Category Archives: Censorship

Putin wants to control the media, wants to control what Russian teachers say in their classrooms, doesnt give a damn about the environment, and couldnt care less about human rights and freedom.

By Ed Kociela

What does the Utah Legislature have in common with Russian President Vladimir Putin?

A lot more than we should tolerate, especially at this moment.

Putin wants to control the media, wants to control what Russian teachers say in their classrooms, doesnt give a damn about the environment, and couldnt care less about human rights and freedom. He is the epitome of authoritarianism, totalitarianism, and jingoism that we actually saw trying to take root in the United States one president ago.

On the whole, the U.S. rejected that brand of insanity when it booted Donald Trump from office. Now, if we could only do the same with his handler, Putin, we might be able to put that part of the world on a path to peace, love and harmony.

Except, here in Utah, we need to clean up our own backyard first, especially after reviewing the predictable, but nonetheless traumatic results of the recent Utah legislative session.

The Legislature stripped local decision-making regarding COVID-19 masking regulations, did nothing to clean up the air, failed to repeal the death penalty once again, added some cosmetic changes to the election system that do relatively nothing while costing at least $500,000, banned transgender female athletes from competition, and placed blinders on the media assigned to covering their legislative sessions by approving a rule that would require credentialed news media to only have access to legislative floors, hallways, and lounge if they have permission from a senator or Senate media designee and must promptly exit the designated area after completing the specific interview. It also added restrictions to accessing information regarding police-involved deaths, shielding the actions of the cops to provide cover for those who would take advantage of the badge to deliver what they consider street justice or to, lets be blunt, indulge their inner racism. These last two items are of particular concern because in depriving the press free access to government activities it also shuts down public access to the actions of this legislative body, hiding it in the shadows instead of allowing it to sit in the sunshine of public scrutiny.

We see this happening in Russia right now, this very moment, as Putin puts a lid on the media from Facebook to the legitimate press. You cannot write an op-ed piece over there that is critical of Putins wanton invasion of the Ukraine, cannot deal in the numbers of casualties civilian and military or cost of the war. Cannot question the morality or political reasoning for this unwarranted invasion. Already Putin has branded videos from the West showing the destruction in the Ukraine as false and misleading, of being fake news. How you can fake a video of a missile strike on a building, however, escapes me. And, God help anybody who takes to Russian streets to protest the invasion and egregious war crimes being committed by Putin and his troops.

Its pretty much the same in Salt Lake City where the Capitol lounge lizards only take direction from LDS Church officials the Utah oligarchy.

Ive worked with our legislators on many occasions over the years and have yet to see a clearly unique or progressive thought emerge from any one of them. Even the Democrats seated in the Capitol are connected to the herd. They may wear blue, but they see red.

The U.S. Constitution is a document that guarantees a government of the people, by the people, for the people. That means strict oversight, whether through in-person attendance by voters or via surrogates like the media, charged with being the publics trustworthy watchdogs to report openly and fairly on the goings-on of our elected officials. There is no middle ground here, no compromise in that freedom of speech, no interference that could or should be granted to allow our elected officials to operate in the shadows. Its about transparency, laying the cards on the table face up and playing out the hand by allowing public question and debate. That simply cannot be done unless there is an unfettered press reporting without fear or favor.

I cannot think of a president, let alone a state legislator, who held a honeymoon relationship with the media throughout their term. Trump, who called the media the enemy of the people, wasnt the first to have an uneasy relationship with the press. Throughout U.S. history there have been dustups from Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln to Thomas Jefferson and just about every other occupant of the White House and the press. Some, like the relationship between the media and Trump and Richard Nixon, were of a much larger scale, but even John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, who came across as very pres savvy, had their moments as well.

Doing the peoples business should not be done in secret because the reasoning behind certain bills or votes can often be as important as the legislation itself. That is the job of the media, to ensure transparency in all our elected officials do. You need to know and I need to know what is going on and why. We need to understand who benefits and who doesnt. We need to know that there was no collusion or untoward outside influence on decisions made and that just cannot happen when the peoples business is cloaked in the shadows. It is why there are gallery seats for the public, whether at the lowest city council levels or the floor of the U.S. Senate. And, since we all cannot attend each and every meeting, we rely on the media to report on what went down, why, and learn who was behind it all.

The danger, of course, in a media clampdown is the proliferation of fake news propaganda ginned up by specific ideological groups with no basis in fact or legitimacy, just the spin of insiders with a particular agenda that they would like to keep hidden.

So, the question I have for any member of the Utah Legislature is this: What have you got to hide?

