Sunday, July 11, 2021

Are Muslims Going to Join Calls for Censorship in Public School Libraries? I Hope Not


In Columbia County, Georgia, where I live, the daily newspaper in neighboring Augusta, Georgia reported that a resident has been advocating that the Board of Education remove Drama by Raina Telgemeier from its middle school libraries and update its media policy to inform parents that "Media Centers and Teacher Libraries may provide material containing sensitive topics such as sexuality, homosexuality, and/or transgender ideology."

I have previously reported on my county's censorship of reading materials in public schools (more here). I oppose discrimination against LGBTQ people and don't believe the party line in our religion about a lot matters related to sexuality. I'm also opposed to the people who typically advocate for imposing morality. Nevertheless, before spouting off, I bought and read the book.

Most of the book is about drama programs in school, i.e. putting on plays. The characters work hard, do varied tasks and cooperation and teamwork are essential. I had for some reason disliked the drama students in high school. Reading this made me regret my prejudices and wish I'd at least given it a shot.

Tuesday, July 06, 2021

Hind Makki Reviews Nida Manzoor's "We Are Lady Parts" on PeacockTV

I enjoyed Nida Manzoor's We Are Lady Parts on Peacock TV, but I didn't have the words to explain to readers of this blog why I did. Thankfully, Hind Makki did find the words!

If you mute the electric guitar, most of us will recognize these women from our own lives. But why would you want to lower the volume?
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