If you can’t beat it – censor it

In case you’re not familiar with the story of Roy and Silo, these are two male penguins, living in New York zoo, as a couple. For some years, keepers had wondered why they hadn’t produced any chicks, but it took a vetinary check to confirm that they were both male.

And, after unsuccessfully trying to hatch a small rock, they were given a fertilised egg to look after, subsequently raising a baby penguin called Tango.


Now it seems that someone thought that this was a charming story and they sat down to write a little cartoon book about it, aimed at young children. Could anyone possibly be offended by such a tale of avian love?

Well, true to form, some parents in the Mid West have been complaining about the presence of the book in school libraries. There have been calls for it to be removed or put into ‘mature’ sections or for it not to be able to borrowed without a letter of consent from a parent.

These people must be really, really scared.

Presumably, the idea that homosexuality can occur in the animal kingdom, outside of humanity, is terrifying for people who view it as unnatural and against God.

Mind, this is the country that is going to play host to the world’s first Creationist museum – did you know that dinosaurs and man lived side-by-side? Scientists can’t tell how old bones are, you know, so they’re just inventing stuff when they say the world is older than 6,000 years. So there.

Perhaps we should simply be relieved that those objecting to the tale of penguins haven’t actually resorted to burning copies of the book. Presumably that’s just necessary for Harry Potter’s adventures.