Country music star John Rich has likened teachers and librarians to pedophiles trying to abduct children in vans at a hearing with Tennessee The House of Representatives’ legislative committee will discuss a controversial bill banning “obscene books”.
“What’s the difference between a teacher, an educator or a librarian putting one of these books like you on a student’s table?” Rich asked MPs at the Nashville hearing. “Or a man in a white van who stops at the end of school when school comes out and says, ‘Come on, kids, let me read you this book and show you these pictures?’
He continued: “What is the difference between these two scenarios? There is a difference, by the way. They can escape from the man in the white van.
Several attendees can be seen nodding, seemingly in agreement with the 48-year-old Rich.
The bill, discussed at the hearing, aims to ban unspecified “obscene books” in state and charter schools and was sponsored by Republican State Representative Scott Sepiki after a school district in the State of Volunteers banned a book on the Holocaust.
48-year-old country star John Rich has likened teachers and librarians to pedophiles trying to abduct children in vans for a hearing in the Tennessee House Legislature Legislative Committee on Wednesday
Rich later reiterated his support for the controversial bill banning obscene books.
Rich, who invites women to “save horses, ride cowboys” in the lyrics to his 2004 song of the same name with Big Kenny, said people are “the bulwark between tyranny and freedom.”
All — Today in the legislature of TN, testifying to @ CepickyTn64Censorship bill, singer @johnrich accuses schools / librarians of “shaping” children, because some library books there can discuss sexual content.
(Reminder: His big hit was “Save a Horse, Ride A Cowboy”) pic.twitter.com/KTVIiLoCxm
– The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) February 24, 2022
The bill will ban possession of obscene materials from a local education agency; public school, including state charter school; or an employee or private contractor of a local education agency or public school, if the obscene material is harmful to minors and is kept on public school premises. ‘
The bill was sponsored by GOP State Representative Scott Sepiki after a school district in the State of Volunteers banned a book on the Holocaust
However, the initiative fails to provide specific guidance on what is considered “indecent”.
Rich, who invited women to “save horses, ride cowboys” in the lyrics to his 2004 song of the same name with Big Kenny, later reiterated his position on Twitter.
“It was a big deal today to testify before the Tennessee House Legislature. “Some have supported, others have disagreed, but in these times we need to fight opponents,” he tweeted.
“We have to bring them the battle. We humans are the bulwark between tyranny and freedom.
Hearings on the bill will continue on Wednesday.
Cepicky’s bill was inspired by a decision by the McMinn County School Board in January to remove Maus from its curriculum because of “inappropriate language” and an illustration of a naked woman.
Art Spiegelman won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his work, which tells the story of his Jewish parents living in Poland in the 1940s and depicts him interviewing his father about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor.
In an interview, Spiegelman told CNBC that he was “confused” by the school board’s decision and called the action “Orwellian.”
“It leaves me with an open jaw, like ‘What?'” He said.
The bill, released next week after Wednesday’s hearing, does not provide specific guidance on what is considered “indecent”
In January, the McMinn County School Board removed the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus from the curriculum for “inappropriate language” and an illustration of a naked woman.
The transcripts of the school board meeting show objections to some of the language used in Maus.
Initially, school principal Lee Parkison suggested that we edit it, “to get rid of the eight swear words and the photo of the woman who was objected to.”
The naked woman is depicted as a mouse. In the graphic novel, Jews are depicted as mice and Nazis are depicted as cats.
“It shows how people hang, it shows how they kill children, why the education system promotes this kind of thing? It’s not wise or healthy, “said school board member Tony Allman of the book, which was part of the county’s eighth-grade English arts curriculum.
Professor Julie Goodin, a former history teacher, said she thought the graphic novel was a good way to portray a terrifying event.
“It’s hard for this generation, these kids don’t even know about 9/11, they weren’t even born,” Goodin said. ‘
Art Spiegelman, author of the famous graphic novel about the Holocaust “Maus”, which was banned from a school district in Tennessee, said the decision “leaves his jaw open”
Are words undesirable? Yes, no one thinks they are not. But taking away the first part does not change the meaning of what he is trying to portray.
The Tennessee School Board said in the minutes that it did not object to teaching about the Holocaust, but some worried that the work was not age-appropriate.
Although they discussed editing parts of the book, this raised copyright concerns, and board members eventually decided to look for an alternative book on the subject.
The book is not the only one recently banned amid critical controversy over racial theory.
The decision came as conservative officials across the country are increasingly trying to limit the type of books children are exposed to, including books that address structural racism and LGBTQ issues.
Republican governors in South Carolina and Texas have called on superintendents to conduct a systematic review of “inappropriate” materials in their state’s schools.