Posted on 10/26/2021 3:16:41 AM PDT by RandFan
Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin released a new ad on Monday, featuring a mother who pushed to have the 1987 novel "Beloved" banned from her son's English curriculum in Fairfax County, Va. roughly eight years ago.
Laura Murphy is the centerpiece of the 60-second ad, titled "McAuliffe Shut Us Out," which details her push to require schools to tell parents if books in their child's curriculum contained explicit content and allow students to opt-out of reading the material. Murphy said she met with lawmakers, who agreed with her on the issue.
"It was bipartisan. It gave parents a say, the option to choose an alternative for my children," Murphy said. "But then Gov. Terry McAuliffe vetoed it twice. He doesn't think parents should have a say. He said that. He shut us out."
Murphy, whose son Blake was a high school senior at the time, did not detail that the content in question was the Toni Morrison novel, which tells the story of former slaves after the Civil War and depicts some of the horrors of slavery in graphic detail. However, a resurfaced Washington Post article from 2013, featured an interview with Murphy and her son.
Blake Murphy told the publication that the book was "disgusting" and "hard for him to handle," adding that he eventually gave up on it.
Murphy said she did not want the book banned completely, rather until new policies that addressed explicit material for students were put in place.
“I’m not some crazy book burner,” Murphy said. “I have great respect and admiration for our Fairfax County educators. The school system is second to none. But I disagree with the administration at a policy level.”
Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe has argued that the legislation would have led to censorship and the banning of books. He released a statement on Monday, accusing Youngkin of "book banning and silencing esteemed Black authors is a racist dog whistle."
“I have long said that Glenn Youngkin is using our schools and children as political pawns to advance his and Trump’s dangerous, out-of-touch and bigoted agenda here in Virginia. Doing so is disturbing, disgusting and disqualifying," McAuliffe said. "Do not be deceived, this is yet another example of Glenn Youngkin’s full embrace of Donald Trump, and Virginians will reject both Youngkin and Trump at the polls next week.”
Youngkin's campaign fired back, citing 18 Virginia Democratic lawmakers who supported the legislation that McAuliffe vetoed.
"The bipartisan bills McAuliffe vetoed would simply have notified parents of sexually explicit reading assignments and given them the choice of having their own child receive an alternative," Youngkin's campaign said. "McAuliffe continues to confirm every day that he wants to silence parents because he doesn’t believe they should have a say in their child’s education."
The latest back-and-forth comes as Youngkin and his GOP allies have sought to make education and parents' rights issues a major piece of their campaign message one week out from Election Day.
hahaha my hubby said the same thing.
Didnt like LOTR either, though hubby and three sons love the books and movies.
Reading list for 9th grade included (choice) Moby Dick, All Quiet on the Western Front, Up Periscope, Animal Farm, Little Women, The Yearling, Diary of Ann Frank, Profiles in Courage, I think Jane Eyre was in there....a few others that I cant remember.
I found it interesting when my son entered middle school and they had the book schedule that you could read for points....Moby Dick was rated for 12th grade....how far schools have fallen.
This focus on the relatively benign Beloved is the media’s attempt to distract from the outright pornographic materials she also wants removed.
But of course, child pornography is considered fine with the left as the ground erodes away…
He was on Tucker last night. Have not seen it yet. I think it could be a winning issue.
Hope so anyway
That’s a good list !
one thing nuns were EXCELLENT at - teaching reading and writing....and there were 60 kids in my first grade class - one nun. there was not a peep!
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