Imagine being so obsessed with banning books you move from your
longtime home in New York to travel all the way to Florida
specifically to ban books in an area you don't even live in.
Well, that's what one man did, Bruce Friedman,
and he succeeded in banning a lot of books, dozens of them.
And he definitely wants to ban more.
So this year, at least 102 books have been banned in Clay County, Florida.
They were removed from school libraries,
thanks in large part to this single conservative activist.
I want you to pay close attention to his quotes, cuz dude's got issues.
>> Of course.
>> But I wanna know if you get what I mean, so
let me just get through the details.
Okay, all right, so he's the president and
founder of the Florida chapter of No Left Turn.
It's a right-wing educational group that was founded by Yaron Fishbein.
Now, public schools are starting to resemble re-education camps and
our cities have turned into killing fields, the group wrote on Facebook.
It's beginning to feel like Pol Pot's Cambodia.
>> Is that what it's feeling like?
>> I guess. >> I thought for
sure he was gonna end the sentence with,
it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.
And he's like, no, no, Pol Pot, that's what it's looking, really?
They're like, we've got these re-education camps now.
They're now teaching the kids that two plus two, it actually equals four.
Okay, all right, if you say so.
>> I feel like people who make statements like that should be sentenced to
live in a country for one month that is similar to what they're describing.
>> I know, right?
So he's in Florida, he's having great Cuban food,
he's having the time of his life.
>> Right, yeah, he's having a Cafecito, pastelito, he's having a great time.
He's like, it's a killing field.
>> It's sunny outside, everything is great.
Send him to North Korea for one month, right?
And you got worms inside your intestines and stuff.
And you haven't eaten, you haven't seen toilet paper in a month.
And then he'll be like, please send me to a re-education camp in Florida.
>> Totally, 100%, okay, so
it seems that Bruce is equally as insane as the group's founder, by the way.
And Bruce is the guy who traveled from New York to Florida specifically to ban books.
Now, he gained some notoriety when he went to a school board meeting and
then proceeded to read from a book that described a rape scene.
The school board cut his mic, for obvious reasons, how creepy is that?
He also told Fox News that he wants his 15-year-old son to be in
the public education system and come home unharmed.
He's concerned his 15-year-old son is being unharmed.
So, obviously, the natural strategy to prevent the harm of his
15-year-old son is to ban books that he had no idea about in
the school libraries, while the Internet is at his fingertips.
>> Ana, you took the words right out of my mouth.
Because look, guys, it's a serious story.
Because they're trying to, ironically, shut down speech,
from the guys who claim that they're in favor of speech.
They're trying to cancel books,
from the guys who claim they're against cancel culture, right?
But it's also funny, because how hilariously irrelevant?
I wish my kids were going to the library, and like, well,
let me look through the books.
And I found one that's interesting, right?
>> They're doing us a huge favor, because they're making reading cool again.
>> I know, they're making it look like, if you go to the library,
you might find something really hot.
>> Ooh, so naughty, so taboo, I'm reading a book.
>> All of a sudden, 15-year-olds are like, dude, have you seen the library?
Which a 15-year-old hasn't said in two decades.
>> [LAUGH] I love it, no, but what's also amazing is he's specifically targeting
books that don't have pornographic material in them.
Okay, I'm gonna give you examples in just a moment, but-
>> Look, Ana, that's the thing, I mean,
back to the Internet for one second, there's two girls kissing.
Have you seen the Internet, Bruce?
Have you seen it?
>> Can you imagine?
>> [LAUGH] >> My God, he's laying in the corner in
fetal position, just like rocking back and forth.
My God, the Internet, the Internet, they do more than kissing on the Internet.
>> They do, trust me, Bruce.
>> Okay, all right, so let's get to the details.
Now, during the November 28th meeting of the Florida Department of
Education Library Media Working Group, he said that he had compiled a list
of over 3,600 titles he doesn't approve of, let's watch.
>> I have a list of over 3,600 titles that I believe have concerning content.
Our libraries have more than a little poison in them.
Think of it like a recipe for a happy well developed child.
How much poison is it okay to give them, whether it's porn, critical race theory,
social emotional learning, fluid gender, pick your poison.
None of it is okay for my boy.