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Utah Edges Toward Authoritarian Censorship - The Independent | News Events Opinion More - The Independent | SUindependent.com

On Friday, the Levada Centerone of the only independent polling firms in Russiareleased the results of its two most recent surveys: one on domestic support for President Vladimir Putin and the other on Russians opinions of the ongoing war in Ukraine. For those who have been following the brave anti-war demonstrations in places like St. Petersburg and Moscow, the poll results are, unfortunately, a disheartening reality check.

As of last month, 71 percent of Russian respondents approve of Putins job performance, compared with only 27 percent who disapprove. This represents a slight uptick in support from last month, and it marks the third consecutive poll in which Putins domestic support has increased. At the same time, Russians attitudes toward Ukraine have worsened. Only 35 percent of Russians responded that they generally feel good about Ukraine, as opposed to 52 percent who had a negative perception of the country. Most tellingly, 60 percent of respondents blame the U.S. and NATO for the recent escalation in eastern Ukraine, while only 4 percent believe Russia is at fault.

These poll results are a stark reminder that Russians live in a very different media ecosystem than other Europeans or Americans. While Western media outlets have portrayed Ukrainian resistance to Russian invaders as both justified and heroic, Kremlin news sources have been issuing very different messages. Some stories simply echo Putins rhetoric, claiming Russian actions aim is to save people, demilitarize, and denazify this state [Ukraine]. Others draw from internal divisions within America itself, such as this RT piece amplifying a recent Tucker Carlson segment that argued that the U.S. is not protecting Ukraine but getting revenge on Russia. Others bluntly insist that Russias actions in Ukraine are vindicated by previous U.S. foreign policy blunders.

Its worth noting that Russian propagandists arent necessarily fairor even consistentin their arguments. In a February 16 RT column headlined Guilty Without War (a Russian-language wordplay on an old Soviet drama called Guilty Without Guilt), journalist Sergei Strokan mocked the U.S. for its hysteria about an upcoming Russian invasion.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine scheduled by Washington for February 16 was canceled by Washington itself, Strokan wrote. The fact that Kyiv does not see the prerequisites for a Russian invasion was announced on Monday by the head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, Alexei Danilov. But no one listens to him or President Zelensky in the West: there was no place for the Ukrainian bandura with its hysterically weeping strings in Bidens orchestra.

Unsurprisingly, RT failed to issue an apology (or even retract the story) when Russia sent tanks across the Ukrainian border a week later.

The obvious absurdity of Russian propagandamixed with its blatant refusal to accept Ukrainian sovereigntyhas left Western governments and tech companies grappling with an important question: How should we respond?

If the West were to follow Vladimir Putins example, the solution would be to simply ban all dissenting viewpoints. In what seemed like a panic censorship surge this week, the Russian government blocked both Facebook and Twitter nationwide, as well as the websites of many Western media outlets, such as Radio Free Europe, Deutsche Welle, and the BBC. This came on the heels of a new law signed by Vladimir Putin denoting the dissemination of all false information about the activities of Russian armed forces as a criminal offensefor example, referring to the Ukrainian military offensive as an invasion or attack as opposed to a special military operation. And only days earlier, Russian authorities blocked access to Dozhd TV and Ekho Moskvy, two of the few remaining domestic news outlets that challenged the official narrative from the Russian government about the Ukraine invasion.

Yet it is impossible to see Putins decision to create a Russian splinternetone which effectively cuts Russian citizens off from the rest of the online worldas anything but a sign of weakness and desperation. In its statement announcing its ban on Facebook, Roskomnadzor, the communications watchdog operated by the Russian government, said that the social networks decisions to restrict access to many Kremlin news outletsincluding Sputnik, RT, and Gazeta.rurepresented violations of federal law. As NPR columnist Shannon Bond wrote on Wednesday, tech companies were always walking a geopolitical high-wire as they navigated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and even before Putin decided to block social media access in Russia, these tech companies were effectively crafting a splinternet of their ownusing selective deplatforming in an attempt to placate both Russia and the West simultaneously.

Over the last week, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook removed RT and Sputnik from their platforms in Europe, while allowing both outlets to stay live in Russia. Google and Apple pulled RTs and Sputniks news apps from their app storesagain, with an exception made for Russia. For its part, Google did ban several state-owned Russian outlets from monetizing their content on any of its advertising platforms last week, but this only affected their ability to earn ad moneya small percentage of their overall budget, which is subsidized by Russian taxpayers. When Roskomnadzor complained that large advertising campaigns to misinform the Russian audience were running on YouTube, Google simply suspended all advertising in Russia, thereby punishing even anti-war Russian content creators.

