Parents fighting schools to protect their kids are heroes, not book-banners

Some of the books on school library shelves is so pornographic that parents are cut off at school board meetings if they try to show the material or read it aloud.

Bethany Mandel is the editor of a children’s book series Heroes of Liberty, a contributing writer for Deseret News and a homeschooling mother of five children. Find her on Twitter: @BethanyShondark and on Instagram: @bethanyshondark.

Librarians are putting themselves on the front lines of a culture war, often shooting the first shots, and then bemoaning that they’ve found themselves under fire. But here’s the thing: Libraries have turned themselves into battlegrounds for these arguments, and librarians, one of the most radically progressive professions, have made them that way. 

If you’re hosting drag queen story hour and stocking literal pornography on the shelves, you’ve surrendered the right to just ask for a quiet and respectful conversation about how you’re doing your job.