Darkside Rainbow

Some days I seriously wonder what the hell is wrong with people. We’ve developed into a culture of blame, in which we seek fault with everything that doesn’t suit our world view simply for its existence and then demand recompense, regardless of any true damages, without facing the fact that the fault may well lie in ourselves.

Dad Wants $20K, Says Lesbian Book Disturbed Teens
Man Says Lesbian Book Caused ‘Sleepless Nights’ - koco.com

A Bentonville, Ark., man is seeking $20,000 from the city after his two teenage sons found a book on lesbian sex on a public library bookshelf.

He also wants the library director fired.

Earl Adams said his 14- and 16-year-old sons were “greatly disturbed” after finding the book, titled “The Whole Lesbian Sex Book.” Adams said the book caused “many sleepless nights in our house.”

Some people are just looking for things to get pissed off about, I think. Especially if they think they can get a little cash out of it.

Considering the heterosexual male fascination with girl-on-girl action (which I really don’t get, but whatever floats your boat), trust me, honey, I really doubt that your sons were all that traumatized by what they were doing when they weren’t sleeping. If they’re anything like your typical teenage boys you can bet they were probably thinking about it already, and the book just gave them more food for thought. Why wasn’t he keeping an eye on what his kids checked out from the library, anyway? At that age it’s not necessary to police their every move, but it would take five seconds to skim the stack of books and check for any objectionable titles. Also, since when are the sex education books filed anywhere near the reference materials on military academies?

There are a few things in this that just boggle me. First, you can’t fault the library for making the book available to the public. That’s what libraries do, and to try to dictate which books are and aren’t allowed is a very common issue called censorship. There are plenty of books in your average library that someone will find offensive due to subject matter that conflicts with their personal beliefs - but if the book’s topic is clearly stated in the title and the synopsis and a person picks up the book and reads it anyway, then it is not the library’s fault if they’re offended. It’s theirs.

I will concede that you can’t exactly expect teenagers to exercise that judgment, but riddle me this: why were they looking at a lesbian sex book anyway? I sincerely doubt that’s what they went to the library for. If lesbian sex traumatizes them so much, then I imagine that they might pick up the title, glance at it for a second, then put it back and run to find Daddy. They wouldn’t keep looking through it long enough to cause…ah…’sleepless nights’. This just doesn’t fit. Placing blame on a public library for carrying books on every topic is like placing blame on Starbuck’s for carrying multiple flavors of coffee. Are you going to demand $20,000 from Starbuck’s because they gave your kids mocha coffee and you’re offended by the flavor?

Actually…pretend I didn’t say that. People like to sue because coffee is hot and I might give someone ideas they don’t need to be having.

Another thing that bugs me is that there are sex guides all over your average library. Marital aides, the Kama Sutra…oh, and let’s not forget the entire romance section, which does exist for sheer pornographic purposes. And yet Adams isn’t demanding the removal of any of these books. I get the sneaking suspicion (yes, you may laud my brilliance at grasping the obvious) that the sexual content isn’t the problem at all. It’s the homosexual content. If the boys had found back issues of Playboy in the library’s archives, the father would probably be laughing and calling them rascals. But since the books is about lesbians, apparently “God spoke to his heart” and told him to get it removed from the library.

This really touches on a pet peeve of mine. It drives me nuts when people take the approach that “wrong for me = wrong for everyone”. Adams doesn’t like a book on lesbian sex and so rather than choosing not to read it and telling his family that they shouldn’t read it, he instead wants to make sure that no one has access to it and therefore no one can read it, regardless of if the content is objectionable to them or not. It isn’t his right to make that choice for other people. That would be like me running around telling Christians that because I’m an atheist, they have to stop believing in God as well, for my own personal reasons. That’s not right. My choice was my choice - but just as I have my reasons for not believing, people who do believe have their reasons for that belief and they’re no less valid and no less worthy of respect than my own.

Just because Adams has his reasons for not wanting to read that book, others have their reasons for wanting to read it and wanting to keep it publicly accessible. Both of those reasons are valid. Both of those reasons can coexist without infringing on each others’ rights.

Now, to be fair: libraries do carry many books with adult content, even if it isn’t specifically pornographic in intent. But even if the books are intended for reference, they may contain content too graphic for young eyes, and yet they’re shelved within easy reach right next to all other reference materials. Many libraries have started putting stickers on the spine to mark what has graphic content, but perhaps it would be feasible to remove the books not from the library, but to an adults-only section of the library. That way they are still available to the general public, censorship-free, but can only be accessed by people of an age where if they pick up the book and get pissed off by it, no one can say anything other than that it was their own damn fault for not exercising a little control over their rampant train-wreck syndrome.

Surgeon General Sees 4-Year Term as Compromised

I want to close off today with something that’s going to raise your brows into your hairline and well above the upper level of that nifty little WTF-meter stamped on your forehead. Remember the discussion of Bush’s nominee for Surgeon General and his history of homophobic behavior? Well, you may wonder even more at Bush’s motivations for nominating Holsinger when you read what the previous Surgeon General endured during his term, and what was expected of him.

Richard H. Carmona apparently held back nothing when he spoke before a Congressional panel, telling of critical reports on issues ranging from second-hand smoke to abstinence-only sex education that he was prevented from releasing for political reasons. He faced ridiculous requirements such as the necessity to mention President Bush’s name three times on every page of his speeches, and was even discouraged from attending the Special Olympics because of a family that the organization is tied to. He was even told, “Why would you want to help those people?”

Read the full article if you want to continue being outraged. Apparently the Surgeon General’s office is no longer to be concerned with the general health and safety of the American public. Instead its purpose is to act as a mouthpiece for the administration, and to say whatever it takes to best sway American politics in the direction it “should” go.

A friend of mine responded to this with “America, wtf are you doing?”

I’d kind of like an answer to that, myself.

Before we sign off, please take a moment of silence to honor the passing of a fine former first lady, Lady Bird Johnson. May she rest in peace, and hopefully not turn over in her grave at the path that this country is veering down.

I’m out.

earl adams, the whole lesbian sex book, libraries, censorship, surgeon general, james holsinger, richard h. carmona, president george w. bush