Before Russia announced its broad crackdown on social media access, many of these Big Tech actions seemed to miss an obvious point: the place where people were in most need of an alternative perspective to Russian propaganda was in Russia itself. According to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll earlier this week, only 6 percent of Americans believe Putin was justified in invading Ukraine, while 74 percent say he was not justified. But as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted earlier this week, it is only the Russian people who can bring an end to the war. Do Russians want the war? I would like to know the answer, he said. But the answer depends only on you, citizens of the Russian Federation.

By banning Western audiences from being able to access state-backed Russian news, Big Tech companies were almost playing into Putins handintimating that Russian propaganda was too persuasive and alluring to be available in America and Europe. Many journalists had the exact opposite perspective. As Ricardo Gutirrez, the general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, explained on Tuesday, It is always better to counteract the disinformation of propagandist or allegedly propagandist media by exposing their factual errors or bad journalism, by demonstrating their lack of financial or operational independence, by highlighting their loyalty to government interests and their disregard for the public interest.

Politicos senior media writer Jack Shafer put it similarly: Knowing what Putin is thinking or at least what hes telling his people or the outside world is essential to countering him, if need be.

Social media companies may have handled the Russian news situation imperfectly, but by completely blocking these companies nationwide, Putin has reasserted himself as the primary villain in the storyalbeit, a very thin-skinned one. The fact that Putin has now banned almost all independent journalism in Russia proves he does not have the confidence to defend his illegal invasion in the public square.

The fact that VPN installationswhich allows users to keep accessing blocked internet siteshave risen by 1,906 percent in Russia in the last few days is evidence that this cowardly censorship may backfire spectacularly.

Jonathan Chew is a former Dispatch intern.

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Putin, Propaganda, and the Politics of Censorship - The Dispatch

On Feb. 16, a Roskomnadzor official said companies that did not comply by the end of the month would face penalties. In addition to fines and possible shutdowns or slowdowns, the penalties could disrupt ad sales, search engine operations, data collection and payments, according to the law.

For those companies that have not started the procedure for landing we will consider the issue of applying measures before the end of this month, Vadim Subbotin, deputy head of Roskomnadzor, told the Russian Parliament, according to Russian media.

Human-rights and free-speech groups said they were disappointed that some of the tech companies, often viewed inside Russia as less beholden to the government, were complying with the law without public protest.

The ulterior motive behind the adoption of the landing law is to create legal grounds for extensive online censorship by silencing remaining opposition voices and threatening freedom of expression online, said Joanna Szymanska, an expert on Russian internet censorship efforts at Article 19, a civil society group based in London.

Mr. Chikov, who has represented companies including Telegram in cases against the Russian government, said he met with Facebook last year to discuss its Russia policies. Facebook executives sought advice on whether to pull out of Russia, he said, including cutting off access to Facebook and Instagram. The company complied with the laws instead.

Mr. Chikov urged the tech companies to speak out against the Russian demands, even if it results in a ban, to set a wider precedent about fighting censorship.

There have been times when the big tech companies have been leaders in terms of not only technology but also in civil liberties and freedom of expression and privacy, he said. Now they behave more like big transnational corporations securing their business interests.

Anton Troianovski and Oleg Matsnev contributed reporting.

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Russia Intensifies Censorship Campaign, Pressuring Tech Giants - The New York Times

Faced with racism, censorship, and sexism, life for a conservative on an American college campus is harder than ever, according to students from around the country.

With few allies for them at school, conservative students have come to the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, to tell their stories.

"It's not fun. We've been persecuted several times," Preston Parra, a 20-year-old student at the University of West Georgia said. "I actually had to take a case up to the vice president. I didnt report anyone specifically, but I was called a racial slur on campus."

WATCH: 'FREEDOM CONVOY' TRUCKER REACTS TO BEING BEATEN BY OTTAWA POLICE

Everyone expects white conservatives to be racist, he said, but Parra, who is of Colombian descent, endures the most attacks from his campus's self-proclaimed liberals and other people of color, including the individuals who called him the slur, he said.

"They happened to actually be black. You see all the time in the media that white people are portrayed as the enemy and the most racist, but growing up as a brown kid in middle school and elementary school, I got bullied more from people of my own color or black people than I ever did by white people," Parra said. "So it's very important we see there is such a double-standard when it comes to racism. People are going around saying the N-word on the liberal side of things, but if you ever heard it on the conservative side, it is a blowup."

