The anti-gay hate group leading the charge to ban three books from Howell School because of what they allege is profanity and references to drugs and sex acts were called out by a couple of mainstream media reports because two of authors are black and depict the prejudice and discrimination many African-Americans face.
The so-called LOVE group - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) – started the controversy some two months ago by trying to ban a book called “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them.” Since then, they have also tried to ban Nobel Prize author Toni Morrison's first novel, "The Bluest Eye," and an acclaimed memoir written by Richard Wright in 1945, "Black Boy." Both books address social issues of blacks in 1940s America and have been used for at least two years in an American literature class, according to the Detroit News, which first raised the discrimination issue on Jan. 24.
The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus picked up on the racial angle a few days later, saying “Two of the authors of books —assigned to Howell High School students — under attack by a family values group are black. Is that a coincidence, or a racial overtone that is remaining from Livingston County's days as a home to a Ku Klux Klan leader?”
Of course, the would-be-censors were quick to deny the charge. Vicki Fyke, the leader of the so-called LOVE group and the advisor for the Livingston County Teen Age Republicans, claimed she did not know the two authors were black, and she told the P & A "I don't know who the authors are, and I don't care who they are." "It's just not appropriate for children."
Would you really call high school sophomores, juniors and seniors children? She would have known the race of the authors if she had read the book.
Wendy Day, the LOVE member on the Howell Public Schools Board of Education pushing the ban, emphatically denied any racial motivation, according to the P & A.
"It's preposterous and outlandish for that to even be brought up," she said. "It's a ploy to discredit the discussion and distract from the real discussion that we should be having. I hope that people didn't fall for that."
And Day pointed out that the first book that raised concerns was the Freedom Writers Diary, "featuring a white, young, middle-class teacher."
In other words, “hey, we censor regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation." I really have no idea if this is a racial issue or not, but once again a group of small-mined zealots have reinforced this community’s reputation as a small-minded, racist community. I cannot read their minds, but I will not give them the benefit of the doubt, especially after reading an attack by one of their supporters on Sen. Barack Obama and the fact they were only formed to discriminate against gays to begin with.
At the very least they are equal opportunity censors.
22 comments:
I have absolutely no respect for the LOVE group. I believe they exist only to hear themselves talk about their problems with other peoples sexuality and impose their views upon the people of Livingston County. Let's try to ignore them, I don't think anyone is following them, and I can't imagine them having any impact on the youth of today, their phoniness
does not attract others to follow.
They seem not to respect our schools or the intellect of our students. While they are ready to pack their young up to ship them off to war, they wish to keep them in some weird cocoon of ignorance and pass it off for having high morals. Please let's try not to let them baffle us with their bull crap.
Let's use our press and blogs to educate people.
What do you expect from a group that was formed just to discriminate against another group. No matter how you slice it that makes them a hate group, and this group is no better than the Klan.
I would have no problem ignoring them, but they actually got someone elected to the board that governs the school district that my kids graduated from and my grandchildren attend. I think that, fortunately, after this a lot of people have seen what they are all about.
"This group is no better than the Klan."
Guru, the Klan used to lynch black people. Who has LOVE killed?
Yes, I bet the county Democrats are thrilled to have you acting as their de facto spokesperson.
Upcoming Argus headline: Leader of Livingston County Young Democrats Compares LOVE Group to Ku Klux Klan
If we don't hear from the county Democrat leadership that they repudiate your views, we can only assume they agree with you.
What say you, Matt Evans?
I’ll say it one more time to make it clearer, this group is no better than the Klan. I stand by that statement, who-ever-you-are. A hate group is a hate group. Discrimination is discrimination. I am well aware of the Klan lynched people. The Grand Dragon of Michigan Klan lived in Livingston County for many years, but I am not aware of any lynching sin Livingston County.
I am not the “de facto spokesperson” for the Livingston County Democratic Party. They have their own blog, you can check it out at http://www.livcodemocrats.blogspot.com. Nor am I the Leader of the Livingston County Young Democrats.
I would love the headline to read "independent blogger Compares so-called LOVE Group to Ku Klux Klan," because it’s an accurate description. So would comparing the so-called love group to any other discriminatory hate group operating out there.
Why are you not outraged that the advisor for the Teen Age Republicans is part of a hate group and trying to ban books written by a Nobel Prize winner?
Correction noted. I just checked the Democrat website and saw that they have dropped you from their leadership. My apologies.
