Natalia Chi
here we go again. Here we have the classic moral panic, a recurring theme in American public life.
Remember the McMartin kindergarten trial in Los Angeles in the 1980s? Filled with sensational media coverage, the investigation and two criminal trials ultimately lasted seven years and cost about $15 million, making it the longest criminal trial in US history. A total of seven childcare workers were charged with 321 cases of sexual abuse of about 40 children.
Inspired by true believers with anatomically correct dolls, young children as young as kindergarten are flushed to the toilet before being abused by flying witches, hot air balloons, dinosaurs and famous movie stars. Told amazing stories involving secret tunnels and more that have been accessible.
In the end, not a single case of child sexual abuse was proven or convicted, but some of those accused spent years in prison. All charges were eventually dropped. Ultimately, her mother, whose accusation triggered the initial investigation, was diagnosed with acute paranoid schizophrenia and died of alcohol poisoning.
Lawrence Wright’s wonderful book, Memories of Satan, tells an equally terrifying tale of “memory recovery syndrome,” which rocked Olympia, Washington around the same time. Father-daughter incest, orgies, unholy rituals, mass infanticide, etc. Under the right circumstances, almost anything that could be implied seems to be persuaded to confess.
If all of this sounds like a reminder of QAnon’s cult belief that Hillary Clinton conducts murderous Satanic rituals in the basement (no basement) of a pizza restaurant in Washington, then pay attention. is needed. It’s hard to say exactly why Americans are so prone to recurring episodes of collective hallucinations. But Christian fundamentalists seem to have something in common.
Here we come to Moms for Liberty and, yes, their ardent campaign for public librarians. It’s not clear what exactly they mean by the word “freedom”. They are censors and banners of the book with great passion and determination. Rather, it resembles the Junior Antisex League in George Orwell’s 1984.
Near Little Rock, Arkansas, Republican women in Saline County even put up signs declaring war on “adult libraries.” Judging by the examples cited on relevant websites, most are R designations at best. They’re mostly serious books like Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human. Available in the “Young Adults” section of the library.
“The opinions/instructions in this book are directly and continually opposed to Christianity and the Word of God,” the reader is told. The group accuses county librarians of promoting “LGBTQ issues” and mocks them for serving “the people of Sayline County, not the interests of the people of California.”
California, which gave Ronald Reagan to the country, is now synonymous with Sodom and Gomorrah among Republican elected officials.
I have no idea how many young women in Saline County got pregnant while in high school because they didn’t understand what was once called “the facts of life.” But I can assure you that they learn more about sex in a pickup truck than in a public library.
Seriously, how many free librarians do you know? It would be difficult to imagine a less destructive collective.
Even admitting that the system known as the “Drag Queen Story Hour” is the stupidest example of liberal stupidity since “exempting the police from funding,” middle school librarians— Of all people — the notion that they’ve devoted their careers to “grooming” their children for sexual purposes…well, it’s too ridiculous to talk about.
Furthermore, if you follow the news, you will find that it is the church, not the library, where all the activity is taking place. Hardly a week goes by around here without a preacher being arrested for sexual misconduct.
Well, so do coaches and English teachers.
For myself, the sexiest book I read in my distant youth was Peyton Place, a scandalous 1950s bestseller that opened the lid on a small New England town. Of course I didn’t borrow it from the library. Paperbacks were everywhere.
In this novel, sexuality was portrayed as attractive, euphoric, ubiquitous and dangerous. I’m actually a little scared. If anything, women were worse than men. Few people seemed to pretend to be them in Peyton Place after the lights went down.
That’s why Jeannie C. Reilly referred to the novel in the classic country song “Harper Valley PTA.” “It’s just a little Peyton Place/And you’re all Harper Valley hypocrites.”
I can’t help but sing this song every time Moms for Liberty takes the stage.
Anyway, I can tell you what I think these pious crusaders do when they get home after reading a horny passage from a library book aloud to an audience of fellow Holy Housewives. . (Assuming they go home instead of checking into the Nortel Motel for a few hours.) But never mind. Imagine yourself. I’m sure you can.
Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of The Hunt for the President.
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