"I, myself, am brown. I come from a minority community, and I reported [the incident] to the vice president. I told him, 'Hey, this is going on on campus. Its got to stop.' He nominated me as chairman of the code of conduct board," he continued.

Many conservatives do not feel comfortable speaking up, but doing so can put them in positions to make change, Parra said.

Sexism is another major challenge facing conservatives, especially women, on America's campuses, according to Rachel Ress, a student at Florida Atlantic University.

Ress, 19, said she was originally slated by the school to live in the same residence as a male student.

When she explained to school officials that the arrangement made her uncomfortable, she said they said the only thing wrong with the situation was her attitude.

"I was housed initially with a boy and told that I was the problem because of my Christianity and not wanting to embrace the situation," according to Ress.

"I was like, 'I'm a girl. I want to be with girls.' I had never had an experience like that. I'm glad we sorted it out, but it was hard to be shamed for traditional values in such an untraditional setting."

Georgetown University is an example of a left-leaning school that can be unwelcoming to tradition, according to 22-year-old Andrew Alfonso.

"Theres definitely a lot of assh**** and a lot of real aggression coming from kids on more of the Left," Alfonso said. "I know one time we had a conservative speaker on campus, and a lot of kids ended up protesting that, and it got pretty ugly.

"Weve kind of been siloed," he continued. "It can definitely be difficult at times."

Inside the classroom, life doesn't get easier for conservatives, several students lamented.

"There are some times where I will want to write an essay about one thing, and then I have to hold myself back," Deanna Mancuso, a 20-year-old FAU student, said.

Censorship, whether it be imposed by professors or the students themselves, is a common denominator among America's institutions for higher learning, students agreed.

"I definitely feel at times I cant portray who I am completely because of the fear of judgment," said 19-year-old Dalia Calvillo of FAU.

"But that is something you have to deal with, and you always have to stand up for yourself."

Parra echoed Calvillo's sentiment.

"Many times, professors have tried to censor us on campus. Were not letting that happen," he said. "We're fighting against it, we're shining a light on it, and were publicizing it. Thats the key. You have to publicize all this stuff."

CPAC offers young conservatives the chance to learn about tools they can take back with them and use to make a difference at their schools and in their communities, according to Parra.

"I came to CPAC last year and took back a lot of values then," he said. "So now Im running for [state House] District 64 in Georgia, and were just doing everything we can to make sure we are preserving all the values that are important to true God-loving Americans."

Both Calvillo and Mancuso said they want to use what they learn in Orlando to become better leaders on campus.

"I hope to learn a little bit more about what it takes to be a great leader and show that at my university," Calvillo said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

It's not just important to be a leader, Mancuso argued. A leader "has to be someone who is unapologetically who they are."

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Racism, censorship, and sexism: The price of being conservative in college - Washington Examiner

If youre fired up about book challenges and want to do one actionable thing about it that requires little more than a few minutes of time, this ones for you.

One of the several possible ways to fight book challenges is being tuned into your local school and library boards. School boards tend to be elected offices, while public library boards can either be elected or can be appointed. In the case of elections, you, as a voter and citizen of your community, can not only choose to endorse a candidate who cares about intellectual freedom, but you can run for those positions yourself. If your board utilizes the appointment system, you can submit an application for open positions.

While running for and sitting in those positions can take a lot of time, voting for those positions is part of civic duty.

Heres your action step this week: look up your local school and public library board. Who is sitting on it? How did they get there was it election or appointment? How long is their term? When do elections for open positions happen? Its likely a board seat on either may be up for spring elections in April or May this year, and/or there may be open positions during the fall election season in October or November.

If you find there are open positions coming up for election, research the candidates. What language do they use to talk about how they see themselves in the role? By now, youre likely conscious of some critical words that define those seeking to censor educators and the materials they use or have available in schools and libraries (look for words such as parental rights or oversight, among others).

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It might feel like a small step, but many small steps taken add up. The more information you know about your own community, the more youre able to be an active participant in it. The death of local news has been a tremendous detriment to so many towns, and where information used to be readily shared through those sources has fallen instead to partisan-aligned social media outlets. Were all much more responsible for our own civic education in the wake of it.

The only way the war against intellectual freedom is going to be won is by being armed with information that allows you to understand the responsibility and the power in using your voice at the poll, in the community, and at or on these local boards.

A favor to ask before diving into the roundup for the week. Once youve done this work and looked up your school and library boards and the policies around them, can you share that information? This handy form is anonymous but will help compile a resource for people across the country to be better informed. Bonus: you can use it as your personal template for this research send yourself a copy of the form for your own records.

