He photographed what he saw as instruments of the alleged crime: Books
July 25, 2024 5:39 AM Subscribe
Inside the two-year fight to bring charges against school librarians in Granbury, Texas An 824-page investigative file offers a visceral picture of an officer’s attempt to prosecute librarians amid a nationwide movement to criminalize books.
EmpressCallipygos: I agree but the stories I’ve read over the years about what happens to people who go up against small-town law enforcement would give anyone pause. Unless this guy has annoyed the other cops I would seriously worry about retaliation.
posted by adamsc at 6:01 AM on July 25 [17 favorites]
posted by adamsc at 6:01 AM on July 25 [17 favorites]
Might the ACLU be able to help there?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:08 AM on July 25 [4 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:08 AM on July 25 [4 favorites]
The law enforcement officer in this article might be the only person who's read my fiction in the past couple of years, lolsob.
posted by Jeanne at 6:22 AM on July 25 [24 favorites]
posted by Jeanne at 6:22 AM on July 25 [24 favorites]
And even though what this cop did was vile, it's my understanding that misuse of public funds has more to do with crimes like embezzlement or theft, i.e. someone pocketing public money, submitting timesheets for work they didn't do, etc. I don't think it's something you can just sue in civil court for.
The biggest obstacle here is that despite all the harassment, no charges were ultimately filed. That really raises the bar for proving that these individuals were harmed by the investigation.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:26 AM on July 25 [4 favorites]
The biggest obstacle here is that despite all the harassment, no charges were ultimately filed. That really raises the bar for proving that these individuals were harmed by the investigation.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:26 AM on July 25 [4 favorites]
Why was the library keeping the names of individuals who had checked out books after they returned them????
posted by scolbath at 6:29 AM on July 25 [31 favorites]
posted by scolbath at 6:29 AM on July 25 [31 favorites]
it's my understanding that misuse of public funds has more to do with crimes like embezzlement or theft, i.e. someone pocketing public money, submitting timesheets for work they didn't do, etc.
Aw nuts. So not even "wasting my taxpayer money by pursuing a frivolous lawsuit" counts?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:47 AM on July 25 [1 favorite]
Aw nuts. So not even "wasting my taxpayer money by pursuing a frivolous lawsuit" counts?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:47 AM on July 25 [1 favorite]
I think this is a case where the reason that it’s not allowed is pretty clear once you reverse the ideological valence. Can you imagine the chaos if every time a local government spent money that some right winger thought was wasteful, the relevant official could get personally sued for misuse of government funds?
posted by firechicago at 7:01 AM on July 25 [6 favorites]
posted by firechicago at 7:01 AM on July 25 [6 favorites]
I guess you're right....but I don't like it. (pout)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:03 AM on July 25 [5 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:03 AM on July 25 [5 favorites]
Why was the library keeping the names of individuals who had checked out books after they returned them????
This - none of the libraries I’ve worked for (going on 25 years as a librarian) have kept patron records longterm for precisely this reason, and I was under the impression that it was now more or less industry standard.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:04 AM on July 25 [22 favorites]
This - none of the libraries I’ve worked for (going on 25 years as a librarian) have kept patron records longterm for precisely this reason, and I was under the impression that it was now more or less industry standard.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:04 AM on July 25 [22 favorites]
Isn't Granbury also where they are trying to address the noise from a crypto mine.
posted by Agent_X_ at 7:05 AM on July 25 [10 favorites]
posted by Agent_X_ at 7:05 AM on July 25 [10 favorites]
I am definitely not a lawyer and welcome comment from one, but cops are heavily protected by qualified immunity, so it's hard to imagine that there would be any case against someone who did an investigation that didn't even result in charges.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 7:12 AM on July 25 [4 favorites]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 7:12 AM on July 25 [4 favorites]
When, in the entire history of humanity, have the people trying to ban (or burn) books been "the good guys"?
posted by xedrik at 7:55 AM on July 25 [19 favorites]
posted by xedrik at 7:55 AM on July 25 [19 favorites]
Why can’t we get qualified immunity for librarians?
posted by Ishbadiddle at 7:55 AM on July 25 [33 favorites]
posted by Ishbadiddle at 7:55 AM on July 25 [33 favorites]
Remember the posts from a few days ago about the low level enablement of the Nazis? Not a front line Waffen SS soldier, no, grandpa was just a local policeman doing his job.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:56 AM on July 25 [24 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:56 AM on July 25 [24 favorites]
I live in Dallas and these folks are a semi-rural exurb on the far side of Fort Worth. As I have mentioned in other contexts, I write a weekly roundup of Dallas-area news for a friend's blog, so this story was already on my radar. There's a lot of context here that isn't visible in the article about the two women involved in the case (Monica Brown and Karen Lowery) though the links about them give you a good sense of what's happening with them, and with Brown's poor kid.
