... you generally know where they are coming from.
"We must protect our children from sexual grooming and pedophilia. The sexualization agenda is robbing children of their innocence."
"I am a very concerned person who has done research on the subject of the LGBTQ ideology" .
Thus spaketh Lorraine Hackenschmidt, described in a CBC report as a constituent and grandmother making a presentation to the Brandon, Manitoba school board trustees last Monday to express her desire to have school libraries remove objectionable materials, materials she fears will taint the children and lead them into 'unnatural choices' in life.
You can watch Hakenschmidt's presentation here, starting at the 50-minute mark. I don't find her entire presentation objectionable, especially regarding puberty-blockers and gender-reassignment surgery at an early age; however. in her desperation to prove her points about the danger of books, she starts quoting 'authorities' such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, not a man known for political moderation, and the National Post, not exactly a balanced source of news or views.
Unsurprisingly, Hakenschmidt's views are challenged by actual experts.
Brandon Sexuality Education Resource Centre program manager Kerri Judd says it's very concerning to see people asking for LGBTQ books to be removed — especially because many children rely on their school to be a safe space of inclusion and respect.
"We're seeing this in many parts of the province. And if we look at what's going on in the United States, I think that it's not that big of a surprise ... I'm just disappointed that it's a conversation that's happening within the community I live," she said.
"It is completely inaccurate and false and actually really disgusting that people associate gender identity to pedophilia," Judd said. "It's a false narrative … and so it has nothing to do with one's gender identity."
Another expert opines,
Students must see themselves represented in school resources for their well-being, says Patty Douglas, a professor in the faculty of education at Brandon University Faculty of Education. Douglas says human sexual diversity, neurodiversity and all kinds of diversity are normal, and children, just like adults, have the right to be able to see themselves represented.
"I think that bullying ... of kids who are different is ubiquitous. It happens all the time, every day. You know, educational trauma happens every day for kids who come from, you know, non-white cultures, from non-normative family arrangements and this will just worsen that," Douglas said.
"School then becomes something to survive rather than thrive in."
And the University of Manitoba's Sarah Hannon, a political scientist,
says the call to remove books in Brandon shows two issues coming together: protecting transgender kids and the queer community more broadly, combined with a more general point about book banning.
"They're not pornographic materials. They are sex education materials. And schools should be in the business of educating people about their own bodies and about their sexuality," Hannan said. "That is a crucial part of ... everyone's well-being."
Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont condemned the book ban request at the Legislative Assembly Wednesday, calling it disgusting for its "terrible accusations" against educators and librarians.
"You don't get converted to being 2SLGBTQ by reading a book," Lamont said. "I want my children to be safe and this includes being safe from extremists who want to take away our freedom of choice and freedom to read."
He called on the Progressive Conservatives to take a stance against the proposal.
Where will this presentation lead to? It is too early to say, but here is something worth bearing in mind: books, knowledge and learning are never subversive. Ignorance, and actions based on it, are.