I expect this team and all like it to clean up this mess or
like I'm doing locally, we'll take them down one book at a time.
I will perform 3,600 challenges and
overwhelm your awful, awful procedures and policies.
>> I'm coming for your books, okay?
All right, I got over 3,600 titles, I'm coming for your books.
You better tidy up that library, I got my eyes on you.
All right, so one of the books- >> But can I just say-
>> No, we're gonna keep going.
>> No, sorry, go.
>> No, cuz I gotta you give the example.
>> No, she's got to.
>> So he wants to ban and has succeeded in banning The Girl From The Sea,
which is an award winning novel, okay?
It's about a 15-year old girl who develops romantic feelings for another girl.
Now, the two girls hold hands at one point and
as you can see from the image, they share a kiss.
But there's no sex, no swearing, no nudity, unacceptable for him, okay?
So in an interview with Popular Information, Friedman described
The Girl From The Sea as a book for slight, okay, this is what I mean,
slightly post-pubescent little lesbians, Friedman says.
He objects to the book being available in Clay County libraries because students
are not in school to learn about how to be better lesbians.
The book is not about being a better lesbian, you weirdo creep.
>> Yeah, you could be a worse lesbian if you want, it doesn't matter, okay.
You could be a total middle lesbian- >> A bad, bad lesbian.
>> A mid lesbian, okay.
Yeah, and is a bad lesbian, good or bad because you're a bad, bad lesbian.
Could be really positive, I don't know which way he's going with that.
>> He's worried about his 15-year old son reading a book about lesbians.
Are you worried your son might be a lesbian after reading the book?
I don't get it, okay, let me continue.
The book exposes students to a land of girls making out with great illustration.
>> With great illustrations cuz he took time on that one.
>> Not, but seriously, this is what I'm talking about man,
this guy is thinking about things that he's feeling real guilty about and
that's why he's acting out the way he is.
In my opinion, that's my analysis on this.
According to Friedman, students should not be focused on kissing or petting or
anything else in that general territory.
>> No, and 15-year-olds, by the way are not,
they never thought about it until the librarians put it in their heads.
>> Those naughty librarians.
>> [LAUGH] >> I mean, in all those books.
>> Yeah, the librarians are like, hey, look, I know your 15-year-old boys
are not at all interested in sex, but have you heard about lesbians?
>> Okay, get a load of this next quote.
Friedman said he is comfortable with gay people.
>> Of course he is.
>> And quote, recognizes that they exist.
But this is the part I'm talking about.
>> Is he not merciful?
>> Friedman said he lived for years in New York City and on very rare occasions,
I would meet a sexually aggressive homosexual person.
>> Good for you, brother.
>> And have words with them.
>> That's what we're calling it these days.
>> I'm sure you did.
Listen, stop hating yourself, it's gonna be okay.
Instead of lashing out and banning books, go get therapy, okay?
>> That was, accidentally the most sexual thing I've read all week [LAUGH].
>> No, but who describes people that way?
Who describes people that way?
>> I met an aggressively homosexual man and we exchanged words [LAUGH].
>> No, he said, quote verbatim, I would meet a sexually
aggressive homosexual person and have words with them.
Listen again- >> [LAUGH] How did you know they were
sexually aggressive?
>> Yeah, how did you know?
>> [LAUGH] I mean that seems awfully specific knowledge that you would only get
under certain circumstances that you might not get from exchanging words.
>> But listen, this guy has succeeded in getting these books banned, right?
Not every book, some of the books, for instance,
there was one book that had no nudity, no sexual content, nothing.
It was a book about, main character named Justice who was experiencing
discrimination because the character was black.
There was nothing explicit in that book whatsoever.
He even acknowledged it, but he doesn't like the fact that the book deals with
racial discrimination cuz it makes him uncomfortable.
So he doesn't think anyone else in that school district should be able to
read that book.
>> But think about how mental that is.
Okay, so the whole gay, not gay thing,
I know religious folks got brought up in wrong kind of brainwashing.
It's so evil, my God.
God's so wrong, he shouldn't have created you that way.
Okay, so that's awful, totally wrong, but I understand where it comes from.
This on the other hand, he's like, it's a book about a black
kid who's an Ivy League student who has some racial profiling issues, seriously,
the most normal thing I've ever heard.
