When parents send their kids to school, they trust and hope that the kids will get the education they deserve. But not everyone agrees on what kids should be exposed to at school and what shouldn’t.
Many people say that country music singer John Rich is “hypocritical” because he wants schools to censor books.
In his speech to a legislative committee of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Rich said that teachers and librarians are like pedophiles who try to take kids away in vans. They came to talk about a controversial bill that would ban “obscene books.”
Rich asked a committee of the Tennessee legislature, “What’s the difference between a teacher, educator, or librarian putting one of these books on a student’s desk and a guy in a white van pulling up to the edge of a school when school is over and telling the kids to gather around so he can read them this book and show them these pictures? What is the difference between these two? By the way, there is a difference.
The guy in the white van can’t catch them.
Rich, who is 48 years old, said he was talking to them as a father. Several people in the room could be seen nodding to show that they agreed with him.
Rich tweeted about why he thinks it’s important to speak up after talking to the legislature.
He wrote, “It was a big deal to testify before the Tennessee House of Representatives legislative committee today. Some agreed and some disagreed, but in these times, it is important to stand up to your opponents. We have to fight them where they are. We the People are the barrier between tyranny and freedom.”
But a lot of people wonder if, as a dad, he also thinks his own music is good for kids to listen to. People on social media were quick to point out that the lyrics to Rich’s own songs were very rude. Like the words to “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy,” one of his songs.
One person wrote, “…so does this mean that ALL copies of your song “Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy” and ALL copies of the video will be destroyed?” Because, if you ask this teacher, it’s pretty sexually explicit, and I think it may be trying to get kids interested in sexuality. I’ll wait. ” Someone else said, “Ummm… John. Just taking a quick look at some song lyrics. I don’t think you’ve read them in a while.
I think you’ve taken better care of yourself than any teacher.” “His song lyrics are scarier than the books they want to ban,” said this commenter.
After a school district in the Volunteer State banned a book about the Holocaust, Republican state Rep. Scott Cepicky introduced a bill to ban “obscene books” in both public and charter schools. This means that a public school (including a public charter school), employee, or private contractor of a local education agency or public school would be breaking the law if they were found to have obscene or harmful material on school property.
But there was no way to tell what is considered “obscene.”
What do you think about the plan to ban such books? And do you think that Rich’s stance on the issue is hypocritical?