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Gay characters no hit in kiddie lit; `The Trouble With Babies' is latest example
The Charlotte Observer (registration required) ^ | 1/4/03 | JOSH GETLIN - Los Angeles Times

Posted on 01/04/2004 4:29:51 AM PST by Huber

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To: Huber
"You could have knocked me over with a feather," Freeman said recently at her home near Penn State University. "The story I wrote had nothing to do with gay issues, and the reference to those fathers was strictly in the background, to show you the kind of people who live on a city block."

BS, it was your quiet effort to normalize queers.

61 posted on 01/04/2004 6:48:12 PM PST by Petronski (I'm not always cranky.)
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To: SamAdams76
Giving it on purpose is an assault...but are you saying there are some who GET it on purpose? Two already-HIV- positives cannot give it to each other, unless they're trying to share specific strains or something....

There was that guy in Germany who let himself be killed and eaten, but that kind of pain-seeking illness has to be rare!
62 posted on 01/04/2004 6:48:58 PM PST by Triple Word Score
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To: BlessedBeGod
If you drop the bogus word 'gay' and use the correct word, 'homosexual', it's clear that it is all about sex.
63 posted on 01/04/2004 6:52:26 PM PST by expatpat
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To: Huber
Well, I'd like to remind Martha of what Samuel Johnson said one time - "no one but a blockhead ever wrote, but for money." If the issue truly is as peripheral as she claims then leaving these characters out of the story shouldn't matter.

But it does seem to matter to her. Why? Perhaps because she really did intend to send a subtle message of "inclusion," in which case she should continue to do so and find another means of making a living. It isn't that big a deal, and there isn't anything wrong with it. Artists in other media do this all the time when their stuff doesn't sell and they don't want to change it with an eye to something that does. Painters and sculptors and the like don't really starve in this day and age, they merely wait on tables and bitch a whole lot about artistic integrity and commercialization. It's as old as art.

64 posted on 01/04/2004 6:52:33 PM PST by Billthedrill
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To: Huber
"You could have knocked me over with a feather," Freeman said recently at her home near Penn State University. "The story I wrote had nothing to do with gay issues, and the reference to those fathers was strictly in the background, to show you the kind of people who live on a city block."

Doublespeaking lying liar.

Are there any pot smokers, coke snorters, alcoholics, or other people in a city block? How about gun owning NRA members? Why not bring them into the children's story too if it is to be representative of society as a whole?

Making aberations the "norm" is a part of the homosexual agenda.

65 posted on 01/04/2004 6:58:48 PM PST by weegee
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To: Huber
Censorship or the market speaking?

My guess would be market.

It's printed, advertised, etc. The government did not interfere.

It is not selling well. That's a market phenomenom.

66 posted on 01/04/2004 7:00:19 PM PST by LibKill ("Two crossed, dead, Frenchmen emblazoned on a mound of dead Frenchmen.")
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To: Huber
"At a time when gay culture is gaining wider acceptance in American society -- as reflected in television shows, movies, magazines, fashion trends and recent court decisions --"

I'm not so certain that this is a sign of acceptance more than that those that decide are either members of or kowtow to a vocal minority.
I don't care about gerbils, bathhouses, or proper redecoration, until someone tries to shove it in my face. Then there is a problem. And slowly, I am beginning to put this particular issue in the 'problem' category.

67 posted on 01/04/2004 7:07:04 PM PST by Tench_Coxe
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To: VOA
Some libraries may give her flak for her inclusion of homosexual characters in a children's book but the ALA will help circle the wagons and see that other libraries buy copies of her books as a sign of solidarity.

The ALA is not "family friendly".

Houston and Harris County recently had a flare up as the operators of both library websites thought it was a good idea to send kids to GoAskAlice for questions on sex. The ALA is what spearheads this garbage.

The ALA also believes that there is no such thing as "age appropriate material"; if it is in a library, anyone adult or minor should be permitted to view the materials. This includes R, X, and NC-17 films, albums with Adult Content warnings, Adult comics (Robert Crumb and others), Madonna's SEX book... While some of these materials may have a place in the library (and other's presence debateable), few of their creators would encourage minors accessing all of them.

68 posted on 01/04/2004 7:09:09 PM PST by weegee
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Homosexual Agenda Ping -

Hey, good news for a change! I guess all librarians aren't on the dark side. Note the bias of this article:

At a time when gay culture is gaining wider acceptance in American society -- as reflected in television shows, movies, magazines, fashion trends and recent court decisions --

My translation:

"At a time when normalization of homosexuality is being shoved down the public's collective throats in an increasing fervor of sickening media propaganda disguised as TV shows, movies, perverted and degrading magazine articles, and sicko "fashion" that no one will ever wear except anti-social drug addicts, and court decisions made by black robed Nazgul who want to turn our country into a "gay" friendly socialist bordello..."