Want to do something for the authors and books being challenged that doesnt cost money and doesnt require you to leave your couch? This set of recommended actions is great, and it acknowledges the inherent privilege in the idea buying books is the solution.

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Take One Step This Week Toward Combating Censorship: This Weeks Book Censorship News, February 25, 2022 - Book Riot

In Born on the Water, the childrens picture book accompaniment to The 1619 Project, Smiths paintings bring the cultures of West Africans to life, showing the pre-enslavement history often omitted from classrooms.

One of the things that me and Nikole talk about is theres so much rich history, and culture, and so much joy in these tribes and these people that were stolen from their land, Smith told The 74. You really have to understand all of that to understand how heavy it was, and how tragic it was We really just wanted to show that life.

From his plant-filled Los Angeles home, Smith paired Hannah-Jones and Watsons poetry with family traditions, beautiful hair, dances, imagery that evoked death and spirits. Using a digital speed-sketch style, his illustrations began as monochrome shapes and skeletons in Photoshop, impressions of how he felt after reading and internalizing their verses.

The book hit shelves last fall amid a wave of proposed state laws aimed at preventing students from learning a mythical critical race theory and divisive concepts. In at least four states, legislation attempted to ban the 1619 Project explicitly. So far, Florida has succeeded.

While a vocal minority of lawmakers and parents believe school aged children are too young to grapple with just how violence against Black people was intrinsic to the nations founding, many more yearned for the content. Born on the Water topped bestseller lists as families headed into 2022, looking for ways to talk to children about the country theyll inherit.

Smiths artistic approach seemed a natural fit. In digital paintings, he added layer after layer of color and symbols clouds modeled after picked cotton, the shape of a person sinking underwater, or a green toy tied to a tree, the only sign of life left after colonizers stole a tribe to convey anger and fear in ways young readers could feel without being traumatized by explicit violence.

Long-inspired by Nina Simone to reflect the times, hed balanced trauma and life in childrens illustrations for years, painting Tamir Rice, Elijah McClain and others killed by police.

His second book, My Hair is Poofy and Thats Ok, explored the internalized hatred young Black children develop from racism and microaggressions.

Through his work, which he describes as art as therapy, he tries to help himself and viewers heal the broken bones of society.

For them to say, we have a book about the transatlantic slave trade and slavery, and all of these very heavy things that we as Black people in America, we think about it all the time I felt like thats one of the biggest broken bones in America, he said.

Remember that these werent slaves that were taken, these were brilliant people, and they did some amazing things They knew how to design and build cities, they built this country, and thats why they were stolen, because they were brilliant and good at what they do. We just want to remind people of that, and also how much they fought and resisted and got their freedom back.

And [for] the young folks who are not Black, theres no shame in anything were saying. We want people to grow up having an accurate understanding of what happened in this country. I feel like its really not until we address all of these things openly and honestly that were gonna really grow and move forward as a nation.Nikkolas Smith

Smith blurred linear understandings of time by using symbols across generations, to help young readers understand that [ancestors] vision of the future, their wildest dreams are now embodied in us [were] having to take that mantle and move forward.

And in faces, Smith balanced the world of feelings bound up in the Black experience: from shame, when the protagonist cannot make a family tree beyond three generations, to pride, after her grandmother recounts the rich history of tribes pre-enslavement. Her hair, in Bantu knots, and clothing give reference to past generations.

Ultimately, Smith hopes his work can help the next generation of Black youth have a sense of pride. Over the next few months, hell paint scenes of Ruby Bridges, the first young person to integrate a Southern school in 1960. And next year, hell collaborate with celebrated author Timeka Fryer Brown on a picture book about the Confederate flag.

He expects both will end up on some banned lists.

All we can do is keep putting the truth out there, Smith said, and itll get into the right hands.

All paintings are illustrated by Nikkolas Smith for Born on the Water, a publication of Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers.

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Painting Black History in the Time of Censorship for Young Readers: A Conversation with Nikkolas Smith, Illustrator of 1619 Project's Born on the...

In many ways, the modern audience has grown accustomed to trusting in lies. Weve been suspending our disbelief to enjoy an evening of theatre for millenniawhether were witnessing Medea fly away on a chariot pulled by dragons or turning a blind eye to slapdash producorial edit in the latest episode ofDrag Race. What matters to a modern audience is less about the verisimilitude of the show and more the emotion of the moment, and, in the right light, an illusion can feel as true as anything.