Late last summer there was a whole ruckus about Lowery sneaking into the high school library to "review" books. The NBC article links to this DMN archived article about that, which I remember reading. There was something weird about all that and I guess now we know part of why.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 8:02 AM on July 25 [8 favorites]
Late last summer there was a whole ruckus about Lowery sneaking into the high school library to "review" books. The NBC article links to this DMN archived article about that, which I remember reading. There was something weird about all that and I guess now we know part of why.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 8:02 AM on July 25 [8 favorites]
Also, not abusing the edit window: Mike Hixenbaugh, who just wrote a book about the book-banners in Southlake, another DFW suburb, is one of the authors of the NBC piece. He used to live in Southlake. Now he lives in Maryland.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 8:06 AM on July 25 [3 favorites]
posted by gentlyepigrams at 8:06 AM on July 25 [3 favorites]
gentlyepigrams - I live in the DFW area and would like to check out the blog you write for. Do you mind sharing?
posted by ericthegardener at 8:06 AM on July 25 [2 favorites]
posted by ericthegardener at 8:06 AM on July 25 [2 favorites]
Why can’t we get qualified immunity for librarians?
The trick is to arm them and somehow make them vital to the enforcement of property rights.
posted by Reyturner at 8:09 AM on July 25 [19 favorites]
The trick is to arm them and somehow make them vital to the enforcement of property rights.
posted by Reyturner at 8:09 AM on July 25 [19 favorites]
If they are government employees, I think they actually do have qualified immunity.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:24 AM on July 25
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:24 AM on July 25
The biggest obstacle here is that despite all the harassment, no charges were ultimately filed. That really raises the bar for proving that these individuals were harmed by the investigation.
Which is funny, because if anything it should lower the bar in proving that the harassment was frivolous and unwarranted.
But that's not how cops and the justice system work.
posted by AlSweigart at 8:34 AM on July 25 [4 favorites]
Which is funny, because if anything it should lower the bar in proving that the harassment was frivolous and unwarranted.
But that's not how cops and the justice system work.
posted by AlSweigart at 8:34 AM on July 25 [4 favorites]
Why was the library keeping the names of individuals who had checked out books after they returned them????
I'm guessing this might not have been a deliberate choice. While I'm not a real librarian, I work at a school library that uses the same collection management software mentioned in the article. From what I understand, the default setting keeps records indefinitely. Documentation says there's a way to change it, but you need district-level admin access to even see it.
The part where this individual successfully subpoenaed the software company for access to patron histories was new to me, so thank you for posting this. Definitely going to have some questions for my boss about this once school school starts back up.
posted by Ann Telope at 8:51 AM on July 25 [17 favorites]
I'm guessing this might not have been a deliberate choice. While I'm not a real librarian, I work at a school library that uses the same collection management software mentioned in the article. From what I understand, the default setting keeps records indefinitely. Documentation says there's a way to change it, but you need district-level admin access to even see it.
The part where this individual successfully subpoenaed the software company for access to patron histories was new to me, so thank you for posting this. Definitely going to have some questions for my boss about this once school school starts back up.
posted by Ann Telope at 8:51 AM on July 25 [17 favorites]
the default setting keeps records indefinitely
rage.
posted by scolbath at 8:54 AM on July 25 [7 favorites]
rage.
posted by scolbath at 8:54 AM on July 25 [7 favorites]
In addition to everything else that's shitty and awful about this, I'd like to draw attention to the asshole in quesiton's branch of law enforcement.
He's a Deputy CONSTABLE.
For those who come from a state without that particular layer of especially useless and notoriously corrupt "officers of the law", in Texas in addition to sheriffs and their deputies for county law, and police departments for city law, there's also county Constables, an elected position, who like sheriffs have deputies.
