Don’t be fooled. Aaron Poynton, president of the Harford County Board of Education, would like for Harford County parents to believe the banning of the novel, “Flamer,” from school libraries is about parental rights (“Book removal was about respect and accountability, not censorship,” Aug. 26). As a parent of two Harford County Public Schools students, I find the continued narrative and rhetoric he continues to spin, quite frankly, insulting.

Dr. Poynton would like constituents to believe he has swooped in and saved our children from “pervasive vulgarity,” when in reality he has taken steps toward further marginalizing an already vulnerable population. By banning this novel from our school libraries, the school board is effectively taking away the rights of parents to make decisions regarding what their children should and should not be allowed to read, contrary to what they would like us to believe. The school board president does not know what is right for my children.

Furthermore, his argument regarding the number of “foul words” used in the book needs to be put into context which he conveniently failed to do in his commentary. Yes, there are over 50 “foul words” in the 376-page book. He failed to make the comparison to other great literary works such as “The Grapes of Wrath,” which is a 478-page book that contains 500 “foul words.”

Additionally, the banning of this book highlights the lack of trust and respect Poynton has for the trained professionals in our school system. The committee that exists to review and approve books in the district are trained professionals who take their responsibilities very seriously. These decisions are not made lightly and for the school board to blatantly ignore the committee’s decision based on one parent’s complaint (who admitted to not having read the book) highlights the lack of trust and respect they have for our educators.

If parents don’t want their child to read a particular book in the school libraries, they can follow the existing opt-out process. It is there for a reason. Let parents truly have the power to make decisions. That is what you are saying this is about, correct?

So, again, don’t be fooled. This isn’t about “parental rights” or “pervasive vulgarity.” It’s about personal ideology. It’s about biased world views. It’s about bigotry. Plain and simple. I refuse to accept that as part of my children’s education.

— Leslie Thompson, Bel Air

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