Marissa Higgins

As Daily Kos has continued to cover, Republicans are going after books. Attempts to ban books are so outrageous, that they sound like satire, but they’re sadly extremely real, and so are the ramifications of young people (and adults) losing access to stories by and about marginalized people. As covered by the Salt Lake Tribune, more than fifty books by several dozen authors are set to be removed from public school libraries in the biggest school district in Utah.

Republicans are launching all-out attacks on LGBTQ+ youth and adults. As Daily Kos has continued to cover, we’re seeing discriminatory anti-trans bills catch major speed across the nation, especially when it comes to denying people access to sports, bathrooms, and even life-saving gender-affirming health care.

If there’s one thing social media is good for, it’s recirculating events that have slightly faded from collective memory—or simply happened before viewers were around to see them. While this phenomenon can sometimes (unfortunately) mean folks are spreading misinformation by presenting photos or videos as though they’re current events, other times it’s just a way for people to react to and bond over moments that were, well, viral-worthy.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on abortion access and the law, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri attempted to derail the otherwise incredibly important conversation by trying to trip up expert Khiara Bridges. Bridges, a law professor at the University of California-Berkeley, had used inclusive language when referring to people who seek abortions. And Hawley couldn’t handle it.

Republicans love to churn false hysteria over trans folks, especially when it comes to trans adults being villainous predators. Conservatives paint a sadly familiar (and false) picture: Trans people “pretend” to be who they are in order to access spaces not intended for them and use that opportunity to prey on vulnerable people, like women and children.

Writing about a love of reading can feel like preaching to the choir. After all, most people who sit down to read such a thing (probably) like reading enough as a baseline to bother … Well, reading. But I still feel there is no solace quite like a book. It feels trite to say we’re in difficult times, but again, it feels true to say that books have been helping me keep a sense of stability and relief while so many of us are under so much stress.

In spite of it being Pride Month, Republicans aren’t making it easy for LGBTQ+ folks and allies to have many recent wins to celebrate. One victory comes to us thanks to Democratic Gov. David Ige, however, as he signed not one, not two, but three pro-LGBTQ+ bills into law to help protect and serve queer folks in Hawaii, as reported by the Los Angeles Blade.

So much about making a career as a writer is opaque and exclusionary. There’s also a lot that, frankly, simply depends on your specific situation. It’s hard to give advice that will work for everyone, much less most people.

Here in the United States, we have a truly unwieldy number of issues to tackle at any given time, especially if you’re not a white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied person. Those people face real issues and barriers, too, of course, but marginalized folks face all of those and then some. Extra sadly but not surprisingly, low-income youth in the nation also face barriers, including access to school lunch.

We’re still trying to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, gun violence and police brutality continue to endanger everyone (especially people of color and Black men in particular), and Republicans are gearing up for the midterm elections by … banning books. Ah yes, the Republican way: distract and enrage. 

As Daily Kos has covered at length, we know conservatives are trying to attack marginalized folks on all fronts.

All young people attending school have had their worlds fundamentally altered during the COVID-19 pandemic. While some students are back in the in-person classroom—and even some without face masks—plenty of students are still in virtual or hybrid classrooms. Some people are homeschooled or learning on the road with their families.

As covered over at The Washington Post, White House officials are, as of the time of writing, planning to cancel $10,000 in federal student loans per borrower for individuals who earn less than $150,000. For married couples filing jointly, the cap is $300,000. Both incomes are based on the previous year. It seems there is no additional income testing.

Republicans at all levels of government have made book bans a recent rallying cry. Under the guise of fighting critical race theory (CRT), conservatives have lit hysteria under their voting base by convincing them that “inappropriate” books are going to invade their child’s brain. In reality, these books are more often than not by or about LGBTQ+ and/or people of color, with a handful of white, cisgender, heterosexual writers thrown in too.

Thanks to Republican hate and queerphobia, trans youth are already suffering. As Daily Kos has covered, trans and nonbinary youth are uniquely ill-protected when it comes to basic rights and dignities, including everyday things like having access to bathrooms that align with their gender identity. We’ve also seen efforts to ban already difficult to access safe, age-appropriate, gender-affirming health care.

As Daily Kos has covered at length, Republicans are making it exceptionally difficult for LGBTQ+ students, teachers, families, and frankly, people in general. This sad fact is unfortunately especially true in the state of Florida, with a special thanks to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the discriminatory Don’t Say Gay bill into law. In short, the legislation bars public school staff, including teachers, from discussing LGBTQ+ topics or identities in the classroom.

