
— mack mittens (@mackmittens) May 31, 2023

All over the country, conservatives and right wingers are trying to have certain books banned from classrooms and school libraries because they insist the content of the books is inappropriate for young people.

NBC News compiled a list of 50 books that parents in Texas want removed from schools, including some that have impeccable literary credentials. Here’s a couple of examples:

“The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: This classic novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison should be banned from schools, according to a parent in the Fort Worth suburb of Birdville, because it includes a graphic description of rape.
“White Bird: A Wonder Story” by R.J. Palacio: A parent in the Spring Branch ISD said this graphic novel — about a Jewish teen living in France after Nazis seized power — should be banned because it’s “biased” and could lead to the “skewing of a young child’s mind.”

So exactly what is “acceptable” for young readers? The only possible solution would seem to be refusing to let young people read anything at all because they might encounter something that offends their parents.

But would the Bible be acceptable to those parents? Nope. Not even the “Good Book” gets a thumbs up from people who were interviewed by a group that calls itself the Good Liars, which consists of two guys, Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler. They asked people if they thought the story of two daughters who get their father drunk (the story of Lot) and then have sex with him was something young people should read, according to the Daily Dot:

“There’s a book that we’ve seen that’s in libraries in lots of schools that features a story of two daughters having sex with their dad,” Jason Selvig said to a couple, one of whom was wearing a MAGA hat.
In another clip, Davram Stiefler elaborates to a different women wearing an American flag pin: “They get their dad drunk to have sex with him.”
The reactions of all three people are strictly negative, with the couple immediately agreeing the book in question needs to be banned from schools.
“Why do kids need to read that?” MAGA Hat asks.
“That book is actually the Bible,” Stiefler tells the woman in the other clip, and suddenly, her whole demeanor changes.

There’s a lot of talk about banning books in schools, but we were surprised these republicans wanted to ban the Bible. pic.twitter.com/gq4b89x2PO
— The Good Liars (@TheGoodLiars) February 1, 2022

Here’s a good summary of the bible story they’re talking about pic.twitter.com/DkBbIWiqBa
— DB (@m4agndrfn) February 2, 2022

Think about it: Do you want your kids reading about incest and stoning people to death? Probably not. Which means you need to keep the Bible out of your house, the library, all churches, etc. Because someone might get the wrong idea and try to imitate that kind of behavior.

How sweet to see so much irony and hypocrisy wrapped in a neat package for the right-wing zealots to choke on.