Muzzling Mommies Won't Work
Moms for Liberty Comes to New York
You could be a doctor or scientist with all of the right credentials from a prestigious university like Drs. Jay Bhattacharaya and Scott Atlas.
You could be an award-winning journalist like Matt Taibbi or respected civil rights attorney like Jenin Younes.
You could just be a regular mom who wants all children to learn to read and go to thriving public schools like Tiffany Justice, founder of Moms for Liberty, or the moms (and dads) here at Restore Childhood.
Even if you are a lifelong NYC Democrat, if you have the wrong opinions, it doesn’t matter who you are or what your background is - you may be branded a “far-right extremist”. You will then be considered guilty of supporting book bans, engaging in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, a multitude of conspiracy theories and systematically censored.
There is, of course, no evidence required for such claims. But that won’t change the impact of the false accusations- cancellation and censorship.
So it came as no surprise when NYC politicians began to call for the cancellation of Thursday’s upcoming Moms for Liberty event in NYC, and attempting to smear any parents who dare attend. A group, ironically called Defense of Democracy, launched a petition to get the private venue to cancel the town hall (so far the hall has remained committed to holding the event).
Two NYC Council members, Julie Menin and Keith Powers, took the time to write a joint letter to Joseph Balaz, the president of the Bohemian Center, pressuring him to cancel, too:
"While we recognize that free speech is a constitutional right, we have been disturbed at the rise of hate speech and divisive rhetoric that groups such as Mom for Liberty espouse."
What hate speech? What divisive rhetoric?
We haven’t see any, and are not expecting anything different on Thursday. Tiffany Justice even tweeted to invite electeds to join the town hall to air their grievances.
Not one has accepted.
In a response, Natalya pointed out in today’s New York Post op-ed:
Missing were any details to substantiate the attacks. Instead, it reeked of un-democratic propagandist tactics to silence opposition . . .
. . . I am a liberal New York City Democrat, as sensitive to hate speech as any reasonable person. I have watched interviews, read articles, and spoken to Moms for Liberty founder, my friend Tiffany Justice, who is a staunch children’s literacy advocate and a firm believer in parental rights.
I have yet to find an instance of divisive rhetoric or hate speech in anything that she or her partner Tina Descovich, a Florida mother of five and former school board member with a long track history of community service, have said.
On the contrary, their positions are commonsense ones any parent — or grandparent — could agree on, particularly the emphasis on parental rights.
Don’t take our word for it - listen to Natalya’s most recent conversation with Tiffany Justice where they discuss the ongoing impacts of school closure and the wonders of… olive oil!
This is why we are counting on you to read past the headlines and have courageous conversations with your families, friends and other parents in your social circles.
The Restore Childhood team is really looking forward to attending Thursday’s town hall and speaking with many NYC parents and advocates. We are told the event will be livestreamed and we will share a link to watch with you soon!
Until then, stay warm!