{"id":1463298,"date":"2022-05-04T08:15:19","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T12:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1463298"},"modified":"2022-05-04T08:15:25","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T12:15:25","slug":"fueled-by-leftist-tears-amazon-no-1-johnny-the-walrus-exposes-todays-propagandistic-childrens-publishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fueled-by-leftist-tears-amazon-no-1-johnny-the-walrus-exposes-todays-propagandistic-childrens-publishing\/","title":{"rendered":"Fueled By Leftist Tears, Amazon No. 1 \u2018Johnny The Walrus\u2019 Exposes Today\u2019s Propagandistic Children\u2019s Publishing"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffueled-by-leftist-tears-amazon-no-1-johnny-the-walrus-exposes-todays-propagandistic-childrens-publishing%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1463298&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/books-e1651594585836.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Last week, Matt Walsh\u2019s book \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1956007059\/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_TSZA9TAC9AEK1KJE96AN\">Johnny the Walrus<\/a>,\u201dwhich tells a story of a boy pretending to be a walrus, became the bestselling children\u2019s book on Amazon. It topped the former bestselling children\u2019s book \u201cYou-ology: A Puberty Guide for Every Body,\u201d written by two scholars from the American Academy of Pediatrics.<\/p>\n<p>This is news because of the aggressive pushback against Walsh and his book. Libs of TikTok released <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/libsoftiktok\/status\/1519024303982845952\">videos<\/a> showing Amazon employees having a meltdown over \u201cJohnny the Walrus.\u201d Not only do they heap all kinds of invective on the book, but they even signal their need to bring it down and hinder its popularity. True to form, Amazon has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/04\/27\/amazon-targets-conservative-childrens-book-about-gender-identity\/\">censored publicity for the book<\/a>, pulling ads for it as well as changing the way it\u2019s classified.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to this, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/new-book-topping-amazons-lgbtq-category-leftists-fuming\/\">hordes of leftist activists<\/a> have posted videos and reviews condemning the book, often breaking into tears. Like the Amazon employees, these critics rage against the book\u2019s anti-transgender message and believe the book and its writer should be destroyed.<\/p>\n<p>There are three ironies about this story that offer some important insights on today\u2019s media culture: (1) attempts at censorship and cancelling content will often backfire, (2) books like \u201cJohnny the Walrus\u201d are not wrong or dangerous, but the opposite, and (3) children\u2019s books have been dominated by blatant left-wing propaganda for some time now.<\/p>\n<h2>Suppression Backfires<\/h2>\n<p>As Walsh and all his colleagues at The Daily Wire know well, triggering leftists is a great way to sell books and get speaking gigs. When it doesn\u2019t destroy a person, leftist outrage is a powerful publicity tool. It turns <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/03\/11\/stampede-for-dr-seuss-titles-sends-book-sales-up-34\/\">books into bestsellers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/stljewishlight.org\/news\/world-news\/protesters-heckle-richard-spencer-during-university-of-florida-speech\/\">nobodies into celebrities<\/a>, and even <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/2016\/11\/09\/trump-won-because-leftist-political-corr\/\">real estate moguls into presidents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This is because attempts to suppress or cancel speech <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmind.org\/salvo\/why-censorship-fails\/\">only draw attention to that speech and legitimize it<\/a>. After all, if these ideas were really hateful or wrong, they could easily be disproven and dismissed, not desperately feared and removed. For all the criticism of \u201cJohnny the Walrus,\u201d none of its opponents seems to explain how the book is wrong in its message. They just hate it and want it to go away.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, besides making the critics look like childish idiots, calls for cancellation and exclusion unite the opposing side. This is how \u201cJohnny the Walrus\u201d goes from being a gag book for Walsh\u2019s fans to being a bestseller appealing to all people who oppose leftist gender ideology.<\/p>\n<h2>What Exactly Is Wrong with the Book?<\/h2>\n<p>And if one can make it past the crying and howling of the sensitive \u201cAmazonians,\u201d what is their argument against a book like \u201cJohnny the Walrus\u201d? They say it\u2019s \u201cproblematic,\u201d but how so? The book\u2019s protagonist does what most children do and plays make-believe. The mother does what today\u2019s parents are told to do and takes this make-believe seriously. Realizing that this is ridiculous and dangerous, Johnny decides he\u2019s not a walrus after all and the mother learns to ignore the bad advice given to parents and affirms Johnny as the healthy, happy boy that he is.<\/p>\n<p>Would it be less problematic if Johnny\u2019s mother took the advice of insane people on the internet and affirmed Johnny\u2019s newfound identity as a walrus by paying for his surgery \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/04\/28\/american-academy-of-pediatrics-guide-teaches-kids-girl-erections\/\">same advice<\/a> that\u2019s given in \u201cYou-ology\u201d? How exactly is it not problematic that children poison and mutilate themselves because they\u2019re pretending to be something they\u2019re not?