Nicky Beers latest poetry collection,Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes, explores the transformative and necessary power of illusion. This third collection follows Beers 2015 book,The Octopus Game, which examines the fluid and elusive sea creature, among other things.Real Phoniesis a continuation of the idea that subterfuge and fakery exists in the real and natural world, but unlike our cephalopod counterpart, we obtain our disguises from this world and splice them into our identities. Octopuses are masters of camouflage, Beer explains, so camouflage and illusion were something that I was very interested in in [The Octopus Game], and I realized . . . I wanted to keep exploring concepts of deception and illusion. Fans of Beers poetry will note some significant continuity between the two worksMarlene Deitrich appears in both, for exampleas Beer moves us from the seafloor to the mainstage.

InReal Phonies, Beer immediately pulls readers into an amusement park of masquerade (the first poem entitled Drag Day at Dollywood is flush with the fabulous and claustrophobic language of impersonation). What follows is a tour of the funhouse, featuring such notable characters as Dolly Parton, Marlene Deitrich, Batman, and, briefly, David Bowie. Were invited to marvel at these people and the masks they wear in one space, and directed to consider our own masks in the next. Much like gazing into a funhouse mirror, Beers poetry is as equally fascinated with artifice as it is the distorted person underneath it, and readers are often asked to consider these twoi.e., the mask and the person underneathin conversation.

Because, from Beers perspective, our real selves are connected deeply with a myriad of false faces we employ, sometimes subconsciously, in order to live. In the same way that we choose to believe Dolly Partons iconic hair is her own, we have learned to put some trust in certain falsehoods for our own sakes. When asked if there is such a thing as a trustworthy illusion, Beer excitedly replies thatReal Phoniesis an endeavor to examine our relationship with fakery and illusion, and including, I think, self-deception. Whats the degree to which we come to depend on or trust lies that we tell ourselvesaboutourselves? And how do we depend on those lies to navigate or survive the world? Much like the octopus, we learn to disguise ourselves in certain dangerous situations, but unlike the octopus, were far more likely to deceive ourselves in the process.

As is often the case, the truth is often hidden in the details, and readers ofReal Phoniesare privy to the genuine emotions behind Beers marvelous imagery. This book is the first time Im writing explicitly about my mental illness, Beer reveals, describing her experience of performing wellness in her daily life while masking the real depression and anxiety that was causing her pain. Beers poetry captures the strangely backwards way we protect ourselves from outer scrutiny, even when we need help:

Shes been nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of

the concerned line between your doctors eyebrows

as he listened to the giant, sodden moth trapped

between your shoulders, the ruin you carry

around with you like a speech youre always prepared

to give. (from Cathy Dies)

Beyond the desire to seem healthy and happy to the outside world,Real Phoniesspends a significant amount of time contemplating the way in which women and queer people regularly perform to live in a heteronormative, male-dominated world. In one poem, a female speaker confronts Bruce Wayne and laughs at his unoriginal idea to wear a mask in dangerous places: . . . the world is a dark alley / hiding a gun in its mouth. / It has more than enough / reasons to make you/cover your face (Dear Bruce Wayne,). For the outsider, the world is a foreign and often hostile place, and Beers poetry acknowledges these experiences with a mix of delightful humor and deep, delicate sadness.

Real Phoniesis critical of the facades we choose to believe in, sure, but underneath it all is Beers genuine love of performance and the transformative, healing power of suspending disbelief in the right moments. Like the drag queens in the opening poem Drag Day at Dollywood, Beer invites us to join the parade of pretenders for a moment and feel the fantasy (or, at least, to sit back and enjoy the show): Thousands of pairs of Dolly lungs breathe in / gasoline and grease, breathe out glitter.

Real Phonies and Genuine Fakesis available now for pre-order fromMilkweed Editions, and poetry fans in the Denver area can join Nicky Beer atbookbarfor a release party on March 8th. For more information on Nicky Beer, visitnickybeer.com.

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Nicky Beer - Must We Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves? - Lavender Magazine

In Central Florida, in a county named Polk, the The Kite Runner, a bestseller, is in quarantine.

In Flagler County, in Northeast Florida, All Boys Arent Blue, has been pulled from school library shelves.

And in Hillsborough County in the Tampa Bay area, The Bluest Eye was challenged by a parent who felt the novels explicit content was inappropriate for school-aged kids. The author: The late Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize winner and a Pulitzer Prize winner.

While some advocates and lawmakers fear more books will be banned or challenged for telling the stories of LGBTQ people and racial minorities, GOP lawmakers are working to make it easier for parents and community members to weigh in and challenge books available for students in school libraries, potentially taking them off the shelves for weeks at a time or permanently.

