Conservative political commentator Matt Walsh's satirical book "Johnny the Walrus," which takes on adults who encourage children to explore transgenderism, is a bestseller on Amazon, but isn't so hot with LGBTQ activists.
Written in the form of a children's book, "Johnny the Walrus" became an instant success and sold out at Amazon as soon as it was released on Nov. 29, according to The Daily Wire, where Walsh hosts a podcast. But not long after, it was named the No. 1 bestselling book in the LGBTQ+ category.
Since the book satirizes having children participate in the trans movement, members of the LGBTQ+ community were outraged at the book being included in their list.
"Totally unacceptable that @amazon is listing Matt Walsh's anti-trans children's book as an 'LGBTQ+ Book' — also goes to show how easy it is for conservatives to manipulate sales and make money off this grift," tweeted Brennan Suen, who covers LGBTQ issues for the left-leaning website Media Matters.
GLAAD, an activist group that monitors the media on behalf of the LGBTQ community, retweeted Brennan, adding: "This is horrible.@AmazonHelp Please remove this book from the LGBTQ category immediately. It is absolutely not an LGBTQ book. It specifically targets transgender people with hateful and dehumanizing rhetoric."
Walsh has previously said that a child cannot become a walrus any more than he or she can change genders, The Wire reported. His book takes that theme further by having a boy named Johnny with an active imagination.
Johnny pretends to be all sorts of things, but when he lands on a walrus, his progressive mother's friends find out about it — and pressure her into encouraging Johnny into actually "transitioning" into a walrus against her better judgment.
It's a conservative take on what is happening in the U.S. with transgender children. Conservatives argue that young minds and feelings are still developing, such decisions are not final, and parents, therefore, should not engage in life-altering decisions such as hormone therapies.
Many liberals, however, encourage such moves.
"The success of the book proves that people are tired of the children's book market being dominated by left-wing propaganda," Walsh told The Daily Wire. "Also, it indicates perhaps that there is a mostly untapped interest in walruses," he joked.
Once the book was added as the LGBTQ+ top seller, he said on social media: "I now have the number one LGBT book in the country. Any further criticism of me or my book is now homophobic. Checkmate."
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