Those of you who follow me on Twitter (@rbwood) may have noticed I've added a badge to my picture. It says simply: Speak Loudly.
I'm warning you now, I'm about to rant and rave here.
You were warned.
Laurie Halse Anderson has written a book called SPEAK. It's a first person novel told from the perspective of High School freshman Melinda Sordino. The novel is set during the course of her school year. Melinda is having difficulties speaking.
It is a very emotional, hard to put down, hard not to cry novel. We find out why she is considered an outcast and why, in her words, "It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis."
The book is at times brutally honest, and you eventually find out why Melinda cannot seem to speak.
So why the twitter banner? And why the impending rant?
Because some right-wing nut job wants to ban the book.
Ban. The. Book.
The "Speak Loudly" Twitter banner and the subsequent #speakloudly hash-tag are in protest of even the thought of banning a book--a WRONG and abhorrent action as suggested by an ass-hat jack wagon.
The link above (click on Laurie's name) takes you to her description what's happening with the situation. As a writer, I can't imagine what she's going through with this nonsense.
As an American who cherishes the "Freedom of Speech" amendment (and there is a REASON it's the FIRST amendment), I'm disgusted at the thought of banning any sort of writing.
In an age where our rights are slowly being whittled away by the powers that be, a line must be drawn in the sand.
We must fight for our freedoms and our rights as writers, as citizens, as a family.
We must SPEAK LOUDLY against those who work against the light.
