Jacob Ogles
An Orange County School Board member classified the battle over books in school libraries as a fight against evil during a press conference in Orlando that included Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Orange County School Board member Alicia Farrant, who pushed for books to be removed from school libraries before being elected last year, defended the removal of some books while denying the censoring of others.
She also spoke in epic moral terms about the decisions regarding what appears on shelves, tearing up as she quoted from the Bible.
“What we are seeing here in our country is actually a nation that is losing its morals and turning away from and turning its back on God, perverting the innocence of children, pushing sex, perversion and inappropriate content younger and younger,” Farrant said.
“When we look at the big picture, this isn’t so much about books. This battle is between good and evil that is targeting our children. And I believe the only way to steer us back is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14.”
That’s a verse about seeking repentance: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Farrant was active in her local chapter of Moms for Liberty before winning elected office on the School Board. She lobbied to have Genderqueer, a graphic novel by Maia Kobabe recounting the author’s adolescence and ultimate nonbinary identity, removed.
She supported the controversial policy in place in Florida now that allows parents to challenge books. Notably, Gov. DeSantis has championed that policy. But at the press conference with Farrant in attendance, he discussed ways to curb some challenges to books he views as political stunts.
Farrant said the narrative around challenges was incorrect.
“The narrative being pushed is that parents are banning any book based on race, religion or gender, but that is simply not true,” she said. “The media and extreme left-wing groups wants you to believe that we are banning, we’re trying to ban and remove classics, like Charlotte’s Web, when in fact we are removing books like Let’s Talk About It, which is completely sexually explicit.”
Tina Descovich, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, similarly blamed media for creating a false narrative around book challenges. She at one point pointed to reporters at the press conference.
“We have a crisis in America in public education, and you, the media, in the back of the room and around this country, all you can do is be obsessed with book bans that are not happening,” she said. “We the parents have had enough.”
Watchdog groups like PEN America found Florida leads the nation in the number of individual books banned in school.
“Over 40 percent of all book bans occurred in school districts in Florida,” reads a report the group published last year. “Across 33 school districts, PEN America recorded 1,406 book ban cases in Florida, followed by 625 bans in Texas, 333 bans in Missouri, 281 bans in Utah, and 186 bans in Pennsylvania.”
But Descovich said challenges to books have removed inappropriate content from schools.
She also accused 60 Minutes of refusing to air an interview with her that she believes would debunk the book banning narrative. She said the book challenges happening in Florida involve parents in decisions about schools.
“It takes more than good teachers in good schools and communities,” she said. “It takes everybody in this state and in this country to care about this issue. Media step up. Cover the fact that we are in a literacy crisis.”
12 comments
John Lentini
February 15, 2024 at 12:22 pm
This lady should worry about the rape and incest from the book she reveres: And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her. – Bible : 2 Samuel (13) : 11 – 14.
John
February 15, 2024 at 12:31 pm
Moms for Lesbians
FLPatriot
February 15, 2024 at 12:32 pm
We don’t want your crazy religious BS indoctrinating our kids. Keep that crap at home.
Silly Wabbit
February 15, 2024 at 1:11 pm
She kwazy.
Dont Say FLA
February 15, 2024 at 2:31 pm
Her MFL group is more aptly named Moms For Homeschooling Is Too Much Work
My Take
February 17, 2024 at 3:15 am
Moms For Homeschooling Is Too Much Work
===
Bingo!
FortmyersLena
February 15, 2024 at 3:49 pm
moms for
Lies Ignorance Bigotry Evil Racism Toxicity YouthIndoctrination
Michael K
February 15, 2024 at 4:12 pm
You keep your “religious beliefs” to yourself. Your right to believe as you wish does not extend to you having the right to force your personal views on everyone else. Don’t like a book, don’t read it and don’t tell I can’t or my child can’t.
Josh Green
February 15, 2024 at 4:34 pm
Just a reminder that Moms for Liberty founder Bridget Ziegler has had gay sex on video, and her husband is a rapist.
Bwj
February 15, 2024 at 5:12 pm
They are banning books. They don’t want to admit it., so they deflect.
Phil Morton
February 15, 2024 at 8:46 pm
Books on three-ways are welcome at all Moms For Liberty libraries.
Dont Say FLA
February 19, 2024 at 10:23 am
When your reasoning for anything at all is something to do with your religion, you should be reasoning about some topic at your home or your place of worship.
Ban all the books you want from your apartment or condo or house and from your church library or synagogue library or mosque library or temple library or whatever worship you’re in to’s library .
Just leave everybody else out your cute little land of make believe. Other folks don’t all subscribe to your subscriptions, even though in your own cute little bubble it might feel that way to you and folks in your bubble might tell you that and they might also tell you that everybody outside your bubble is trying to doom you and your bubble blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
When you’re in a group that says all similar groups are wrong and are cults and your group is the only correct group and you better stay away from people who are not in your group except when you’re actively trying to pull them into your group, you are in a cult.
If you were raised in the cult, it can be really hard to see it as a cult, and lots of folks who do grow up realize what’s actually going on with their cult, they keep up with it because they start deriving certain other benefits from their cult, “everlasting life” not among them, but three ways and coercion are.
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