A Florida School Has Pulled the Poem Read at Joe Biden’s Inauguration

[onthedarkside]

 

The recent surge of book bans across the United States—driven by political debate over race, gender and sexuality—has not even spared the poem read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.

 

Bob Graham Education Center, a K-8 school in Miami-Dade County, Florida removed Amanda Gorman’s poem, “The Hill We Climb,” from its elementary school shelves after a parent filed a complaint on the grounds that it “is not educational” and contains “indirect hate messages.” The move, however, still allows middle-schoolers to access the book.

 

“I’m gutted,” the 25-year-old Gorman said in a statement posted on social media Tuesday, explaining that “robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech.”

 

READ MORE

https://time.com/6282208/a-florida-school-has-pulled-the-poem-read-at-joe-bidens-inauguration/

 

[Jingthing]

Florida getting more stupid than they already were. 

[placeholder]

"indirect hate messages". Here's a link to that poem.

 https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/20/amanda-gormans-inaugural-poem-the-hill-we-climb-full-text.html

I found it kind of tedious but an "indirect hate messages"? What exactly is indirect hate? I suspect it's something perceived only by paranoics.

Next thing you know these paranoics be telling us that Critical Race Theory was being taught in Florida in public schools....oh wait....they already have...

Edited May 24, 2023 by placeholder

[Pink Mist]

You just have to wonder what the hidden agenda is.  As the last few stanzas of the poem indicate, the poem is about life and rebuilding from what has been taken and how moving forward is where we go from here.  I find it very enlightening and full of promise. Looking over it for the 5th time and reading every single line I find no indirect hate messages. To me it is educational and speaks volumes.  Here are just a few stanzas:

 

READ: Transcript of Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem | The Hill

 

So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free

 

We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another

 

We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it

[candide]

12 minutes ago, placeholder said:

"indirect hate messages". Here's a link to that poem.

 https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/20/amanda-gormans-inaugural-poem-the-hill-we-climb-full-text.html

I found it kind of tedious but an "indirect hate messages"? What exactly is indirect hate? I suspect it's something perceived only by paranoics.

Next thing you know these paranoics be telling us that Critical Race Theory was being taught in Florida in public schools....oh wait....they already have...

The only "indirect hate" I see comes from the parents who complained about this poem, and is against Biden.

[placeholder]

23 minutes ago, Pink Mist said:

You just have to wonder what the hidden agenda is.  As the last few stanzas of the poem indicate, the poem is about life and rebuilding from what has been taken and how moving forward is where we go from here.  I find it very enlightening and full of promise. Looking over it for the 5th time and reading every single line I find no indirect hate messages. To me it is educational and speaks volumes.  Here are just a few stanzas:

 

READ: Transcript of Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem | The Hill

 

So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free

 

We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another

 

We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it

While we clearly differ about the literary value of this piece, I think we can both agree it poses no threat to any school child who might read it.

[Tug]

Florida were women are controlled,were Jim Crow is making a come back,were every crack head has a concealed weapon,were ignorance is encouraged and those searching for knowledge are punished were the governor crippled the educational system Florida were light goes to die Florida were growth goes to die Florida were equality goes to die a very dark place indeed 

[Chomper Higgot]

Remember those Republican accusations of ‘cancel culture’.

 

You guessed right, it was a confession.

[JustAnotherHun]

7 minutes ago, Tug said:

Florida were light goes to die Florida were growth goes to die Florida were equality goes to die a very dark place indeed 

Ahh, that must be the reason for so many people moving from California and the north-eastern states to this failed state....

[James105]

5 hours ago, Pink Mist said:

You just have to wonder what the hidden agenda is.  As the last few stanzas of the poem indicate, the poem is about life and rebuilding from what has been taken and how moving forward is where we go from here.  I find it very enlightening and full of promise. Looking over it for the 5th time and reading every single line I find no indirect hate messages. To me it is educational and speaks volumes.  Here are just a few stanzas:

 

READ: Transcript of Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem | The Hill

 

So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free

 

We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another

 

We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it

The poem does not rhyme,

so why miss women from this line:

 

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man

 

[Will B Good]

30 minutes ago, James105 said:

The poem does not rhyme,

That made me laugh

[placeholder]

1 hour ago, James105 said:

The poem does not rhyme,

so why miss women from this line:

 

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man

 

Oh, that must be the reason that the book was pulled from the shelves.

[James105]

2 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Oh, that must be the reason that the book was pulled from the shelves.

Who even is the author of this rubbish "poem" and why does she deserve to be on the same bookshelf as Keats, Poe or Whitman?  I could understand a bit of outrage if the classics were being pulled, but this doesn't seem to meet that standard.   

[JustAnotherHun]

2 minutes ago, James105 said:

Who even is the author of this rubbish "poem"

Rubbish or not, cancel culture is ideology of the middle ages, no matter it comes from the left or the right side of the spectrum.

[placeholder]

5 minutes ago, James105 said:

Who even is the author of this rubbish "poem" and why does she deserve to be on the same bookshelf as Keats, Poe or Whitman?  I could understand a bit of outrage if the classics were being pulled, but this doesn't seem to meet that standard.   

It may be rubbish but that's not why it's being pulled, is it? It's being pulled because of right wing paranoic lunacy.