So, the Argus headline will instead read: FORMER Leader of Livingston County Young Democrats Compares LOVE Group to Ku Klux Klan
Again, where is the official Livingston County Democrat response to this? Do they really want to compare the LOVE group to the Klan, which killed people?
Matt Evans? You want to weigh in here?
(Please note that I'm totally ignoring your original ridiculous claim that the LOVE group is opposing these books because the authors are black. As usual, you have no evidence on your side. Nothing. Nada.)
Wait a minute, I happen to agree with the Guru! They are most certainly a hate group and what makes them so very dangerous is they pose as a group who cares about morals? Excuse me, there is nothing moral about being homophobic and the presence of this group makes our county less desirable for minorities. I do think they have a race bias, they do not want their children to have any understanding of what has happened to the African American youth who live in poverty. This book Freedom Writer's is inspirational in its message. How can you call the LOVE group anything but a hate group?
I grow tired of the personal attacks people like you throw on the Guru, they are totally out of line and show you to less intellectual as the Guru never stoops to your level.
Look, who-ever-you-are, it’s not a correction. I organized the chapter, but my role is really irrelevant, as is what Matt Evans thinks of my personal opinion. I could also care less what the Argus headline reads.
Again, why are you not outraged that the current advisor of the Teen Age Republicans is the leader, the leader, of a hate group? Why are you not outraged that the current advisor of the Teen Age Republicans is trying to ban books?
However, you may have forgotten who first compared the so-called love group to the Klan. It wasn’t me. It was the Press & Argus. I have no idea if this book banning has anything to do with race. Like I said in my original post, I don’t know if they are against the two books because of race, but I will not give them the benefit of the doubt because of their past actions. This group was formed to discriminate against a group of people they do not like. So was the Klan. Both discriminate. The comparison is a valid one. If they are not a hate group, and the ban is not racially motivated let them prove it.
Thank you for the kind words, Bluzie.
Considering how quick Kevins is to play the race card, I think the racist here is Kevins. This sounds like a case of projection.
Valerie Olander can also be nominated for the Hearst Yellow Journalism award. That hit piece is as bad as your anti-gunowners piece.
Nice try, dan, but how can calling you out on your racist rant against Sen. Barack Obama because of his race make me the racist? Nice try with the “I know you are, but what am I defense,” but it’s simply not true. How is pointing out the obvious “yellow journalism?” What about Dan Meisler’s article? Is that “yellow journalism” too?
I have never written an “anti-gunowners piece” in my life. Now, I’m not the expert on journalism like you are, dan, but for it to be “yellow journalism” doesn’t it have to be untrue? Neither my articles nor opinion columns on guns or gun owners, or Dan’s article or the Detroit News article are untrue or factually incorrect.
Guru, this was your headline for that post: "Anti-gay hate group of censors now add racists to their resume"
Then you write this: "I have no idea if this book banning has anything to do with race."
WHAT?!!
First you call them racists, then you say you have no idea if they're racists. Well, which is it? Those two statements, made by the same person, don't mesh.
Again, Matt Evans, where are you on this? Is the Guru (and Bluzie) speaking for you?
Yes, that is a headline. Let me see if I can make this any clearer for you. The Klan is a hate group. The so-called love group is also a hate group. I don’t know for sure if this book banning is racially motivated, but I will not give them the benefit of the doubt because they have already proven they discriminate. I suspect it is, and if you discriminate against one group how hard it to discriminate against another?
Of course Bluzie and I are speaking for ourselves. How many times do I have to keep answering that question? We are not robots. I’ll ask you this question for the third time: why are you not outraged that the current advisor of the Teen Age Republicans is the leader, the leader, of a hate group? Why are you not outraged that the current advisor of the Teen Age Republicans is trying to ban books?
I want your answer, not Allan Filip’s answer. Unless, of course, you can’t think for yourself.
In my opinion if you form a group to discriminate, then your group is a hate group. I don't think this has anything to do with Matt Evans, why do you say this?
When you try to ban inspirational books about the problems of minorities and poverty it does give the appearance to be about race.
LOVE is a very small group who make a lot of noise. So while they disgust me, they have the right to voice their bigotry. By the way they do have one member who poses as a Democrat so it's not really a party issue, most of them just happen to part of the right wing faction of the Livingston County Republicans.
The Guru is not a racist, nor has he posted in any manner where anyone could intelligently make that assumption. The assumption is easily made about the LOVE group.
I forgot to add Lansing TV in my nomination to the Yellow Journalism award to be shared with Ms. Olander. Meisler didn't play the race card since at least he seemed to paste your assertion of this as a stretch.