Legislation moving through the 2022 legislative session would require that each new book or other material be open for reasonable opportunity for public comments.

That sounds okay, but maybe not. Current book bans and challenges in Florida and across the nation leave some lawmakers and activists concerned that the legislation will lead to an onslaught of removal of books relating to the experience of the LGBTQ community and certain perspectives on history, such as the Holocaust.

In a bill that passed the full House last week, district school boards must report to the Department of Education any material for which the school district received an objection to and report any material that was removed as a result of the objections. Then the department would publish a list of materials that were removed or discontinued as a result of an objection and disseminate the list to school districts for consideration in their selection procedures.

National outlets have reported increased scrutiny on what books are available in school libraries.

In Virginia, several books focused on the experience of LGBTQ teens have been pulled from school library shelves, ABC News reports.

A county in Tennessee banned a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel called Maus by Art Spiegelman from its schools. It depicts the Holocaust through anthropomorphic animals, but was removed for crude language and depictions of nudity, according to CNN.

In Missouri,The Bluest Eye by acclaimed author Toni Morrison, was banned by a local school board, Today reports. The novel tells the story of a young Black girl growing up in the Great Depression. The American Library Association placed Morrisons book in the top ten most challenged books in 2020.

Meanwhile, in Florida, George M. Johnsons book All Boys Arent Blue was pulled from Flagler County Public Schools in December, according to FlaglerLive reports.

Jason Wheeler, a communications staffer with the Northeast Florida school district, confirmed with the Phoenix that as of Monday, Johnsons book is still not available for checkout in Flagler public schools, and its not clear when it could be again, if at all.

The book relays Johnsons experience of growing up as a Black queer man.

It is very interesting, and sometimes just overwhelming to, daily, get Google Alerts of new counties, every single day, removing the book from classrooms while also getting direct messages from students and from parents who are desperately fighting to keep the book in school systems, Johnson said during a virtual press conference Monday.

The press conference was hosted by Free-Speech advocacy group PEN America. The conversation focused on various legislation that members of the LGBTQ community say work together in order to diminish the visibility of LGBTQ people in Florida schools and nationwide, including the Florida Legislatures so-called Dont Say Gay bill.

In the Polk County school district, 16 books have been pulled from middle and high schools for the time being, as district officials evaluate whether to keep them in libraries following complaints from a group called County Citizens Defending Freedom, the Ledger reported late January.

Polk communication staffer Jason Geary told the Phoenix that the 16 books are currently under review and it could be weeks before a decision is made on whether the books will return to Polk school library shelves. Meanwhile, the books are in quarantine, Geary said.

One of the books is I am Jazz, which documents the life of a young transgender girl native to South-Florida. Another is called Two Boys Kissing, which explores the experiences of young gay boys.

The books in this list are not just focused on LGBTQ issues either. Two are Toni Morrison books, The Bluest Eye and Pulitzer-prize winning Beloved.

The Kite Runner is on the list as well. It was on the the top 10 most challenged book in 2017, according to the American Library Association. The book includes sexual violence.

The Phoenix reached out to County Citizens Defending Freedom (CCDF-USA), a group describing itself on its website as an organization that provides the tools and support needed to empower citizens to defend their freedom and liberty, and place local government back into the hands of the people. As patriots have done throughout Americas history.

The group has not yet responded to the Phoenix. Heres what the national branch of County Citizens Defending Freedom said about the situation in Polk County schools, in a written statement on Jan. 31:

County Citizens Defending Freedom has received an overwhelming positive response for bringing to light content within library books available in Polk County public schools that is explicit and inappropriate for minors.

The statement continues: The family values and virtues that shape a child should be and are developed in the home, and the content found in these books stand in opposition to those very core values. Parents should have confidence in sending their children to school without worry that undesirable, even unthinkable material is available to their children in their school libraries; especially books that potentially violate Floridas decency and child protection statutes.

The current bill in the Legislature about potential book bans and censorship is HB 1467, sponsored by Republican Rep. Sam Garrison. Hes an attorney and represents part of Clay County in Northeast Florida.

What this bill is seeking to do is provide transparency to reinforce, for parents, the security and the confidence of knowing that when they drop their kids off at the local library and be comfortable of where they are. They want to encourage their kids to go to the library. We want people to be talking about libraries, Garrison said last week on the House floor.

Jon Harris Maurer, Public Policy Director with Equality Florida, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy group, told the Phoenix:

But our fear is how we see this bill potentially being manipulated by anti-LBGTQ extremists.

