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Dear Editor:
I write not to attack, but to discuss the recent letter Cindy Black sent to this publication. But, I do think it’s important that Ms. Black, who chastises the “emotional appeal” of some in the community during a recent Carmel Clay Schools school board meeting, then turns around and spends the rest of her letter in an emotional appeal.
We can agree that rationality is called for in this matter, and the rationale is simple conservative values of less bureaucracy, less meddling, and more individual parenting. It takes a village (unfortunately that phrase has been co-opted by political parties, but it’s still a good one) so I appreciate people looking out for the community. But calling for any book’s removal for fear of a child being exposed to something akin to empathy is like the boy crying wolf.
If Ms. Black’s concern (and those she is supposedly speaking for) is truly that “the overwhelming majority of students that grow up in caring homes without abuse should not be exposed to the ugliness portrayed in this book without parental consent,” then that comes down not to a school board or a state government to decide but parents.
Again, anything that adds guard rails to my ability to parent my kids in the CCS (of which I have two, whereas most speaking against this and other literature have no kids or grandchildren in this school system) as I see fit, and goes against the conservation of free speech – even if they make me and others uncomfortable – just piles on unnecessary bureaucracy for the ongoing battle of socio-political wedge issues that have no place in non-partisan school board elections and actions.
So, I appeal to the same people that Ms. Black is likely trying to appeal to and ask in response: why do we need to remove something that can easily be avoided for those who wish to not be exposed to it, and leave it readily available for those who are?
As a parent, I am aware of what my children interact with, even knowing as a recovering child myself, that kids can also push boundaries and be sneaky. I don’t expect the community to do the work I should put in, but rather make sure that I am doing my best to raise respectable, admirable, and genuine members of the community who may never need a book such as All Boys Aren’t Blue to understand their own abuse experiences but may develop empathy and understanding for those who have.
And maybe, when they are of age that I’m comfortable with them reading All Boys Aren’t Blue and other books of its ilk, they will grow to be a compassionate and caring member of the community who got the right to exercise their freedom of speech and expression not because we as a community chose to fall for anyone’s emotional appeal, but made the difficult decision to stand up for a conservative value such as live and let live under the rights granted by the Bill of Rights.
Justin Spicer
Carmel