Rape is porn when you don't know the difference?

I don't know how many people who read this blog are located around Missouri but I know that a lot of you are born and bred in 'red States' such as Texas which means the issue of religious censorship in the education system should not be a complete mystery to you.

The latest issue to emerge is regarding the English Lit reading list for eight-graders in Springfield, Missouri.  According to the speaker for the Reclaiming Missouri for Christ organisation's latest opinion piece the books kids are being exposed to feature "concepts such as homosexuality, oral sex, anal sex and specific instructions on how to use a condom and have sex."  The fact that a reluctance to educate oneself about heated issues such as homosexuality exists is no revelation; you can see the dangerous effects of this in the pro-Prop 8 movement and of course, the latest scandal around the army's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy.  The flaw in logic here exists with the idea that continued ignorance and non-exposure to these issues is a positive thing.  Oh, did I mention said speaker is Professor Wesley Scroggins of Missouri State University?  Am I the only one who finds an academically-powerful man promoting ignorance uncomfortable?


The other slap of stupidity his piece delivers comes when he begins to give his amateur Literary 101 analysis of the books up for debate.  The three offending books in the docks are: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler and Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut.  

Vonnegut's book is a personal favourite of mine and I am sad to report that after being 'reviewed' by the Republic school board; the book has been banned.  Equally disturbing as this news is Scroggins reaction to readings of these books.  He dismisses Speak to be soft porn because it depicts two rape scenes.  I kid you not.  As the author of Speak herself retaliated by saying: "the fact that he sees rape as sexually exiciting (pornographic) is disturbing, if not horrifying."  I however won't do Scroggins the disservice of mischaracterisation that he does to good, reputable books by mischaracterising him as someone who blurs the boundaries between consensual sex and rape.  Instead, I will make it clear that Scroggins is a product of the flawed education system he himself wants to keep in its impaired state.

My personal verdict is that perhaps Scroggins should go back to school and back to his English Lit classes and learn to read with insight and depth because he has dangerously mispercieved the powerful yet important moral messages of these books.  Messages that perhaps even his religion could get on board with.  


As a final note, I just want to give Missouri some credit for taking some of the press heat from Delaware this week.  It's tough to compete with Delaware-level crazy what with the Tea Party victories and Sarah Palin 2.0 but I think Missouri is stepping up to the plate nicely.  Somewhere, possibly some place cold and isolated, Glenn Beck is weeping joyfully....