Utah has now banned “Push” by Sapphire from every public school in the state. Supporters say these bans protect children from sexually explicit or violent material. I think they are often protecting adults from uncomfortable truths young people already live with.
“Push,” which inspired the film “Precious,” includes rape, incest, abuse and poverty. But that is not what the story is ultimately about. It is about strength, perseverance, education and survival.
Precious is abused by the people who should protect her, but through education and the support of a teacher, she learns to read, write and take control of her future.
That is a powerful message for young people.
Teenagers already face abuse, racism, poverty, violence, depression, suicide, broken families and sexual assault. Removing books about those realities does not make those realities disappear.
Parents should absolutely decide what is appropriate for their own children. But there is a difference between saying, “I do not want my child reading this,” and the government saying, “No child in Utah may have access to this book at school.”
One is parental choice. The other is censorship.
If violence, rape, murder and disturbing material alone make a book inappropriate, then the Bible and the Book of Mormon would have to face the same standard. I am not suggesting banning them. My point is that context matters.
Utah should protect young people from abuse and exploitation, not from books about people who survived them.
Sometimes the uncomfortable book is the one a young person needs most.
Bill Thurman, Salt Lake City