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“One of the many ironies of this whole situation is the fact that the only reason my character is in that chat room….is because he believes he can't be open at his school – attitudes which are being reinforced in University Place by banning my book.”

With the essay, Hartinger is both speaking his mind and hoping the ban will be lifted. He's working with locals to reverse the decision, and, next month, Brent will speak at a school district meeting at which they'll consider ending the ban.

The author's activism goes way beyond his own career interests. Over Thanksgiving weekend, Hartinger told us, “It's really not about my book at all. If every parent in every school district gets a veto on what books are allowed in the library that means the whole idea of library is meaningless.”

As for Geography Club, its creator is concerned that the University Place ban could pave the way for others. “The book has been challenged repeatedly, usually unsuccessfully, because of the gay theme,” he tells AfterElton.com. “It concerns me that other groups are going to try to use the Internet scene as an excuse to ban the book, knowing that it worked once. It's important that the rest of the country see that even in the very conservative community of University Place that fig leaf of an excuse does not work.”

About the criteria for book-banning, Brent states emphatically, “The bar should be very, very high.” He continues,“My book had good reviews, good peer reviews from other librarians, and a good reaction from teens. That's the case with virtually every book in a school library. My book had already gone through the usual vetting process, and it was apparently pretty popular. It would have stayed in the library indefinitely if two parents hadn't complained. And, let's be clear: they complained initially about the gay theme, without even having read the book. They don't want any gay book in the library. It was only after the PTA said that wasn't reason enough to pull a book that they went to the superintendent with these other complaints, including the Internet scene.”

Book-banning is bad enough, but it's only one manifestation of something much more insidious: the sharp right turn America has taken in the 21st Century. This orgy of American conservatism greatly troubles the author.

“Let me put it this way,” he tells us. “My partner (Michael Jensen) and I have applied to immigrate to Canada. We may or may not go through with it–we have three years to decide–but I've been so appalled by these last few years. Think about the national ‘debates' we're having these days. Whether or not we should be teaching evolution in science classes? Whether it means you hate America and the troops if you criticize the president? Whether saying ‘Season's Greetings' to someone is religious discrimination? Whether we should TORTURE people, or keep citizens in prison indefinitely without even accusing them of a crime?

“I mean, are you fricking kidding me? I don't recognize my country, and it's gotten bad so quickly, it makes me think I was mistaken about this country to begin with–that we never really believed in the great democratic principles of our founding fathers, or that we haven't believed them for a long, long time.”

Hartinger does admit to a cautious optimism: “People are finally waking up, but I don't take too much comfort in that. I mean, what the hell does it take?”

The Geography Club debate continues with most debaters favoring the reinstatement of the book in the University Place School District 's libraries.

In Saturday's Seattle Times, reader Kelly Milner Halls opined, “Book banning won't do. In censoring the book, Banks has loosed a more dangerous message–a message that disregards the United States Supreme Court's value and judgments; one that threatens our First Amendment right to free speech.

“Tossing the book out for all students–including gay and lesbian students already marginalized by the political climate in America today, students three times more likely to commit suicide because they feel discounted and unseen–is far more dangerous than the Internet.”

Later, Milner Halls concludes, “Freedom matters. So does a student's right to read. I hope Banks will consider both.”

The following day, Seattle Times' editorial writer Jerry Large decided, “Kids need protection, but they also need opportunities for conversations about the dangers they face. There has to be a line, but Banks drew it too low this time."

We'd love to be a fly on the wall of the University Place School District's December meeting.

For more information about Hartinger, visit his official website or biggaypicture.com, where Hartinger blogs about the ban.  

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