In theory the office of the Constable is there to be process ervers for various courts.
In practice it's an office sought by the lazy, corrupt, and generally awful people of the world. When you see a Constable Deputy's car in Texas the most likely thing you will see is the deputy taking a nap inside said car.
The actual Constable typically has a uniform that makes those belonging to comic opera dictators and generals look restrained and elegant. Here in Bexar county the Constbale has a costume that includes two giant gold bands on the cuffs, no less than SEVEN stars on each cuff, giant patchs, and of course, a rediculous hat.
When you search the local news archives in Texas for the word constable the stories that pop up are almost invariably about said Constable or their deputies committing staggeringly petty acts of corruption.
For example, here in Bexar county, a couple years back the local Constable got into some legal problems for extorting people at a park and shaking htem down for a couple hundred in cash because the Constable claimed it was a park fee they had to pay for the privilige of being at the park during a festival.
So it is entirely unsurprising that a right wing pile of shit with a mad on against books who wanted a lot of free time to pursue his evil agenda would choose to be a Deputy Constable. It's an office pracctically designed for such people and I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen more shit like this from Constable's deputies. I suppose it's because normally those spots are reserved for the family and close friends of the Constable as the spoils of winning the election and a convenient way of looting the county treasury for the enrichment of their nepotistic desires.
In short, the Texas institution of Constables is awful even by the sstandards of law enforcement and in a better world the entire godawful font of bullshit would be abolished.
I suppose we can only be thankful that the local DA isn't also sufficiently right wing that he wanted to press charges against librarians.
Maybe we could go for civil immunity or whatever by starting up a militant order of librarians or something and empowering them legally to stop book bans?
Go all Warhammer 40k on the censoring scum with the Ordo Bibliothecarii? Polished armor, maces and war hammers stylized to look like piles of books?
Ok, out of the fantasy realm, maybe we could push for some sort of nationwide law banning book bans? Something?
posted by sotonohito at 9:00 AM on July 25 [37 favorites]
He's a Deputy CONSTABLE.
For those who come from a state without that particular layer of especially useless and notoriously corrupt "officers of the law", in Texas in addition to sheriffs and their deputies for county law, and police departments for city law, there's also county Constables, an elected position, who like sheriffs have deputies.
In theory the office of the Constable is there to be process ervers for various courts.
In practice it's an office sought by the lazy, corrupt, and generally awful people of the world. When you see a Constable Deputy's car in Texas the most likely thing you will see is the deputy taking a nap inside said car.
The actual Constable typically has a uniform that makes those belonging to comic opera dictators and generals look restrained and elegant. Here in Bexar county the Constbale has a costume that includes two giant gold bands on the cuffs, no less than SEVEN stars on each cuff, giant patchs, and of course, a rediculous hat.
When you search the local news archives in Texas for the word constable the stories that pop up are almost invariably about said Constable or their deputies committing staggeringly petty acts of corruption.
For example, here in Bexar county, a couple years back the local Constable got into some legal problems for extorting people at a park and shaking htem down for a couple hundred in cash because the Constable claimed it was a park fee they had to pay for the privilige of being at the park during a festival.
So it is entirely unsurprising that a right wing pile of shit with a mad on against books who wanted a lot of free time to pursue his evil agenda would choose to be a Deputy Constable. It's an office pracctically designed for such people and I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen more shit like this from Constable's deputies. I suppose it's because normally those spots are reserved for the family and close friends of the Constable as the spoils of winning the election and a convenient way of looting the county treasury for the enrichment of their nepotistic desires.
In short, the Texas institution of Constables is awful even by the sstandards of law enforcement and in a better world the entire godawful font of bullshit would be abolished.
I suppose we can only be thankful that the local DA isn't also sufficiently right wing that he wanted to press charges against librarians.
Maybe we could go for civil immunity or whatever by starting up a militant order of librarians or something and empowering them legally to stop book bans?
Go all Warhammer 40k on the censoring scum with the Ordo Bibliothecarii? Polished armor, maces and war hammers stylized to look like piles of books?
