Stop banning books, you cowards

It worries me no end that there are attempts to ban books, and this is clearly the act of a cowardly bully. As all bullies know best, they are attempting to coerce others by using their power to silence others. What better place for a bully to start than in schools and libraries.

What troubles me the most about these attempts to ban books is if you look at the books they are trying to ban. As author Laurie Halse Anderson points out, they only want to ban books "that are written by people of color, people who aren't Christian, any books that are discussing the honest history of the United States... because they want to go back to a world in which white, heterosexual, cisgender, Christian people can feel like they own everything".

And Laurie Halse Anderson would know more about this than most, as her book 'Speak' has been included in the list of books being banned.

Laurie adds that 'censorship has nothing to do with protecting children. It has to do with protecting adults who don't want to have difficult conversations with those children".

Laurie will be discussing this at a virtual panel discussion on 18 March, and I will certainly be listening in.

Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC
Psychotherapist, author of Beyond the Blue, and LGBTQ+ advocate ​
#beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook