Bombing the Library

Okay, I confess: that was a baity title. I have not in fact bombed any libraries, nor do I plan to. But I did drop a couple truth bombs into a library censorship debate the other night.

Organized by Braver Angels, it posed, "Resolved: Don’t ban or censor books at schools or public libraries for patrons sixth grade and older." By the time I got my turn to speak, about fifteen minutes before the scheduled conclusion, many people had spoken on either side, yet not one had been willing to question the assumption that young people "can't handle" sexual information to the same degree as adults. I corrected that omission.

After noting that my adolescent experience with a political cult had given me a particular interest in the practice of milieu control, of which I consider library censorship to be a form, I recounted the fact that at the age of ten I had read the Chester Himes sex farce Pinktoes, and that it had done me no harm whatsoever. I observed that this had been over half a century ago, and that if I were going to be traumatized it should have happened by now, so I'm not holding my breath.

I concluded by pointing out that a study of adolescent boys who'd looked at pornography found that the only negative effect they experienced was anxiety about what their parents would think.

Unfortunately, just moments afterward my phone died, so I don't know whether anyone reacted to my remarks. But I believe a video will be made available, probably within the next few weeks.