Thread by @donmoyn

New from me: Efforts to ban books are up by 60%, reflecting a new censoriousness and a culture of fear in schools.
The people who say they want patriotic education seem indifferent to American values like free speech and due process.
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donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-book-ban…

It's not just that efforts to ban books are on the increase, they are targeting books related to race, gender, and sexuality identity. From @DanikaEllis's analysis of the 850 books a Texas legislator targeted. bookriot.com/texas-book-ban… 2/

It's no secret that progressives are in a reactive stance when it comes to talking about education right now. But I see reason for optimism that reveal how progressives can talk about this topic. Protestors are rightly calling book bans unAmerican. 3/ donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-book-ban…

Attacking school officials - and in some case firing them on the basis of thinly-evidenced smear campaigns - will remind people of the excesses of red scare tactics. 4/

I write about how progressives should look for alternative language to the carefully constructed "CRT" bogeyman brand.
@PENamerica has proposed "educational gag orders" which is both more accurate and the best alternative I've seen thus far. 5/ donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-book-ban…

Like lots of immigrants, I appreciate values like free speech and protection against arbitrary actions by an intrusive government as inherently American. This makes me optimistic we can talk about the assault on education while reclaiming patriotic language. 6/

From Kurt Vonnegut's letter to a school principal who banned "Slaughterhouse Five": "books and writers are very unreal to you people. I am writing this letter to let you know how real I am."

(h/t @EricPatashnik) 7/

Hat tip to the people whose work I've drawn from with this post @michelleinbklyn @JeffreyASachs @jzfriedman @DanikaEllis @Mike_Hixenbaugh and lots of local reporters covering what is happening on the ground.