For at least two years, the Nashua Library has displayed the book “What Was Stonewall?” in the children’s room during June. This book is about the history of the treatment of lesbians and gay men in the US, and it is for children ages 8 to 12.
Related: Library Promotes Book That Teaches Kids to “Love Who You Choose”
These are impressionable young children without much experience of the world, and I am alarmed by the violence that is celebrated in this book.
The first alarming item in the book is an account of the horrific abuse of gay men in the past, including lobotomies and castration. Do kids this age need to know about this? Even adults will find this difficult to read. Sadly, this reminds me of what is happening today to too many young men who are confused about their gender identity and are castrated while under the delusion that they can become a woman.
In the account of the Stonewall Riots, the author celebrates violence against the police. After the police announce they are going to arrest people at the Stonewall Inn, the rioters yell slurs at the police. They proceed to throw bottles, rocks, and bricks, rock police cars, and slash their tires. The police officers were forced to retreat into the Stonewall Inn. The rioters broke the windows and ripped a parking meter out of the sidewalk, and used it to bash in the door. The police officers had to barricade themselves in. The rioters then threw Molotov cocktails into the building and pushed a burning trash can in through the window.
This is a dangerous situation where many people could have been seriously hurt and killed. It is not something to celebrate. The author minimizes it:
By now, the crowd numbered more than two thousand. The officers used a fire hose to put out the flames and disperse the mob. Outside, people laughed. The water probably felt good on such a hot night!
These were serious crimes, and it is ludicrous to make light of it, most especially for impressionable children.
This is a far cry from the non-violent civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King that continues to be an inspiration to everyone. This is a story of out-of-control miscreants wantonly destroying property in the process of trying to kill police officers.
It is also concerning that the book’s resources include the website for The Trevor Project, which has drifted from its original mission of protecting gay youth from suicide. Read “Why does the Trevor Project want to separate kids from their parents?” and “Trevor Project in crisis amid financial woes, staff dissension, ‘union busting’: sources.”