And the Obama rant wasn't an attack on him because of his race. It was an attack on the media (again, yellow journalists like you and Olander) hype machine of guilty white leftists who want to back him so they can tell their friends how oh so tolerant they are.
As far as the LOVE group goes, they are not a hate group - far from it. While I'm not a member, nor do I always agree with their stances on things, I do know some of their members and that they are far from a hate group. Comparing them to the Klan trivializes real hate groups. It's typical of the yellow journalism that you partaked in as a columnist with the Argus.
Again, since you refuse to answer the question I’ll keep asking is until you answer it or attempt to spin the answer. For something to be called “yellow journalism” doesn’t it have to be untrue? If the TV station or the Detroit News story can be called “yellow journalism” so can Dan Meisler’s story. However, none of them can be called yellow journalism.
Trying to flip your racial attack on Sen. Obama as an attack onto the media is absurd.
What do you call a group formed just to oppress another group pf people? I call it a hate group. The so-called “love” group qualifies.
You keep bringing up one opinion column I wrote some seven years ago that I barley remember what was in it. But you could not disprove anything I wrote then as untrue, so how can you do it now without even saying what was written? I stand by what was written some seven years ago as accurate and true, and I still stand by it today.
What is partaked, by the way?
Republican Michigander, do you think Bush appointed Condoleeza Rice and Collin Powell to show racial tolerance or because he thought they would do a good job? I would have to say it's because he thought they would do a good job. Your assuming that Dems support Barack Obama for any other reason than they like him and think he would be a great president is just ridiculous.
What is "partaked," Guru?
I don't know. But can you tell me what "barley remember" means?
You can try to ignore a group that has over 1,900 members, but I don't think it will work. LOVE objects to the racial slurs used in these books. The racial controversy was created by the likes of Kevin Shopshire who loves to CREATE news rather than report it. Kevin, your story is an out and out lie. But then, I'm sure you knew that and were just trying to join in the frenzy. Shame on you for trying to portray our community in such a light for your own gain. LOVE objects to graphic incest (rape of an 11 year old by her father, with pulsating anus and all), rape, anal sex, oral sex, and the most vial of language as curriculum for minor children (15-17). We have never asked to have books burned or banned, we want the adults in charge to exercise some common sense over what kids are exposed to outside their families. If that bothers you, too bad. My first and last visit to your Blog so any name calling will fall on deaf ears.
Barley is a grain of this plant, used as food and in making beer, ale, and whiskey. Remember means to recall to the mind by an act or effort of memory. Is this dan? Barley was a typo for barely. Is partaked a typo for partake, dan or who-ever-you-are?
I realize in a republican-controlled county there are a lot of closed-minded people, but I seriously doubt there are 1,900 of them.
Now it’s the racial slurs you object to. Great. First all we heard about were the references to sex that were “inappropriate for children," but now we get this line of BS after it comes out that two of the three authors are African-American. Brilliant. Are you aware the two books depict growing up during the Jim Crow era? How can you depict it accurately without using those slurs they endured?
I didn’t create anything. All I am doing is commenting on what’s already been reported in at least three media outlets. Are you denying that? I’m trying to portray our community in “such a light?” You need to take a look in the mirror, who-ever-you-are. All the media is doing is reporting the facts.
Now were back to the sex in the books you object to. Unfortunately, I have not read any the books yet. I went to the Howell library yesterday, and they are all checked out. That’s the only good thing that has come out of this. People are reading good books. So in your narrow view ignoring the ugly things that happen in the world make them go away?
Of course you have asked to have the books banned. The adults in charge have “exercised some common sense over what kids are exposed to outside their families.” As I’m sure you are aware, the books went through a vigorous review by three different committees of professional educators, the curriculum director and Supt. Chuck Breiner before they were approved. Why is that not enough common sense for you? Actually, I know the answer to that question. Because only your view is the right and common sense view.
I’m not particularly offended that you will not visit my blog again. All your rant tells me is that you would much rather stick your head in the sand and not know what’s going on around you than to hear the truth or another view or opinion. Of course, I will have no way of knowing if you followed through on your promise because you don’t have the nerve to identify yourself.
Goodbye.
The Teenage Republicans has a new advisor.
Well that’s good news for our county’s young people. Perhaps you should change the LivCo GOP web site because it still lists Vicki Fyke as the advisor, and it also says the meetings are held at her home.
I do not believe for one minute LOVE has a membership of 1,900 people.
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