this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2023
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[–] [email protected] 172 points 11 months ago (2 children)

“ Burkhardt's appearance was promoted by SkyTree Book Fairs, a newly formed organization marketing itself as "an alternative to the sexually explicit content distributed in Scholastic's book fairs."”

Hmmm, so this was a marketing ploy?

[–] [email protected] 133 points 11 months ago (2 children)

She's literally their marketing officer

[–] [email protected] 49 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Why would anyone listen to this degenerate porn-addled lady.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

To be fair, "Degenerate Porn-Addled Lady" is probably really cool.

This woman, however, is not DPAL and wants to ban books, because she likes the completely unrelated thing: porn. If that's all it takes, I like pizza, so we should ban the Bible.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Sadly, they did:

Burkhardt's gambit has already had an impact. The Conroe school board, after listening to her story, voted to restrict access to Drama, the Scholastic book featuring a kiss, from all students in the 8th grade and below. One of the school board members, Melissa Dungan, suggested replacing Scholastic with SkyTree Book Fairs. "All glory to God," Burkhardt posted in response to the news.

I hope Scholastic sues them into oblivion.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 11 months ago (1 children)

What an embarrassing thing to put on the resumé

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[–] [email protected] 94 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Yeah, a marketing ploy by a fascist organization:

While SkyTree Book Fairs presents itself as an independent non-profit organization, it appears to be a hastily assembled offshoot of Brave Books, which publishes children's books by right-wing pundits and pseudo-celebrities.

Fuckin gross.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago

And there it is, ayup. These people are doing quite the full court press to drag us back into the 50s.

(1950s? Or 1850s. You decide)

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

Scholastic should sue the living shit out of all of them.

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[–] [email protected] 104 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Wait till she actually reads the Bible. She's gonna be sooooo horny after that I tell ya.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 11 months ago (3 children)

If a simple kiss gives her a porn addiction what does she think of what Lot's daughters did? Worse than a damn Folgers commercial

[–] [email protected] 23 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I love using that story to counter the "modern books are smut, have kids read the Bible" folks. Either that or the story of Dinah.

To those who don't know it. Dinah was raped. Her rapist decided he wanted to marry her and, being such a "nice guy," asked her brothers for permission. They agreed, but only if he and all men in the town were circumcised. The guy agreed and, being the prince, ordered all men to get circumcised. When all the men were "indisposed," the brothers came in, killed all the men, took the women and children as slaves, and took all their possessions.

Their father, Jacob, was angry with how they acted because they "caused trouble" and it could result in other tribes attacking them. Apparently, he was fine with his daughter being raped because the story just moves on to other things.

So this is just a normal everyday kid's story with rape, theft, and murder! Perfectly acceptable for any child to read because at least two guys didn't kiss!!!

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Ezekiel 23:20 is gonna blow her mind.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Whoa, whoa, TIL the Catholics have translated that verse to say their THRUSTS were like stallions', but every translation I grew up with clearly specified that their emissions/their ejaculate was like horses'. What gives? Which is it!?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It's penises and semen all the way down.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago
[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

There is enough magic in the world for it to be both. Let me have this?

Please?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Check out Song of Solomon, it's literally straight-up smut.

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (5 children)

So she's not even objecting to LGBT+ content specifically? She's against all kissing in books? So no Snow White? No Frog Prince?

[–] [email protected] 40 points 11 months ago

Y'all Qaeda

[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago (2 children)

It's likely just a nothing excuse to ban the scholastic book fair and replace it with the "faith based children's" books company mentioned in the article.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

When queer people said that they’d be coming for y’all’s romantic expression next we really didn’t expect it to be so dang quick

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

No bible, even, but we all know that consistency is never a problem for these dopes.

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Of course it's a plant by a right-wing org.

Scholastic fairs were amazing when I was in school. Good to see that they are still in operation.

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (8 children)

Reminder that "porn addiction" is not a thing. Sexual addiction is, porn addiction was invented by conservative/religious weirdos who think masturbation is "sinful." Religions are especially glib about calling things "porn and addiction" without justification. They want you to think you're sick, so they can provide you the "cure."

Just because you enjoy looking at porn and/or masturbating regularly doesn't mean you have a sexual addiction. If you have trouble maintaining employment or relationships because of your habits, you might, and you should talk it over with a secular licensed psychologist to make that determination and decide the best way to address it.

Edit: for anyone that wants to take umbrage at the fact that "sex addiction" isn't in the latest DSM-V from 2013, here's a 2019 review from psychology scholars: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C44&q=porn+addiction&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&t=1701288070891&u=%23p%3DNjIPuUqk95kJ

And one from 2020: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=11094516847889822262&as_sdt=5,44&sciodt=0,44&hl=en#d=gs_qabs&t=1701288571080&u=%23p%3Dz2RDDmDZK2AJ

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 11 months ago (2 children)

The Conroe school board, after listening to her story, voted to restrict access to Drama, the Scholastic book featuring a kiss, from all students in the 8th grade and below.

Bruh, in 8th grade the girl sitting next to me in science class told me she liked the smell of my pubescent BO and offered to blow me under the lab bench. Also in sex ed I had a very clear view of some girl giving her boyfriend a foot job under the table. Also 9/11 happened that year. I'll give you three guesses which one was the most traumatic.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)

she liked the smell of my pubescent BO and offered to blow me under the lab bench. Also in sex ed I had a very clear view of some girl giving her boyfriend a foot job under the table

that's not sexualizing kids, though. it's only sexualizing kids if it's queer.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Don't worry, everyone got called a fag at least once a week. I'm sure none of us ended up gay. Also there was one black kid and he got arrested for weed.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

oh it's not been so long that I've forgotten that being a cis boy in school consists 99% of shouting about how everyone except you is gay. "the lady doth protest a lot and is therefore probably telling the truth" and all

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

Damn, I went to the wrong school.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

So apparently this woman works for a competing (fringe right wing) book publisher. In which case Scholastic might have grounds to sue.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 11 months ago

Way to admit your mind is as strong as wet paper.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

She (didn't) got better

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (3 children)

It's a slippery slope from learning that love and romance exists to porn addiction and blowing homeless dudes in an alley. This is why we must never teach children that affection exists. Only hate.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Surprisingly, that book was not one of the Captain Underpants series

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

One time I read a book with the word "the" in it. Man, the dark places that took me. (/s if not obvious).

Where on earth do the book-banning nutjobs find these other nutjobs?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

Wherever home-schoolers congregate, I imagine.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

Lmao. For me, I just have a love for those anatomical books that peal back a layer, everytime you turn the page.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

Jesus that's a slippery slope

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Debilitating addictions are an illness. Should we kill all of the bees because some people are severely allergic? I can understand the mysterious woman feeling that way, but the sane response is treatment of the few susceptible, not prohibition for all the rest.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

She's the marketing officer for a right-wing competitor to Scholastic. I am doubtful she has a porn addiction in the first place, and I'm 100% sure it wasn't "sparked" by Scholastic books for kids. And if it was, I submit her problem is different than she thinks it is.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Bees, casinos, the sun, peanuts, bullets, humans, etc.

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