In a recent televised debate on MSNBC, host Joy Reid engaged in a heated discussion with Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, regarding the ongoing national controversy over the availability of certain books in public schools.
Reid, a liberal commentator, initiated the conversation by questioning Justice, a vocal advocate for "parental rights," on whether "liberal" parents, "African American" parents, and "LGBTQ" parents are entitled to the same rights. Justice responded affirmatively, stating that "every parent" possesses these rights.
The discussion escalated when Reid queried why a small group of activist parents, such as those affiliated with Moms for Liberty, should have the authority to determine the reading material for tens of thousands of children. Justice defended this by suggesting that these parents likely reviewed the content of the books, which often contain sexually explicit and graphic material.
Justice refuted Reid's assertion that books were being "banned," stating, "No one is banning books. Write the book, print the book, publish the book, put the book in the public library, sell the book, right? We're talking about a public school library."
She further argued that children do not have unrestricted internet access at school, and the content in the books that parents are concerned about mirrors the content that children cannot access online. Justice questioned why there were no protests for 'freeing the internet.'
Reid proceeded to mention books allegedly removed from schools, including "The Diary of Anne Frank," "Gender Queer," and "Martin Luther King and the March on Washington." Justice clarified that Moms For Liberty does not have a "national book list" it opposes, emphasizing that parents should seek information about the content in the books from their children's school library.
The MSNBC host suggested that parents are targeting books by extracting content out of context using the website Book Looks, which relies on keyword searches. Justice retorted, "In what context is a strap-on dildo acceptable for public schools? Tell me what the context around a strap-on dildo or the rape of a minor child by a teen."
The debate became more heated, with Reid repeatedly questioning why liberal parents do not have the right to keep certain books in schools that conservative parents are targeting. Justice responded, "Again, we're talking about incest, rape, and pedophilia."
Reid countered, "Each parent has to decide what is appropriate for their child. So I want you to answer what is your right to tell a parent who wants their child to feel seen by this story? Why don't they have the right as a parent to say, My child can have access to this?"
The only point of agreement between Reid and Justice was the idea of having an "opt-out form" available at schools for parents who do not want their children to borrow books from the library without parental permission. Justice referred to this as a "wonderful step in the right direction."
Justice suggested, "Maybe we can just put all the books with all the graphic sexual content," but was interrupted by Reid, who accused Moms For Liberty of reading graphic material at school board meetings.
"Joy, this is a disingenuous conversation," Justice retorted. "America used to understand that there's a thing called age-appropriate content."
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