Maurer noted that public comments in support of the House bill and the Senate version wanted LGBTQ materials removed from classrooms.

He continued: We know that these bills also have a chilling effect and can make schools less likely to want to have those materials that are supportive to the LGBTQ community because they dont want to face these challenges and liabilities from the anti-LGBTQ opponents who may try to use the system just to object to those materials that they dont like.

The House passed the bill 78-40, generally on party lines. Its now headed to the Senate for deliberation.

Here are some of the other components of the bill:

All elementary schools would have to publish in a searchable format a list of all materials in the school library or on a required reading list.

The bill works to integrate public participation in the material selection process for school districts, meaning that parents and community members would be more included when school districts are considering new books and instructional materials.

The bill includes meetings that must be open to the public when a district is selecting books and other materials.

During debate on HB 1467 last week, Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando worried that more books representing members of the LGBTQ community will be targeted.

I agree with the fundamental concept that parents have the right to control what their child reads. But they do not have the right to control what other parents children are reading, Smith said. And lets be real, most of these movements to ban books in our schools, which should trouble all of us, are mostly movements to ban books about us. And by us, I mean LGBTQ Floridians, LGBTQ students, LGBTQ families.

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Amid fear and censorship, FL school districts are pulling books off shelves in public schools - Florida Phoenix

Last month, for example, the Indiana House of Representatives approved a bill not yet signed into law that would limit what teachers can say regarding race, history and politics in the states classrooms. Under the law, schools could be held liable for mentioning any one of several divisive concepts, including the idea that any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish responsibility, or any other form of psychological distress on account of the individuals sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, national origin or political affiliation.

The bill would allow parents to allege a violation, file a complaint, sue and even collect damages (up to $1,000). It would also, in the name of transparency, create curriculum review committees for parents and require schools and teachers to post lists of material on websites for parents to inspect.

In South Carolina, lawmakers have introduced a bill known as the Freedom from Ideological Coercion and Indoctrination Act that would prohibit any state-funded institution from stating that a group or an individual, by virtue of his or her race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, heritage, culture, religion, or political belief is inherently racist, sexist, bigoted, ignorant, biased, fragile, oppressive, or contributive to any oppression, whether consciously or unconsciously. If signed into law, this bill could make it illegal, for instance, for teachers and college professors in the state to criticize members of a white supremacist group since that affiliation might count as a political belief.

Schools that repeatedly distort or misrepresent verifiable historical facts or omit relevant and important context or advertise or promote ideologies or sociopolitical causes or organizations could face a loss of state funding, state accreditation or tax-exempt status. As for what these violations would actually look like? The bill does not say.

The most disturbing efforts to monitor schools and teachers for wrong-think involve actual surveillance. Bills introduced in Iowa and Mississippi would install classroom cameras that would stream lessons over the internet for anyone to observe. The Iowa bill, which died in committee this week, would have forced schools to place cameras in all K-12 classrooms, except for physical education and special-needs classes. Teachers and other staff members who obstructed cameras or failed to keep them in working order would face fines of up to 5 percent of their weekly pay for each infraction.

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Opinion | You Just Cant Tell the Truth About America Anymore - The New York Times

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) After Chinese subtitlers self-censored by replacing the word kill with suck in the American series Hannibal, inadvertently making suggestive dialogues, Taiwans Ministry of Culture (MOC) discussed the value of freedom by reviewing the countrys own history of censorship under authoritarianism.

In a Facebook post, the MOC wrote that while the public may find the over-censorship of Hannibal a funny topic, the incident reflects a serious issue. The freedom to use whichever word, to look back upon whichever period in history, and to create without restriction should not be subject to authoritys inspection and suppression.

The MOC added, This is a shared belief and value in Taiwan as well as our predecessors deep realization and historical experience. From the present, free standpoint, we hope that everyone can remember history without freedom and cherish what you hold in your hands."

The MOC wrote that in Taiwan, creators also lived with censored speeches and publications under authoritarianism. It mentioned the Popeye Incident of 1968 as a symbolic example, in which author Bo Yang (), who translated the Popeye the Sailor Man comics, was accused of alluding to Chiang Kai-shek () and Chiang Ching-kuo () and sentenced to prison.

Another example is the upcoming 228 Peace Memorial Day, which commemorates the painful time in history over 70 years ago that survivors dared not discuss, textbooks loathed to mention, and the government blacklisted as sensitive terms in the past, according to the MOC.

Continued here:
Taiwan Ministry of Culture responds to China's censorship of word 'kill' - Taiwan News