Letter to the Editor - In Defense of a Banned Book: 'Lawnboy'

Dear Editor, I am writing to defend a banned book: 'Lawnboy' by Jonathan Evison. I hope others write in defense of banned books, too. You won't find 'Lawnboy' in the Decorah school library anymore because, according to our Governor, Legislature, and the now infamous moral arbiters, Moms for Liberty, 'Lawnboy' is a bad book no student should read. Supposedly, they banned 'Lawnboy' to protect students from a short scene they say makes the book "pornographic." For the life of me, I can't understand why they think this scene "encourages an excessive interest in sexual matters" and this book is of "no literary value;" their judgment says more about them than it does about the book. (Quotes are from the legal definition of obscenity.) By banning 'Lawnboy,' however, they will "protect" students from getting to know Mike Muñoz, a main character who suffers plenty of trauma in his short life yet emerges filled with clear-eyed love and hope. I rooted for him throughout; the end left this old guy with tears in his eyes. Contrast that compassionate and hopeful vision with the dark tantrums of a bilious billionaire, the leader of the Book Banning Party, who, echoing universal fascist rhetoric, vows the elimination of human "vermin" and asserts that real-life Mike Muñozes "poison the blood of America!" And yet they say 'Lawnboy' is dangerous? Banning 'Lawnboy' will "protect" students from seeing how people, flawed and struggling themselves, can find a bit of grace; how families and friends and communities can provide the love that our children need to grow into themselves; how acceptance and love are possible and can form a durable foundation on which to (re)build a life. Banning 'Lawnboy' protects our students? I'm proud that the Decorah school library once had 'Lawnboy' in its collection. I'm angry that a few deny others the opportunity to read this book. While not for everyone, it could be just the book someone needs to help navigate their own turbulent journey. Mike Muñoz deserves the last words now because you won't find them in the school library later. These words come late in the book after Mike finds the acceptance he so desires and he begins his topiary art in the yards of Bainbridge Island. (I hope I'm not revealing too much!) His words challenge us to be our best selves. "So whoever you are," Muñoz says, "whatever your last name is, wherever you come from, whichever way you swing, whatever is standing in your way, just remember: you're bigger than that. Like the man said: you contain multitudes." What a message for now: we're bigger than that; we contain multitudes. I wish the Governor and the Legislature had learned that lesson. Steve Peterson Decorah, IA