[James105]

2 minutes ago, placeholder said:

It may be rubbish but that's not why it's being pulled, is it? It's being pulled because of right wing paranoic lunacy.

The article states: "on the grounds that it “is not educational” and contains “indirect hate messages."

 

You don't know why it was pulled and you are making assumptions.   It was most likely pulled as it is rubbish, serves no educational benefit and when they saw the complaint they couldn't justify it being part of any curriculum as to include this would obviously mean leaving something else out.   Which of the classic authors would you "cancel" to make way for this garbage?  

[placeholder]

10 minutes ago, James105 said:

The article states: "on the grounds that it “is not educational” and contains “indirect hate messages."

 

You don't know why it was pulled and you are making assumptions.   It was most likely pulled as it is rubbish, serves no educational benefit and when they saw the complaint they couldn't justify it being part of any curriculum as to include this would obviously mean leaving something else out.   Which of the classic authors would you "cancel" to make way for this garbage?  

Are you seriously claiming tha ti was onlly for an issue of quality control that this book was singled out? And you offer no explanation re "indirect hate messages"

And please share with us the evidence that some classics were pulled from the shelves to make way for this book. I'm sure you wouldn't make such a claim oif that weren't the case? Or are you so unfamiliar with school libraries that you believe that the shelves only or even mostly contain classics?

[chickenslegs]

What does this part of the poem reference? 

Quote

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded

 

[Hanaguma]

Seems like a load of crap poem, platitudes and bromides and veiled political references. Stultifying in its own pretentious and ponderous verbage. The only reason it was picked for the inauguration is that it is long. Very long. Which kept the President elect from having to speak too much. 

[placeholder]

8 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Seems like a load of crap poem, platitudes and bromides and veiled political references. Stultifying in its own pretentious and ponderous verbage. The only reason it was picked for the inauguration is that it is long. Very long. Which kept the President elect from having to speak too much. 

Thanks for the irrelevant comment.

[wasabi]

The question is not if it is a good poem or not. The question is should it be banned? I abhor all literary censorship but this poem in particular seems harmless and unworthy of any outrage even if it takes a few underhanded digs at Trump. I can only question what led anyone to want it banned? Who is harmed by reading it? As for me I felt bored but would never want to stop anyone who enjoys it from reading it.

Edited May 24, 2023 by wasabi

[JustAnotherHun]

Just now, wasabi said:

I can only question what led anyone to want it banned?

There'll always be low-brain fanatics on each side.

The more important question is how the hell they come through with their BS.

A couple of weeks ago a teacher was fired because she showed her students pictures of Michelangelo's famous David sculpture. Unbelievable how fast the world drives back to dark ages.

[Hanaguma]

3 minutes ago, wasabi said:

The question is not if it is a good poem or not. The question is should it be banned? I abhor all literary censorship but this poem in particular seems harmless and unworthy of any outrage. I can only question what led anyone to want it banned?

Not banned. Just removed from elementary school libraries. It is still available in middle school. And of course on the internet and for sale at Amazon for any person who wants to read it. So hardly a ban.

 

[placeholder]

1 hour ago, Hanaguma said:

Not banned. Just removed from elementary school libraries. It is still available in middle school. And of course on the internet and for sale at Amazon for any person who wants to read it. So hardly a ban.

 

So not banned from elementary schools?

[Hanaguma]

4 hours ago, placeholder said:

So not banned from elementary schools?

Actually, no. Nothing banned.

 

ONE school district decided to move it from the elementary  part of the library  to the middle school part. That is all, at least according to CNN.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/23/us/miami-school-moves-biden-inaugural-poem/index.html

 

[Bkk Brian]

This is the source of the Time article and it was actually 4 books barred for elementary pupils. How the power of just one parents complaint can affect the reading of all other students in elementary. Cancel culture gone mad in Florida.

 

Miami-Dade K-8 bars elementary students from 4 library titles following parent complaint

In March, Daily Salinas, a parent of two students at at Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes, challenged The ABCs of Black History, Cuban Kids, Countries in the News Cuba, the poem The Hills We Climb, which was recited by poet Amanda Gorman at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, and Love to Langston.

For Stephana Ferrell, the director of research and insight at Florida Freedom to Read Project, it underscores a growing trend to redefine what is considered age appropriate, “especially regarding books that address ethnicities, marginalized communities, racism or our history of racism.”

 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article275671496.html

[onthedarkside]

UPDATE: Florida Mom Behind Amanda Gorman Book Ban Has Proud Boy Links

 

Salinas, who filed complaints against five books, appears to be connected to multiple far-right organizations, attending events with Moms for Liberty and the Proud Boys.

 

Salinas did not return requests for comment. The Miami-Dade Moms for Liberty chapter did not immediately return a request for comment.

 

Salinas was removed by security from a Miami-Dade school board meeting in July 2022, according to video of the event, during an intervention by Moms For Liberty. 

 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-mom-behind-amanda-gorman-book-ban-has-proud-boy-links

 

[Pink Mist]

And now we know the agenda. It appears to be racism based.

[Credo]

If that's banned, I can only guess how long before the plaque on the Statue of Liberty is struck from every book in Florida.   

 

[onthedarkside]

Off topic post on a separate Biden speech that has no bearing on this thread removed.