(And too bad for the pushers of the "gay" agenda - the majority of people STILL don't accept same sex acts as normal as motherhood and natural as apple pie!!)

69 posted on 01/04/2004 7:11:18 PM PST by little jeremiah
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To: Huber
"Part of me is tempted to put in even more gay characters, because these are my stories and I really don't like being censored," she said."

Then maybe you shouldn't write children's books, you twit. And you're not being censored, people just aren't buying your books.

"If a library refuses to acquire a gay-themed book for teens, he said, they can find it elsewhere because they have disposable income. But most younger children are dependent on adults for books to read."

So parents wind up with more control over what their children read? I fail to see the problem with this.

70 posted on 01/04/2004 7:15:22 PM PST by Sofa King (-I am Sofa King- tired of liberal BS! http://www.angelfire.com/art2/sofaking/index.html)
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To: Publius6961; FreedomPoster
As soon as I realized that some people are apparently incabable of grasping such simple concepts as "censorship"...

There are none so blind as those who do not wish to see.

71 posted on 01/04/2004 7:22:02 PM PST by little jeremiah
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To: Huber
Or you could be really PC by writing a book called "Mohammed has two Gods" which would serve to help normalize polytheism among Islamists, and them wonder why Saudi libraries aren't pre-ordering the paperback version.

Actually, "Mohammed has three Gods" (that is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) would be better, ultra radical, and cut right to the heart of Islam.

72 posted on 01/04/2004 7:25:10 PM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: Triple Word Score
Try a search using "bug chasers" as a keyword, or check this:

Homosexual Agenda: Categorical Index of Links

There are articles about everything you ever wanted to know (and much that you didn't) about the homosexual agenda, the causes of homosexuality, health hazards of, etc.

Unfortunately, there are indeed homosexuals who go out of their way to contract the AIDS virus.

73 posted on 01/04/2004 7:29:46 PM PST by little jeremiah
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To: Huber

74 posted on 01/04/2004 7:29:55 PM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: Huber
A brief passage buried in the book about two gay fathers

Here's a review from the School Library Journal:

Grade 3-5-Freeman and Smith team up for a second chapter book featuring Holly, her mother, and stepfather who have just moved from an apartment to a house in San Francisco. In this summer before fourth grade, the child becomes acquainted with her new neighbors while still maintaining contact with old friends. Her two new friends are Xavier, who lives with his two fathers, and Annie, who is Jewish and Chinese. Xavier has a crush on Annie and hopes to win her over by putting her "yucky" baby sister in his de-yuckification machine. At the last minute, Annie decides to accept the baby, and she and Xavier remain friends. The story ends with Holly learning that she, too, will soon have a new sibling. This engaging book, with its humorous drawings, features contemporary middle-class urban life yet deals with the timeless theme of learning to adjust to new situations. It's also a good, nonjudgmental portrayal of alternative family lifestyles.
Marilyn Ackerman, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

It doesn't appear to be "buried in the book" to me. It actually appears to be central theme.

75 posted on 01/04/2004 7:34:05 PM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: Huber
because these are my stories and I really don't like being censored," she said

She was not censored. Why would she say that?? She is a moron.

76 posted on 01/04/2004 7:41:14 PM PST by GeronL (The French just can't stop being French.)
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To: Publius6961
How does it contradict what I said previously? A lot of thought goes into what I select for my library. If it downsn't match (for any number of reasons), I don't buy it.
I'm not trying to tap dance and I don't understand what you're getting at.
.
77 posted on 01/04/2004 7:43:02 PM PST by sunshine state
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To: mvpel
We have multiple copies of "Preachers of Hate" in our system, but only one copy of "Evil: An Investigation". I'lll have to see if we can get a copy of "Evil" for our library.
Thanks!
78 posted on 01/04/2004 7:49:51 PM PST by sunshine state
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To: sunshine state
Sorry for the typos!
79 posted on 01/04/2004 7:51:26 PM PST by sunshine state
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To: Publius6961
Whatever happened to the "gays were not part of the story they were just tossed in matter of factly to show who lived on the block?" Suddenly the gay characters are part of the plot?

YUP. contradiction. She IS a moron/

80 posted on 01/04/2004 7:56:41 PM PST by GeronL (The French just can't stop being French.)
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