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On Oct. 25, state Rep. Matt Krause, a Republican candidate for Texas attorney general, to the Texas Education Agency and select school district superintendents.

Krause asked them to identify of each book of 850 they possess, how much they spent on those books, and to identify any other books they possess that include the topics “human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, or HIV or AIDS, sexually explicit images, graphic presentations of sexual behavior that is in violation of the law, or contain material that might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex or convey that a student, by virtue of their race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”

Rep. Krause gave the schools until Nov. 12 to comply.

Then on Nov. 1, Governor Gregory Abbott to the Texas Association of School Boards stating that the organization has “an obligation to Texas parents and students to ensure that no child in Texas is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content while inside a Texas public school.”

There is nothing new about the banning of books in America, as there is nothing new about why we absolutely . Teachers are experts at leading discussions with their students about uncomfortable topics raised in books.

It’s these discussions that help students learn how to cope with the complexities of life. Books, unlike social media, offer context, ideas, and nuance. So while pornography on social media or the internet is probably pornography, sex in literature isn’t pornography.

Likewise, race and LGBTQ issues in literature aren’t dangers from which we need to protect our youth. Rather, chewing on these different ideas is how we help students become more intelligent.

Think of a book as an onion — there are multiple layers to peel away and consider before you get to the core of hope. And the hope the book offers is most profound if it follows the portrayal and validation of realistic experiences, no matter how brutal or inconvenient.

My young adult novel, “Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story,” is one of the 850 titles on Rep. Krause’s list. I’m not sure if Rep. Krause has read it, but either way, does he think a love story set on Oahu about a transgender Indian boy, who’s been bullied and is depressed, and a mixed ethnicity girl of color who’s been abandoned by her mother and sex-trafficked, is dangerous?

Allow me to offer another perspective on what is really dangerous — the daily experiences of the real life Jayas and Rasas that I treat in my office who have been let down and/or abused by almost all of the adults in their lives.

It isn’t enough for diverse teens who survive the unspeakable to read convenient, happy-go-lucky books they can’t relate to; preventing any student from reading “uncomfortable” books is the intellectual equivalent of wiping out culture and ideas — the opposite of education.

Though the ending of Jaya and Rasa isn’t neat, there is hope. Hope that the main characters have learned to love and trust themselves a little more and found love and trust in each other.

And just like the abused youth I treat in my office, Jaya and Rasa couldn’t have gotten to healing without having their painful experiences acknowledged and validated in an uncensored way.

‘Marginalized People’

Rep. Krause and Gov. Abbott want to erase the experiences, suffering, and hope of many marginalized people across the country, including some Oahu teens.

Yet, I’m willing to bet that they and their constituents have, or will someday, take that dream vacation to Hawaii. They’ll rub on the sunscreen, put on their shades, and strut through Waikiki, eager to lay their eyes on the beautiful brown “hula girls” in grass skirts (maybe even their hands). They’ll fake smile at the transgender auntie serving them lunch and then not leave a tip, or file some bogus complaint (yes, some of my local LGBTQ patients tell me about those kinds of experiences as well).

And someday soon, when there are more published novels by Native Hawaiian authors, future Rep. Krauses and Gov. Abbotts will probably also deem some of their writing as unpalatable and want to add the titles to future inquiry or banned book lists.

Then, the future Rep. Krauses and Gov. Abbotts will vacation on the islands. The tourist dollars they spend here will reinforce not only colonialism, but what adult abusers often tell my young patients while abusing them: Shut up and put up.