Because this is a boil-the-frog situation. The path is k-12 school libraries -> public libraries -> academic libraries and bookstores. The way fascists get the public comfortable with the idea of banning books is by starting with examples that look like “common sense” to the uninformed, and then ramp up the attacks as they gain institutional power.
Because this is a boil-the-frog situation. The path is k-12 school libraries -> public libraries -> academic libraries and bookstores. The way fascists get the public comfortable with the idea of banning books is by starting with examples that look like “common sense” to the uninformed, and then ramp up the attacks as they gain institutional power.
While attempts to ban books from stores are currently few and far between, one notable example was this attempt to get Gender Queer removed from the shelves of bookstores in Virginia: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/05/20/gender-queer-barnes-and-noble/