Well, That Was Fast

In today's episode of, "Don't say the quiet part outside," after an uproar over two of its members suggested that they burn controversial books, and the ensuing uproar, the Spotsylvania school board has reversed itself on banning books: 

A school board in Virginia has reversed a recent decision to remove “sexually explicit” books from school libraries after the move stirred community outrage and drew harsh national criticism — especially over two board members’ apparent suggestion to burn the books.

The Spotsylvania County School Board voted 5 to 2 Tuesday to rescind its decision, a week after two parents complained about inappropriate content. At the Nov. 8 meeting, the board unanimously directed Schools Superintendent S. Scott Baker to reconsider whether every sexually explicit book in school libraries should be kept or permanently removed — forcing a team of about three dozen staffers, including all of the district’s librarians, to start poring through tens of thousands of titles.

Board members Kirk Twigg and Rabih Abuismail voted against rescinding the decision.

Twigg and Abuismail were the two who said that the books should be burned.

On Monday, dozens of students, parents and teachers turned out to show their displeasure with the board. Some hoisted signs reading “Give back the books!” and “Books not bonfires,” according to the Free Lance-Star.

Many Spotsylvanians spoke during a public comment period that stretched for more than four hours. A high-schooler told the board that censorship is “contagious and leads to much worse,” according to the Free Lance-Star. A county librarian added, “If you have a worldview that can be undone by a novel, let me suggest that the problem is not the novel,” the Free Lance-Star reported.

Close to midnight, after public comment wound down, board member Baron Braswell proposed that the previous vote to remove sexually explicit texts “be rescinded immediately,” Braswell said in an interview, “and that was basically it.”

It's good that the Talibaptists are such a toxic mix of arrogance and stupidity.

If they had just not talked about burning books, the story would have been buried on page 6, but they had to say what they honestly believed, because they were incapable of understanding that those beliefs are thoroughly repugnant.