Book banning in Australia

[stevebrooks]

Wasn't sure where to put this but a city council in Western Sydney has decided to ban same sex parenting guides based on the fact that the electorate is "conservative." No sorry that's not how that works, you don't speak for all the electorate of you are conservative, you only speak for that portion that agrees with you, and only of they decide to let you speak for them. But even then, you don't get to ban something just because you don't like it and hence force your views on others, this is not going to end well, someone has been watching to much US conservative news channels! This is not going to end well for them.

Western Sydney’s Cumberland City Council is at risk of breaking the Anti-Discrimination Act after voting to ban same-sex parenting books in its libraries.

The ban will affect eight libraries across the LGA and was put forward by city councillor and former Cumberland City mayor Steve Christou.

He alleged that parents were “distraught” upon seeing the book Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig in libraries.

Mr Christou spoke to Channel 9 on Wednesday, arguing that the parenting books were “sexualised” and that the ban was an effort to “let kids be kids”.

https://www.news.com.au/national/breaki ... 287e6d0190

[Irrev-Black]

Apparently Cumbersome Council has already put its State funding at risk.

However, if offensive books or books that might prevent "children being children" are bannable, then I am certainly against littlies being scared by the threat of eternal torture... I think you can see where this is going.

[stevebrooks]

Seems I made a spelling mistake in the title, could someone mod fix that for me please? Very embarrassing that, but I put it down to my N key playing up on my laptop lol. But yes, once we start banning books because we personally find them offensive where will it end?

[Irrev-Black]

Seems I made a spelling mistake in the title, could someone mod fix that for me please? Very embarrassing that, but I put it down to my N key playing up on my laptop lol. But yes, once we start banning books because we personally find them offensive where will it end?

What mistake? Where? If you cannot prove that with a biblical reference, it never happened,

[stevebrooks]

Seems I made a spelling mistake in the title, could someone mod fix that for me please? Very embarrassing that, but I put it down to my N key playing up on my laptop lol. But yes, once we start banning books because we personally find them offensive where will it end?

What mistake? Where? If you cannot prove that with a biblical reference, it never happened,

Obviously should have screenshotted it, oh well, paintshop, here we come

[Irrev-Black]

If you feel inclined, get it signed.

10h
CurbsideShip116@mstdn.matthewmcgranahan.me
stufromoz@aus.social
Matthew McGranahan @CurbsideShip116@mstdn.matthewmcgranahan.me

Also, just a reminder that Equality Australia has an open petition regarding the book banning at Cumberland. You can sign here.

https://equalityaustralia.org.au/our-wo ... d-council/

https://kolektiva.social/@CurbsideShip1 ... 4619284411

[Irrev-Black]

If you feel inclined, get it signed.

10h
CurbsideShip116@mstdn.matthewmcgranahan.me
stufromoz@aus.social
Matthew McGranahan @CurbsideShip116@mstdn.matthewmcgranahan.me

Also, just a reminder that Equality Australia has an open petition regarding the book banning at Cumberland. You can sign here.

https://equalityaustralia.org.au/our-wo ... d-council/

https://kolektiva.social/@CurbsideShip1 ... 4619284411

And this, just in from Equality Australia.

In great news, Cumberland Council has voted 12:2 to reverse the ban on books featuring same-sex parents just minutes ago at tonight’s council meeting.

When news broke last week that Cumberland Council passed the book ban, Equality Australia teamed up with local resident and proud grandmother to a rainbow family, Caroline, to create a petition calling on council to reverse the ban. Michael, a gay dad, also stood up.

Tonight, we joined both petitions together to present over 50,000 names to call for the ban to be reversed, as anti-equality protestors gathered outside.

We shouldn’t need a riot squad to keep a local council meeting safe. This is not who we are. LGBTIQ+ people and our families deserve better than this.

Over 50,000 people, including you, sent a clear message tonight – stop using us as political footballs and pitting us against each other, there is a place for all of us here.

On behalf of the team at Equality Australia, I’d like to thank each of you and to Caroline and Michael for showing strength and compassion in the face of the worst of American-style imported culture wars. This win wouldn’t be possible without all of you.

[stevebrooks]

Just came to post this as well. It's interesting to note that the ban was put in pace with no protests and rowdiness and passed almost without notice, but the action to remove it was met with protests by anti-equality groups and some, shall we say acerbic, words from councilors to the person who pushed for it in the first place!

Protestors clashed at a fiery council meeting as a motion to ban books on same-sex parenting in eight Sydney libraries was overturned.

Councillor Glenn Elmore said he was "a very, very rude person" and that his amendment was "stupid".

Deputy mayor Ola Hamed accused Councillor Christou of "cheap political point-scoring" and said the move to ban books was a "dangerous, slippery slope".

"Here we are again entertaining another time-wasting distraction from Councillor Christou, one that is hateful and divisive," she said.

"The book has indeed been on the shelves since 2019 when Councillor Christou was mayor. This is about the election [being] around the corner."

I must ask though, with all this heated opposition on the council itself how is it that the book ban was passed in the first place? Is it only because the person who proposed it is Mayor? How undemocratic is that? Did no-one else get a vote or say in the banning? Why are they all coming out now that the ban has proved so unpopular to voice their opinions? Is it indeed a matter of the election being "just around the corner?"

https://www.mandurahmail.com.au/story/8 ... -book-ban/

[stevebrooks]

Book about book banning banned.

In a move that demonstrates that the book bans aren't about obscenity and inappropriate material at all a school board in the US has banned the 2017 titled "Ban This Book" by Alan Gratz despite it being approved by book review committee. It was ostensibly banned because it taught "rebellion" against the school board, a school board dominated by "Mum's for Liberty" members and sympathizers. It was banned not for obscenity or inappropriate content but simply because they didn't like it!

https://www.theguardian.com/books/artic ... ook-banned