when he's talking about "sucking dick" with his child there. Seems a bit hypocritical.

The passage in the book seemed mild to me compared to the dad's words. I don't think that young man was scarred by reading that passage.

And what has changed medically concerning masks?

Nothing really changed. The issue is that too many Americans were too stupid and self-absorbed to put a mask on, too self-absorbed to adhere to an implied social contract to take care of one another, so as a country, we just kind of gave up because it was a losing battle.

less people were going to hospital or dying.

As long as it’s somebody of authority saying it’s ok not to wear a mask then I don’t think we should bash him for not wearing a mask. I forgot about masks as I haven’t seen anybody wearing one soccer the CDC lifted it.

That's my entire point.

Too many couldn't be bothered to wear a mask, or brought politics into the issue. So what's the sense of having a mandate?

I haven't stopped wearing an N95, and neither have a substantial minority of people in my area.

That’s amazing that your area is still wearing masks even if a minority only are doing so. Very responsible areas.

...but it seems to me if the dad was concerned about his son reading that passage, he wouldn'thave had his son stand there and read that passage.

unless he develops a conscience!

an agenda and because of him has seared in the mind of his son
what that passage was about in preparation of the presentation.
ironically kids hear and see more adult content on tv and other media.
the dad said he doesn't work anymore- he now appears to be a full time bully.

no one made his son check out this book.

Then he says: "It's the job of the parents!" I cried with laughter!

in these times we really need to keep our sense of humor

How did the book get into the library in the first place? What was its title? And finally, what is the "more graphic version?"

... the father is more vulgar than the book! The book doesn't bother me much... an 11-year-old will find it momentarily interesting, but there is no lasting appeal. Maybe giggling over it with a friend, then back to Lego-land. I think there is more interesting "forbidden" stuff on the Internet. The kid should not be allowed to look at daddy's phone!

The phrase you used "a sexually explicit passage that is obvious inappropriate for kids to be reading" bothers me. I don't accept the term 'obvious inappropriate' as legitimate. Every child develops their intellectual and emotional sexuality at their own rate. Middle school is a time of sexual awakening, the beginning of puberty. The child in the video seems to be reading the passage with great ease, comfort and confidence - no hesitation or embarrassment. Based on that alone, I would surmise that the explicit sexuality of this book is not what he and his father found objectionable. Rather, the fact that it was a non-binary sexual encounter was most likely the objectionable content.

Librarians, teachers, board members do not read every single book that is put on the shelves.
Local school boards may not have created explicit guidelines for librarians to judge content. We are all human, we are all prone to error. Is this a book that should be on the shelf of a middle school library? That depends on the demographics in the community. In a small rural community of almost entirely white cis gendered people, what would be the point of including it? In a diverse suburban/urban school system I'm sure many students and parents would welcome it.

As for the father, apparently he is homophobic and controlling. The question I would have for him is, if his son discovers that his sexuality is non-binary, will the father be supportive or obstructive? Where would he want his son to learn about the complexities of his different (from his parents) sexuality?

grown-up than others, have more awareness of sexuality, be more physically and emotionally mature, but I do believe the book is inappropriate for most kids of that age, and to me it is obviously inappropriate in the school library. And what is the age range in that school? Are there younger kids? If the kids were senior, fine. But look at the other possible exposure kids have -- Internet, sexting, TV, movies, video games.

Maybe the books at least need an explicit warning on the covers, so kids who want to find sexual content can for titilation, self-guidance, or whatever, and those who would be shocked can avoid it. My wife says the Judy Blume books were very explicit, like Forever, and they were published decades ago. That wasn't in her school library, but all her friends read it, she says, and they all had sex because that book made them feel like there was something wrong with them if they didn't. Why would that need to be in a school library?

I agree about the kid.father relationship. If he's not straight, it's probably going to be very difficult. Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

But I certainly would’ve read it. 😊

and maybe it's just me but the dad seems to be hell bent on banning the book but not so much about having a sitdown discussion with his 11 year old son about sexuality.

sexually explicit books when I was in middle school (I read "Andersonville" at age 11). I had an unabridged dictionary to look up meanings of things I didn't know. The book is recommended for ages 14 and up, but I feel there are many kids seeking answers to their sexual identity at middle school age.

It isn't "obviously inappropriate for an 11 year old to read" to me. When I was ten and eleven I read plenty of books that many would consider inappropriate. My parents believed in reading, had tons of books around, and never stopped me from reading anything I picked up.

Also, my elementary school was in a former high school building. The librarians left a lot of books on the shelves. I loved finding books in that room.

If that kid happens to be queer - or knows anyone who happens to be queer - then that book is probably one of the most important things he could read at the age of eleven. Of course, fascist authoritarians wouldn't agree.

I haven't read it, but I read reviews and a long excerpt. I think that is appropriate too.

It's the parent's job.

If you don't want your child to read something, then screen what they're reading and return books yourself if they check out one that doesn't meet with your approval.

It's called personal responsibility. Stop braying about it and try practicing it for a change.

Corporations and rich religious fanatics are trying to take away American freedoms.

If the dad really didn’t want his kid reading it, he wouldn’t be encouraging him to read it.

Most of us read much much worse when we were that age.

Her stuff is chocablock full of 'sexually explicit passage that is obvious inappropriate for kids to be reading' as well.

Yeah, what a fucking hero he is.

or otherwise promoting clicking on a monetized YouTube account for BlazeTV.

In this day and age, with all the internet and TV distractions, it's a good thing if a child reads a book voluntarily. Any book. They're worried about the wrong things.

As a child, I don't recall voluntarily checking out books for pleasure until I was in high school. It's possible that I did, but I don't recall. When I was in elementary and middle school school, I found a ton of books around my house and my grandparent's house. Most of them were completely inappropriate for my age group. Nobody noticed I was reading them. Lol. I'm talking books about pimps, depicting graphic sex etc. All it did was make me a stronger reader and writer. I didn't start having sex or become a whore or anything like that just because I read that in a book. 🙄

If these parents are so effing worried about their children reading graphic books, they should start with their own bookshelves. The chances of your child renting a book from the library (that's not tied to a school assignment) are slim to none until they're at least 14. After that, the focus should be on making sure they're not spending their time on hate sites or members of a cyber cult.

On a side note, had my parents cleaned up all the bookshelves to make sure I didn't read inappropriate books, there would have been nothing to fill that gap. I wouldn't have read anything and that might have changed the trajectory of my life (in a negative way).