Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice dismantled arguments by a left-wing MSNBC host who tried to argue that pornographic materials should remain accessible to Florida’s school children.
On Friday, Justice appeared on “The Reidout” with host Joy Reid, who was once scandalized when her own anti-LGBTQ musings were made public.
As recounted by the conservative Media Research Center on Sunday, Reid began the interview by getting Justice to agree with her that even liberals have a right to raise their children as they see fit.
Reid then produced a Washington Post article that indicated a majority of the more than 1,000 book challenges that the Post analyzed were filed by just 11 people.
Read: Florida Rep. Greg Steube Continues Mission For Animals Used In ‘Painful’ NIH Experiments
Justice, however, focused the conversation where it belonged: on the content of the books.
She said the challenges take on “graphic, explicit sexual content.”
As the Tampa Free Press has reported, the books, in some cases, contain explicit descriptions or depictions of gay oral sex, anal sex, rape, incest, and other acts.
The material is often so graphic that in many instances from around the country, school board members have silenced parents for just reading the content of books found in school libraries.
Reid then repeated the phony liberal talking point that books are being “banned” in Florida elsewhere.
“No one’s banning books,” Justice replied. “Write the book, print the book, publish the book, put the book in the public library, sell the book. We’re talking about a public school library.”
Justice then challenged Reid’s assertion by pointing out that school districts don’t give free rein with the internet, where they could easily encounter sexually provocative material.
Read: $100 Fee Proposed In Florida For People Who Challenge School Books
“Children don’t have unfettered access to the internet at school,” she said.
“The subject matter in the books that moms are concerned about are the same things that kids don’t have access to on the internet. It just feels very hypocritical. Why is no one out there protesting to free the internet in schools?”
Reid had no answer for that.
Moreover, the liberal longtime MSNBC host, apparently without realizing it, undercut her own argument about the banning of books by pointing out that parents who want their children to access such material can buy the books.
Yet, Reid said, that equated to “a tax” on liberal parents — apparently again not realizing that school library books are paid for by all taxpayers.
Reid then tried to criticize the work of Justice and other concerned parents by saying they often visit a website called BookLooks.org.
Reid claimed the website gives a synopsis of books and that parents use a keyword search function to find passages they object to and highlight them out of context for school boards to make a political point.
Read: State Of Florida To Argue In School Book Fight
Reid specifically mentioned a book called “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” and added, “What is the expertise that you have, and other Moms for Liberty have, to decide that an award-winning book like ‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’ isn’t appropriate for students to read?”
Justice replied: “What a tragic story of a young man who is anally raped by his adult family members. So you have incest, rape, pedophilia. In what context is a strap-on dildo acceptable for public school? That’s my question to you. Tell me what the context around a strap-on dildo or the rape of a minor child by a teacher.”
An obviously frustrated and flustered Reid never answered the question. Instead, she replied: “I’m interviewing you. You’re not interviewing me.”
When Reid reiterated that Justice is not an “expert,” Justice replied, “I don’t have to be an ‘expert’ to know that dildos aren’t appropriate for a school library.”
Read: Florida Senate Approves Scaled-Back Public School Regulation Plan
As MRC columnist Tim Graham pointed out, the real issue is that whoever files the challenges is actually going up against the “unelected public-school bureaucrats.”
“Notice that unelected school librarians are never unrepresentative in liberal eyes — because the presumption is the schools are in liberal hands,” Graham wrote. “They are also presumed to be the experts, and the parents challenging them are presumed to be morons.”
Android Users, Click To Download The Tampa Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.