A Republican candidate for Missouri secretary of state is sparking controversy after burning a Quebec children’s book dealing with issues related to sexuality with a flamethrower.
In a video posted online on the social network She then adds the slogan “MAGA”, for “Make America Great Again”, popularized by Donald Trump.
We can see in the video that the book in question is titled All naked!, published in March 2019 by Cardinal, which aims to be a dictionary of sexuality aimed at young people and adolescents. In Quebec, the work won the Children’s Book Prize from Bibliothèques de Montréal in 2020. It has since been translated into English and is distributed in several libraries and bookstores in the United States.
Written by Myriam Daguzan Bernier and illustrated by Cécile Gariépy, this 150-word directory directly or indirectly addresses concepts such as abortion, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), masturbation, fatphobia, body image and even gendered marketing.
Several other questions such as discovery, self-acceptance and sexual pleasure are also addressed, reported an interview with The Press with the author.
Doctor Réjean Thomas, who signed the preface to the book, said he hoped that this dictionary offers “young people the opportunity to build themselves, without prejudice, with respect and dignity, and to actively contribute to the development of their society “.
Online controversy
Quickly, several Internet users did not fail to denounce the situation. “Go ahead and name a time in history when the people who burned books were the good guys,” one illustrated. “Burning books is bad. Burning any book is wrong,” said another, followed by several others.
The social network initially restricted the visibility of the said publication, specifying that it “could violate the rules against hateful conduct”. However, this mention was later withdrawn; Mme Gomez also thanked the boss of X, Elon Musk, “for protecting freedom of expression”.
In an email sent to the American media NBC, the candidate’s campaign director, Maicoll Gomez, argued that we must at all costs stop “putting books on the sexualization, indoctrination and manipulation of people into libraries.” children “. The latter “must learn mathematics, science, develop their interpersonal skills, get in shape, while protecting their innocence,” he said.
This isn’t the first time book burnings have attracted attention in the state of Missouri. Last September, Senator Bill Eigel declared after the broadcast of a video showing him burning cardboard boxes that he would not hesitate to burn books that he found harmful.