| Maverick Free News By Mike Ligon |
“Captain Underpants” on Display at SV Library
……..proving you can’t fix stupid!
Believe it or not there is a large, color silhouette of a naked, fat, bald, white man wearing only his “whitey tightey” underwear on display beside the help desk of our fine Sierra Vista library. It has a hole cut out for children to stick their faces in and have their picture taken. No need to rush to the library with your children to beat the crowd. Even librarian Susan Abend’s assistants asked her to move it to the other side of the help desk so they didn’t have to look at it from the checkout counter.
I’ve been a frequent patron of the library for the 21 years I’ve lived in Sierra Vista. The staff is always friendly and helpful. I’m proud of our library’s architecture mimicking the Huachuca Mountains in the background. It’s a credit to our community – or has been until Ms. Abend decided displaying an obscene, immodest, sexist and male bashing silhouette of a naked man in his underwear in the center of the library for all to see was a good idea. I’d bet my retirement check no silhouette of a black or Hispanic male, or a topless woman in Victoria Secret panties would be displayed. That would be politically incorrect (and equally obscene). But it’s ok to portray a white male in his underwear. I thought liberals /progressives were against stereotyping? Ah, silly me, stereotyping can only be done by conservative, religious Americans who cling to their guns (guilty as charged).
It turns out there’s more to this obscene display than (literally) meets the eye. I texted both librarian Susan Abend and the Mayor/City Council regarding “Captain Underpants”. In a masterful stroke of passing the buck, City Executive Secretary Sue Gray relayed my text to Victoria Yarborough, Director of Leisure & Library Services. Her response: “…Captain Underpants, a character in a “beloved” [italics mine] children’s series by author Dav Pilkey (if that’s his real name). Yes, “DAV” not DAVE- a Seattle resident (that cesspool of Progressivism***. ‘Captain Underpants’ is the alter ego of the school principal. The series has sold more than 50 million copies in the United States and 70 million copies worldwide. A film based on the series is scheduled to be released in 2017 and Captain
Underpants has been featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2011. I’ve asked our children’s librarian to display some of the books near the cutout so those not familiar with the series can see who it supposed to be.” [I guess he’s not popular enough to be recognized].
My response to Mrs. Yarborough and the Mayor / City Council:
“Thanks for your reply. Your response reminded me of a nature film I saw showing thousands of lemmings running en masse over a cliff to drown in the ocean below. “Everybody’s doing it” popularity doesn’t equate to –dare I say it? – morality. It’s still an obscene display. I’ll put it on my blog and in my newsletter and see what they think.” – and here it is.
Turns out I’m far from being the Lone Ranger on this:
“The series has been a mainstay at the top of the list of formal complaints filed with libraries or schools requesting that the books be removed because of inappropriateness for over a decade. Some notable incidents include the Riverside Unified School District in California and the school superintendent of the Maple Hill School in Naugatuck, Connecticut who sought to ban the series in 2001 due to concerns that it caused unruly behavior among children. By 2002 it was the sixth most challenged book according to the American Library Association. In 2003 it was banned for insensitivity and being ‘unsuited to age group’ as well as for ‘encouraging children to disobey authority.’ Offensive language and modeling bad behavior were the top reasons for challenges to the series in 2005 and, in 2006, was challenged for anti-family content, being unsuited to age group, and violence. Three 17-year old girls were told to leave New York’s Long Beach High School in 2006 when they showed up on Superhero Day dressed as Captain Underpants.” (Banned Books Awareness, 21 April 2013)
Some praise the books because “they encourage boys to read.” Heck, if that’s their strategy why not put Hustler and Penthouse magazines in the children’s section? But many others criticize the books as containing toilet humor and an “irreverent attitude”. That’s PC meaning disrespect for adults and authority figures – not that that’s a problem in today’s public schools!
If the Progressive agenda of increasing numbers of feminist librarians is allowed to continue our young boys will not only continue to become emasculated “metro-sexual men” but – apparently- men who wear only their underwear in public.
Books don’t encourage boys to read – parents and teachers do. WE are responsible for the content, mental imagery and behavioral messaging entering the minds of our boys. Certainly Sierra Vista can do better than “Captain Underpants” as a role model for boys?
Captain Underpants is nothing more than brainwashing brat basic training and a bible for bullies. Pilkey’s themes and graphics are designed to elicit anger and defiance in the reader– common psychological influence techniques. Pilkey admits the two main characters are semi-autobiographical of his disrespect for authority and “pranksterism” (code for bullying) on other classmates. Pilkey’s Freudian portrayal of the principal in his underwear connotes angry retribution toward adult authority – basically an adult temper tantrum. Teaching young boys the principal is not in charge means the bullies rule the playground.
It would be an instructive Education doctoral thesis to compare cause-effect timelines between the rise in popularity of Captain Underpants and the rise in number of “loner”, bullied students coming to schools with guns for revenge on the “pranksters” who tormented them – not to mention the rise in assaults on teachers, student suicides, etc.
*** Pilkey’s targeting of young boys to resist/question/challenge authority and sow chaos in schools is strikingly similar to other Leftist efforts to subvert America by promoting counter-culture in our youth.
I asked for moral leadership from the Mayor and City Council and received none. I submit my case to you for your consideration.
Post Script: Diaper Man has been moved from the Help Desk to the children’s section – along with – I’m just told by a concerned mother in the library – the rest of an abundance of communist literature! There’s a drought of American history there but plenty of communist literature to infect our children’s minds. I can’t think of anything more diabolical by a librarian – Susan Abend.
Join the battle for the minds of our boys. Express your opposition to displaying Captain Underpants in the SV public library to:
Mayor Rick Mueller: rick.mueller@sierravistaaz.gov
City Council:
Alesia Ash Alesia.Ash@SierraVistaAZ.gov
Rachel Gray rachel.gray@sierravistaaz.gov
Craig Mount
Mayor Pro Tem Robert Blanchard
Robert.blanchard@sierravistaaz.gov
Gwen Calhoun
gwen.calhoun@sierravistaaz.gov
Henrietta “Hank” Huisking
hank.huisking@sierravistaaz.gov
Superintendent of Schools Kriss Hagerl
School Board President Debra Scott
Connie Johnson
Lori Silk
Melissa Avant
Marge Carrithers
Marge.Carrithers@svps.k12.az.us
Quote of the Day:
“For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of the message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for want of a horseshoe nail.” – 14th century proverb (seemingly unimportant acts or omissions can have grave and unforeseen consequences).