In a sea of absolutely brutal, exhausting news, it can be truly refreshing to focus on something good—or at least, something that doesn’t involve literal human rights and freedoms. As Daily Kos covered at the time, beloved country music star (and humanitarian) Dolly Parton politely declined a nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame back in March, and the Hall rather hilariously rejected her rejection.

As is the case before every major election, conservatives at all levels of government have a handful of buzzwords they can use to get their voter base riled up. As Daily Kos continues to cover, trans youth using the bathroom and playing sports is one of the biggest ones, as are calls to ban or even burn books that belong to public schools and libraries.

Being a young person today is far from easy—students are navigating life amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, considering higher education at a time when it’s devastatingly expensive, and watching rents and the housing market skyrocket. While LGBTQ+ youth are certainly not the only students experiencing hardships, research shows they do face disproportionate levels of bullying and harassment from their peers and are more likely to leave high school without a diploma.

As Daily Kos continues to cover, the heinous, hateful “Don’t Say Gay” law in Florida is dangerous for LGBTQ+ students, plus those who are questioning and allies. Queer youth already face structural and systemic barriers and obstacles when it comes to mental health, in addition to being at higher risk for becoming homeless, leaving high school without a diploma, and facing verbal and physical harassment and abuse.

Here at Daily Kos, we’re making an ongoing effort to cover the Republican assault on trans rights.  Conservatives are doing their best to try various routes to isolate and discriminate against trans folks, whether it comes down to denying them safe, gender-affirming health care, getting accurate gender markers on government IDs, or playing on sports teams. Republicans spend a lot of time talking about LGBTQ+ people in general, but nothing about mental health.

Earlier this week, Daily Kos covered Dolly Parton’s endearing, humble statement in which she said she respectfully declined the opportunity to be considered for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Turns out it’s too late for Parton’s withdrawal. Thursday, the organization responded by telling the general public that about 1,200 ballots have already gone out to voters—and her name is on them, according to The Washington Post.

Michael O’Keefe, a professor who taught graphic design for more than 40 years, says he was fired for bringing an openly gay speaker to his college class, according to local outlet KRQE. According to a statement from O’Keefe’s lawyer, Kevin Jacobs, the school claimed he was fired for “gross misconduct” contrary to the mission and values of the school.

Longtime progressive ally Dolly Parton announced on Monday morning she’s respectfully taking herself out of the running when it comes to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2022 nominations list. Parton shared a statement on social media, saying she is both “flattered and grateful” but ultimately doesn’t feel she’s earned “that right.

In the sea of anti-trans, hateful legislation coming from Republicans, it becomes all too easy to miss bills that aren’t getting the same mainstream media attention. One example comes to us out of Idaho, where the House State Affairs Committee recently approved House Bill 675, as reported by LGBTQ+ outlet them.

Not one to be left in the dust when it comes to Republicans destroying the lives of vulnerable trans folks, Kentucky is now pushing an anti-trans bill to keep trans girls out of girls’ sports. Senate Bill 83 passed out of the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 10 with a vote that basically broke down along party lines with a 9-3 final vote.

At this point in the pandemic, everyone should be in agreement that face masks need to be worn when inside (at minimum) and that they need to fit well. Obviously depending on the age and needs of the person involved, that’s sometimes easier said than done. One Pennsylvania community is lashing out from both sides of the political aisle after a photo of a teacher and minor student was posted to a Facebook page called “North Penn Stronger Together.

Unfortunately, here in the United States, we tend to be inundated with wellness advice that basically sums up to: Do more, try harder, and be better. There’s much to be said about how capitalism ingrains itself so deeply into our personal lives that we experience, say, a difficult period or traumatic event and turn to self-improvement (as opposed to widely accessible mental health care, for example).

Students have a lot to deal with in today’s day and age: surviving a global pandemic, going to school among anti-mask protests, and big-picture polarization among political parties they mostly can’t participate in yet. Structural and latent racism and xenophobia continue to infiltrate classrooms, too, as though young people don’t have enough hardships.

Since the novel coronavirus pandemic became part of daily life, many people are (understandably) interested in getting outside, whether that’s in their own neighborhood or at a state or national park. Access to the outdoors is a complex issue when we consider transportation, barriers for disabled folks, and the sheer privilege of having time off of work to get outside. It can also, perhaps paradoxically, come at a cost.

Students have an absolutely enormous amount on their plates no matter how they’re attending school during a global pandemic. Whether it’s virtual, in-person, a hybrid option, public or private, we know that young people are facing pandemic-related stress, uncertainty, and confusion, just like the rest of us.