>> And the book is Dear Martin, and it's a story about an Ivy League bound
African American student, so Dear Martin is the name of the book.
>> And so he's like, well, I don't like it, I don't know if he doesn't like
that the kid wound up in Ivy League in the book, by the way it's not a real story.
Or that he doesn't like that he was racially profiled or
he doesn't like that he's noting that he got racially profiled.
In other words, Bruce doesn't like black people talking about racism, okay?
And he wants to shut them up because he thinks he rules the world.
He thinks he's Bruce Almighty, right?
>> So he didn't succeed with getting that book banned thankfully.
I mean, at least there's some line here because again,
no explicit material whatsoever.
And they have to provide a reason for
why they're trying to get a book banned, right?
You can't show up and be like, I read the Da Vinci Code and
I'm really mad I spent $15 on it and didn't enjoy it.
So I'd like you to ban it please, okay, kind sir do that today.
Where's the line?
>> Yeah, well see on that particular book, the Dear Martin one,
he can't say I don't like black people, so I want you to ban the book.
So he has to say critical race theory, critical race theory how, right?
No, I don't have to explain it, I just use this catchword that Fox News taught me and
then I get to hate black people and it's okay.
>> Exactly so he says it promotes Black Lives Matter and
the notion of microaggressions and he doesn't like it, so-
>> I don't like that it promotes black
people living longer, [LAUGH] I mean it's absurd, okay.
>> And by the way, I'm just gonna fast forward to the final graphic here,
because going back to what I referenced earlier, how his quotes
seem to reveal something that he doesn't mean to reveal about himself.
So Friedman cites the Parental Rights Act, AKA don't say gay law,
to justify his objections to these books.
And he says this, you don't want little children
questioning their budding little bodies,
just stop talking, it's creepy, just don't.
I don't know, there's something strange about the way he talks about young people,
the way he talks about gay people, the way he talks about everything.
There's something going on with this guy.
And I think it is insane that places like Florida, certain districts in Florida
have created a system in which people who might have some serious issues are able to
prevent students from accessing books that have nothing wrong with them whatsoever.
>> Yeah, look, this guy got dozens of books banned and then finally they
realized, we're just giving into a lunatic and maybe we should double check.
And because you know why, even by the way, don't say it doesn't apply to libraries,
he's wrong about that.
But everybody in Florida that's involved in education is so
nervous because that bill allows you to sue them directly.
So the librarians are like, I don't know,
just ban them all cuz I don't I wanna be sued for $10,000 or
I don't wanna have a bunch of people sue me for 10,000 at a time.
I mean, they're gonna bankrupt me, they're gonna take my home, they're gonna ruin my
life because there was a perfectly normal book about a black kid who was successful.
I don't know, I guess ban it cuz of the goddamn bill, cuz it's so hateful.
So Bruce guy is a loon and he's pathetic and all that stuff, right?
But he's not the heart of the problem, the heart of the problem is Ron deSantis who
passed this bill in the first place, that encourage lunatics like this to go and
try to cancel all the books in the world.
>> The politicians who manufacture culture wars in order to engage in their political
campaigning and distract you from the fact that they're actually pro-corporate and
assist corporations in robbing you blind, that's what's really fueling this.
And it enables the lunatics like Friedman to do what they do and
I leave you with this, okay?
He's on a warpath, he even says that if anyone gets in his way,
he has vowed to run over them like a dead body, another quote of his, by the way.
And don't lose all hope though,
luckily there are still some reasonable humans in Florida.
Like this angry mom who spoke at the same meeting after Friedman and
another woman from his posse, did their thing, her name is Michelle, let's watch.
>> These women don't get to decide how to raise everybody else's children.
And I know that you're not only getting emails from No Left Turn in education or
Moms for Liberty.
Because I know that there's a whole hell of a lot of more sane women out there,
parents, moms and
dads who don't believe that our children need to be policed like this.
I find it disgusting the way that these people keep focusing on pornography,
maybe they have a problem and not everybody else.
Also Michelle, CRT is not an issue here, so get off that high horse, thank you.
>> [SOUND] That was excellent and I'm glad that there are others
picking up on what I picked up on when it comes to guys like Friedman.