<\/p>\n<p>Then, of course, there\u2019s the charge that the book is far-right transphobic propaganda. For a book that doesn\u2019t mention the word \u201ctransgender\u201d anywhere, this is an odd charge. Walsh\u2019s book rather speaks to a deeper truth about being a human being: you must learn to accept yourself as you are. <\/p>\n<p>True, this runs counter to the popular lie that you can physically be whatever you want so long as you get surgery early enough and everyone around you uses the right language. But actual propaganda eschews this kind of morality and storytelling. As the name suggests, it exists for the sake of <em>propagating<\/em> a certain idea, usually by normalizing or glamorizing that idea through pictures and narratives. Indeed, there is plenty of this kind of thing in today\u2019s children\u2019s literature, and it\u2019s not \u201cJohnny the Walrus.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Children\u2019s Publishing Has Become Leftist Propaganda<\/h2>\n<p>Much like <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/04\/05\/disneys-obsession-with-grooming-children-is-nothing-new-but-their-openness-about-it-is\/\">Disney\u2019s currently doing<\/a>, most of the big publishers of children\u2019s literature today are intent on pushing far-left propaganda. Any parent who has browsed titles in the children\u2019s section of a Barnes &#038; Noble can attest to this. There are so many books that celebrate Democrat politicians, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Joey-Story-Biden-Dr-Jill\/dp\/1534480536\">Joe Biden<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.feministbooksforkids.com\/kamala-harris-books\/\">Kamala Harris<\/a>, and even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Staceys-Extraordinary-Words-Stacey-Abrams\/dp\/0063209470\">Stacey Abrams<\/a>. Last year, there were whole bookshelves devoted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.feministbooksforkids.com\/books-about-ruth-bader-ginsburg\/\">Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg<\/a>. Then of course there are books pushing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/LGBTQ\">LGBT<\/a> ideology in both popular <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weareteachers.com\/books-with-lgbt-characters\/\">children\u2019s<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abebooks.com\/books\/features\/pride\/30-LGBT-YA-books\/\">young adult literature<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Although there are adult books with these themes, it\u2019s telling that so many of them cater to children, the audience least likely to question it. Evidently, the hope is that children will take these stories and characters and use them to inform their view of the world and their choice of lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p>This is why all parents of good conscience should be careful what their kids consume. Not only is the internet a minefield, particularly addictive apps like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crisismagazine.com\/2022\/tiktok-is-emotionally-and-spiritually-killing-our-children\">TikTok<\/a>, but even supposedly wholesome children\u2019s books are <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmind.org\/features\/parents-rights\/baby-book-wars\/\">rife with subversive content<\/a>. If parents aren\u2019t vigilant, their children can develop a strong attachment to toxic ideas that gradually turn them into <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/04\/29\/its-not-in-your-head-the-left-really-has-become-this-miserable\/\">miserable adults<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, there are books like \u201cJohnny the Walrus\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/tanbooks.com\/products\/books\/kids\/elementary-school\/the-handsome-little-cygnet\/?utm_source=bing&#038;utm_medium=cpc&#038;utm_campaign=**LP%20-%20NonTM%20-%20TAN%20Books%20-%20The%20Handsome%20Little%20Cygnet&#038;utm_term=The%20Handsome%20Little%20Cygnet&#038;utm_content=The%20Handsome%20Little%20Cygnet\">The Handsome Little Cygnet<\/a>\u201d that are both wholesome and fun. Neither of them are given large colorful displays at the bookstore, let alone available in most public libraries, but parents can look them up and buy them for their children. In doing so, they are not only helping their children become readers, but also planting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crisismagazine.com\/2021\/one-man-quietly-reclaiming-culture\">seeds of virtue and wisdom<\/a> that will slowly blossom as their children grow up.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Auguste Meyrat is an English teacher in the Dallas area. He holds an MA in humanities and an MEd in educational leadership. He is the senior editor of The Everyman and has written essays for The Federalist, The American Conservative, and The Imaginative Conservative, as well as the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. Follow him on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MeyratAuguste\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, Matt Walsh\u2019s book \u201cJohnny the Walrus,\u201dwhich tells a story of a boy pretending to be a walrus, became the bestselling children\u2019s book on Amazon. It topped the former<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":551,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1463298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1463298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/551"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1463298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1463298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1463298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1463298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1463298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}