My Two Cents on the Scroggins Debacle

I wasn't going to add my voice to the whole Scroggins debacle. I wasn't going to "speak up" because I felt everything had already been covered. As I read blog post after blog post, I kept nodding my head in agreement. What more could I add?

But there is something I can add to the conversation. So I'll let it out and hope I convey it properly.

You see, I believe reading "bad" books and watching "bad" movies as a child made me a better person.

I know that might be confusing for some, so let me explain.

Growing up, my parents let me read and watch practically anything. I read a lot of horrible scenes in books and watched a lot of horrible scenes in movies. Some were too much for me, so I skipped over them or closed my eyes and plugged my ears. Some, sadly, were so horrible they gave me nightmares, and those images are forever seared in my memory. I'm sorry I watched/read those particular scenes because they weren't for me, personally. But in general, all those scenes I saw/read including drug use, alcohol use, swearing, abuse, violence, sex, rape, murder, peer pressure, jealousy, greed, theft, suicide made me who I am today.

I, thankfully, had a cushy childhood, but I wasn't sheltered by any means. I had freedoms most kids never do, and I was loved like crazy by three wonderful parents. (Still am!) Most of my weekends were spent at local bars because my dad played in a Southern Rock band. I was a roadie from the day I was born, and with that came exposure to beer brawls, foul language, thick clouds of smoke, and men objectifying women on and off the dance floor. Couple that with the books I read and the films I saw and you might be surprised to find that I've never been abused, never tried drugs, never lit a cigarette, never been drunk, never slept around. In fact, I was called a prude too many times to count.

Now, I'm not saying this as some sort of pat on the back, but I was pretty much the quintessential teenager. Just ask my parents -- they had it easy with me. I was a poster child.

And yet I wouldn't have known what to stay away from without those books and films.

How will a child learn what is bad when they're only ever exposed to the good? A lot of bloggers are pointing to the Bible and with good reason. Stories about sin will always be told, and will always need to be told, because we need to see the dark in order to identify the light. And reading gives us a safe place to experience the dark.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather read about a rape victim's struggle than experience it myself. And I'd rather read about it (her mistakes and her triumphs) so that if something like that ever happened to me, I might actually know how to handle it.

A good friend of mine, Bria Quinlan, wrote a YA novel dealing with eating disorders and *gasp* sexual addiction. It's empowering, beautiful, inspiring. I would have loved to have read it as a teen, and I can't wait to see it on the bookstore shelves. But even though it's destined to help teens struggling with these very issues, someone, somewhere, is going to ban it, never letting it grace those teens' fingertips.

And that kills me.

There will always be sick people out there. Sick people who will identify rape as pornography, as something arousing. That kills me too. But as Jay Asher mentioned on his Facebook page today, "No two people read the same book exactly alike. Sometimes, in fact, they get two totally different stories from the very same words. And that's only one reason why we can't let people like Mr. Scroggins limit access to books."

To assume every teen who reads SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE will start dropping the F-bomb is obtuse. To assume every teen will have sex on a beach (with condoms! *gasp!*) after reading TWENTY BOY SUMMER is ignorance. And to think by keeping these books out of a child's reach will keep them from learning about those realities is extremely naïve. I learned about worse things in kindergarten when I started riding the school bus. From other kindergartners, not authors or teachers.

Hey, Scroggins, are you going to ban buses next?

Now, as a Christian, I want to stress that Scroggins does not speak for all of us. I'm going to mention some Biblical passages to make my point, so be forewarned.

I formed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ when I was 19. After that, I cut a lot of things out of my life I felt were damaging to me personally. As a result, I'm more selective with the books I read and the films I watch. I won't watch/read something with a lot of swearing, graphic violence, or sexual situations. I take offense when God's name is taken in vain. I strive to follow Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Why? Because I feel my quality of life is better when I do so. But that is my preference. I'm ashamed to say there was a phase in my walk with Christ where I thought everyone should be of the same opinion as I. I wish I could apologize to those who may have felt offended or guilty by my ignorant chastising. I was wrong to do so. I understand Christ's character so much more now, and that is why I will fight fiercely for books like SPEAK and TWENTY BOY SUMMER. (For those of you who haven't read the latter, it's not what you think it's about. Trust me.)

When talking about negative content in films or books with fellow Christians, I often point to WALK THE LINE, the film about Johnny Cash. Let's look at some of the elements in that film: drug use, swearing, adultery, pre-marital sex, lying, suicidal tendencies, etc. Taken out of context, one might feel a film with those elements wouldn't be appropriate for teens. However, when you look at it in context, none of those things are glorified. In fact, the entire film is about John redeeming himself from his personal sins. It's about a Christian family who took him in, supported him, helped him recover. It's about his own journey back to Christ.

Now if that's not a positive film for Christian teens, I don't know what is.

Anytime we take an issue out of context, we do ourselves and our children a disservice. Anytime a Christian holds a person of a different belief system to their Biblical standards, they do Christ a disservice and alienate themselves from true community.

What good comes from hiding evil truths from our kids? Ephesians 5:11 says, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." Expose them. Not hide them under a rock like Scroggins would have us do.  

Expose them.

And that's what Laurie Halse Anderson and Sarah Ockler and so many authors before them have done.

That's my story. Mine alone. I don't believe every child in my shoes would have turned out the same. But I thought it was a different angle and felt it needed to be shared. Thanks for reading.