How The Simpsons predicted Florida’s wild decision to fire a teacher for showing Michelangelo’s David
Current Florida charter school fiasco uncannily reflects early season 2 episode
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Your support makes all the difference.The Simpsons appears to have predicted the unfortunate reality of a parental uproar at a Florida charter school.
Years ago, in the animated sitcom’s ninth episode of its second season (1991), titled “Itchy & Scratchy & Marge”, Marge Simpson is horrified by the violence depicted on her children’s TV show Itchy & Scratchy.
After failing to convince the production company to tone down the violence, she forms an angry mob named SNUH (Springfieldians for Nonviolence, Understanding, and Helping) to join her in protesting the show’s studio.
Meanwhile, Michelangelo’s David is sent around on a tour of the US, with an expected stop in the Simpsons’s city of Springfield, angering members of SNUH.
They urge Marge to protest the famed sculpture, claiming it’s offensive and inappropriate. However, Marge, being an artist herself, insists it’s a masterpiece. She’s later pointed out for her hypocrisy in differentiating what art should be censored.
Marge eventually concedes to give up on her anti-TV violence campaign; Michelangelo’s David is brought to the city and freedom of expression wins the day.
Over two decades later and the events of the cartoon appear to have played out in the US city of Tallahassee, although ending in greater consequences.
Hope Carrasquilla, a Florida charter school principal, has been forced to resign after three parents complained that their children were “upset” by images of Michelangelo’s David shown in their sixth-grade history class, according to reports from local outlet Tallahassee Democrat.
One parent reportedly branded the statue “pornographic”, saying they wish they had been informed ahead of time that their children would be shown such images.
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The news comes amid the state’s attack on public education, drag shows, abortion and more. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is currently fighting to ban, what he considers, the “woke indoctrination” of public schools.
Through his approved legislation, the state would review reading materials and limit classroom discussion of gender identity, and race books could be pulled indefinitely or temporarily from the curriculum.
At the moment, DeSantis will likely be former President Donald Trump’s Republican party nominee rival in the 2024 election.
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