Saturday, September 20, 2014

A letter to the ‘Christian’ grandmother advocating homophobic books for teens



Laurie Higgins is a Christian grandmother with a limited professional background (according to her bio). She has worked as “cultural analyst” for The Illinois “Family” Institute for six years, and before that was employed in the “writing center” for a high school.
I am not exactly sure what the job qualifications are to be a “cultural analyst” but whatever they are, they have not won Ms. Higgins many friends. The Illinois “Family” Institute is one of 23 hate groups in Illinois tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Consider Ms. Higgins dubious honors: She is listed at # 764 in the Encyclopedia of American Loons. There, she is described as “an unrepentant, hate-filled bigot”. Q Salt Lake anointed her as “Creep of the Week” for the week of December 4th, 2013.


The website Reasonable Conversation nominates her for “Human Excommunication.” The blogsite Skepacabra defined her in a three-part article as a “Crazy Bitch.” (Skepacabra was referring mostly to Laurie Higgins alleged stalker-like attempts to get atheist Hermant Mehta, known throughout the blogging community as the Friendly Atheist, fired from his teaching job for expressing his opinions.)
Her reputation is earned through her own actions and statements, in 2010, for example, she stated that McDonalds is “hell bent on using its resources to promote subversive moral, social, and political views about homosexuality to our children.” It “hoists high the rainbow colors of the homosexual movement that points to the substitution of the worship of man for the worship of God and leads to depravity and destruction.” McDonalds had run an ad in France depicting a young gay man.
This week she publicly explored a new potential avocation — that of theoretical teen book author.
JK Rowlings has nothing to worry about.

Ms. Higgins listed out a series of plotlines she proposes Illinois librarians consider having on their book shelves to enhance public intellectual discourse, and because, in her opinion, it will quench some deep unmet thirst within kids in LGBT families like mine.
I “googled” the plot lines to see if any of these books, or something close to them, actually exist for discussion. It appears that they are only in the frantic mind of Ms. Higgins. Based on the reactions of all I’ve asked, the general hope is that they stay there.
Here is Ms. Higgins proposal, in her exact words:
If librarians really cared about the full and free exchange of ideas and if they really believed that “book-banning” is dangerous to society, they would direct their rage and ridicule at the powerful publishing companies, professionally-recognized review journals, and their own profession, all of which do far more book-banning than does a handful of powerless parents seeking to have a picture book moved…
Next year, will the Schaumburg librarians display photos of empty shelves where books that challenge Leftist assumptions about the nature and morality of homosexuality should be (you know, pro-heterosexuality/pro-heteronormativity books)?
  • Will they ask for young adult (YA) novels about teens who feel sadness and resentment about being intentionally deprived of a mother or father and who seek to find their missing biological parents?
  • Will they ask for dark, angsty novels about teens who are damaged by the promiscuity of their “gay” “fathers” who hold sexual monogamy in disdain?
  • Will they ask for novels about young adults who are consumed by a sense of loss and bitterness that their politically correct and foolish parents allowed them during the entirety of their childhood to cross-dress, change their names, and take medication to prevent puberty, thus deforming their bodies?
  • Will they ask for novels about teens who suffer because of the harrowing fights and serial “marriages” of their lesbian mothers?
  • Will they ask for picture books that show the joy a little birdie experiences when after the West Nile virus deaths of her two daddies, she’s finally adopted by a daddyand mommy?
Surely, there are some teens and children who will identify with such stories.”
As a gay dad, and a parent at the helm of one of the families Ms. Higgins targets, I feel compelled to respond.
Dear Ms. Higgins,
Thank you for concern over the possible reading material available for the kids in families like mine…
Read the Rest

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