Ok, out of the fantasy realm, maybe we could push for some sort of nationwide law banning book bans? Something?
posted by sotonohito at 9:00 AM on July 25 [37 favorites]
My favorite target for book banning is the Bible. Murder, mass murder and genocide, rape, pro-child sacrifice, insults against bald guys and bear maulings... Plus, drunk incestuous rape.
posted by Jacen at 9:10 AM on July 25 [14 favorites]
posted by Jacen at 9:10 AM on July 25 [14 favorites]
Also, maybe some sort of truth in branding law? Like, if your organization has the phrase "for liberty" but your objectives are restricting people's freedom then you have to rename yourself the "stupid dummy's club for liars" and split a million hours of community service betweenyour membership?
posted by sotonohito at 9:11 AM on July 25 [6 favorites]
posted by sotonohito at 9:11 AM on July 25 [6 favorites]
I think that checking out books should be a form of rental under the video rental privacy laws, and that disclosure of media rental records by a library without being served a court order or warrant should be a federal crime under VPPA.
If it isn’t already written that way, an amendment modifying VPPA to cover all forms of rented media even if the rental is provided free of charge, would probably be easy to pass.
posted by Callisto Prime at 9:15 AM on July 25 [10 favorites]
If it isn’t already written that way, an amendment modifying VPPA to cover all forms of rented media even if the rental is provided free of charge, would probably be easy to pass.
posted by Callisto Prime at 9:15 AM on July 25 [10 favorites]
I'll just reiterate that pedophilia and other sexual abuse looks commonplace among cops. It's even more a power thing than becoming a priest.
posted by jeffburdges at 9:19 AM on July 25 [10 favorites]
posted by jeffburdges at 9:19 AM on July 25 [10 favorites]
Example of a TX constable in full drag dress.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:26 AM on July 25 [2 favorites]
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:26 AM on July 25 [2 favorites]
My favorite target for book banning is the Bible. Murder, mass murder and genocide, rape, pro-child sacrifice, insults against bald guys and bear maulings...
Are you there, God? It's me Baldy.
posted by hairless ape at 9:26 AM on July 25 [3 favorites]
Are you there, God? It's me Baldy.
posted by hairless ape at 9:26 AM on July 25 [3 favorites]
It's long past time that some progressive American town declare every resident a cop, if only very low ranked ones. That'd be funny.
posted by jeffburdges at 9:41 AM on July 25 [2 favorites]
posted by jeffburdges at 9:41 AM on July 25 [2 favorites]
IMHO, this is a bunch of MAGA parents who want to justify their LAZINESS in NOT managing their own kids "You can't read that" and want "big government" to do it... by forcing EVERYBODY to adopt their own child-rearing rules.
posted by kschang at 9:47 AM on July 25 [2 favorites]
posted by kschang at 9:47 AM on July 25 [2 favorites]
Why was the library keeping the names of individuals who had checked out books after they returned them????
Follett did it, not the specific school library. Follett runs a library system that many schools use-- it's very powerful and convenient (it has all the features you'd want and you don't need to be technically inclined to learn to use it) and ties in to an ordering system that of course Follett also runs. As someone said above, you have to have admin-level clearance to even see the setting that either dumps or does not dump user records. The admin-level people of a school library are pretty much never librarians, it's usually IT (or a principal somewhere is the name on record but it's actually an IT person who does the work) but it's definitely someone who doesn't care.
One would HOPE that Follett didn't turn over the records without a warrant BUT I'm guessing they just rolled over and cooperated. Lots of librarians are hella mad about it. I'm mad about it but-- what did everyone expect if we went to an outside vendor? Two can keep a secret if one is dead, you know?
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:31 AM on July 25 [14 favorites]
Follett did it, not the specific school library. Follett runs a library system that many schools use-- it's very powerful and convenient (it has all the features you'd want and you don't need to be technically inclined to learn to use it) and ties in to an ordering system that of course Follett also runs. As someone said above, you have to have admin-level clearance to even see the setting that either dumps or does not dump user records. The admin-level people of a school library are pretty much never librarians, it's usually IT (or a principal somewhere is the name on record but it's actually an IT person who does the work) but it's definitely someone who doesn't care.
One would HOPE that Follett didn't turn over the records without a warrant BUT I'm guessing they just rolled over and cooperated. Lots of librarians are hella mad about it. I'm mad about it but-- what did everyone expect if we went to an outside vendor? Two can keep a secret if one is dead, you know?
