Literary advocate Mychal Threets has called book-banning a “form of evil.” He goes on to explain why books are so important, and ridding the world of them is dangerous.
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Mychal Threets, who is known online as “Mychal the Librarian” for his love for books, spoke to PEOPLE about the importance of books and stories. He has built an online space to promote public libraries as spaces where everyone belongs.
“I’m a person who grew up with a mom who homeschooled them from kindergarten through junior year, a dad who worked very hard, so I would have chances to read as much as possible or to learn as much as possible,” he explained.
“I feel banning books limits those opportunities, those chances. If you ban books, you’re banning stories, you’re banning voices,” he warned. “You’re telling certain people that their story, their lives, don’t matter.”
Mychal Threets Calls Book Banning “Evil”
“Perhaps once you know that you belong in the library, then you accept that you belong everywhere,” he said, continuing to promote his message of the power of books.
“I honestly believe it is a form of evil to ban books, to censor books, to challenge books,” he staked.
“It’s totally okay if your child is not ready for certain books, certain stories. Maybe you — as a grownup, as a guardian — are not ready for them to read a certain story. Maybe that kid is like, ‘Hey, I’m ready. I’m prepared, but my grown-ups feel this way. They’re the ones guiding me in life.’ I believe that’s a wonderful thing. But it’s also a wonderful thing that no other household needs to abide by what your household views for books.”
“Something I’ve always wanted to do is to tell stories, to remind people that they belong,” Threets says. “In a world where people are told their story doesn’t matter, I argue that is very much untrue. Wherever the stories are, that’s where the good stuff is.”
The former librarian found comfort and belonging as a bookworm, and wants as many kids to find the solace and community he did. Banning books removes the stories, lessons, and lives they’re a window into. And that should be a very scary thought for everyone.