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:31 AM on July 25 [14 favorites]
Don't forget - an overwhelming number of book challenges come from a very small number of people.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:32 AM on July 25 [6 favorites]
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:32 AM on July 25 [6 favorites]
I live in the DFW area and would like to check out the blog you write for. Do you mind sharing?
Off the Kuff. I've known Charles Kuffner for decades now; he was my husband's college roommate's grad school roommate. We were also neighbors the last few years I lived in Houston. I generally have something weekly on Fridays (Dispatches from Dallas). If you're interested in Texas politics, he's worth reading in general.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:37 AM on July 25 [3 favorites]
Off the Kuff. I've known Charles Kuffner for decades now; he was my husband's college roommate's grad school roommate. We were also neighbors the last few years I lived in Houston. I generally have something weekly on Fridays (Dispatches from Dallas). If you're interested in Texas politics, he's worth reading in general.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:37 AM on July 25 [3 favorites]
I can get how someone looks around at the world of 2024 and feels uncomfortable with how much more explicit sexual depictions are available than they were 30 years ago.
What I don't get is someone whose response to that is "Books! That's the problem! Kids are reading too many smutty books!"
posted by straight at 10:54 AM on July 25 [12 favorites]
What I don't get is someone whose response to that is "Books! That's the problem! Kids are reading too many smutty books!"
posted by straight at 10:54 AM on July 25 [12 favorites]
Books teach people not to hate. That it's ok to be different, to love in ways that confuse the small minded. Books destroy fascism and parochialism. Knowledge is truly powerful. I'm pretty sure the sex is just a fig leaf... What they object to is the idea that anyone wants to be different from the sad small dangerous world fascism demands.
posted by Jacen at 11:03 AM on July 25 [17 favorites]
posted by Jacen at 11:03 AM on July 25 [17 favorites]
What I don't get is someone whose response....
A huuuuuge chunk of US conservatism requires that most followers be as ignorant and ill-informed as possible, so of course they're gonna go after books.
posted by aramaic at 11:05 AM on July 25 [8 favorites]
A huuuuuge chunk of US conservatism requires that most followers be as ignorant and ill-informed as possible, so of course they're gonna go after books.
posted by aramaic at 11:05 AM on July 25 [8 favorites]
Why was the library keeping the names of individuals who had checked out books after they returned them????
This - none of the libraries I’ve worked for (going on 25 years as a librarian) have kept patron records longterm for precisely this reason, and I was under the impression that it was now more or less industry standard.
It didn't apply to books but there is/was a federal law regarding video rental privacy rights because it once affective a Supreme Court appointment. The Bork law. I understand it has over time been whittled away to nearly nothing thanks to streamer and advertising lobbying
posted by srboisvert at 11:13 AM on July 25 [2 favorites]
This - none of the libraries I’ve worked for (going on 25 years as a librarian) have kept patron records longterm for precisely this reason, and I was under the impression that it was now more or less industry standard.
It didn't apply to books but there is/was a federal law regarding video rental privacy rights because it once affective a Supreme Court appointment. The Bork law. I understand it has over time been whittled away to nearly nothing thanks to streamer and advertising lobbying
posted by srboisvert at 11:13 AM on July 25 [2 favorites]
"Obscenity" in the US has been pretty well defined by the Supreme Court. This doesn't cut it.
posted by queensissy at 11:41 AM on July 25
posted by queensissy at 11:41 AM on July 25
What I don't get is someone whose response to that is "Books! That's the problem! Kids are reading too many smutty books!"
It's because they don't read and have nothing (smutty) to lose.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:45 AM on July 25
It's because they don't read and have nothing (smutty) to lose.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:45 AM on July 25
Adding so as to not abuse the edit window:
The Court clarified, however, that, "sex and obscenity are not synonymous. Obscene material is material which deals with sex in a manner appealing to prurient interest. The portrayal of sex, for example, in art, literature and scientific works, is not itself sufficient reason to deny material the constitutional protection of freedom of speech and press . . . . It is therefore vital that the standards for judging obscenity safeguard the protection of freedom of speech and press for material which does not treat sex in a manner appealing to prurient interest."12 The Court identified the relevant standard for unprotected obscenity as "whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest."13 The Court defined material appealing to prurient interest as "material having a tendency to excite lustful thoughts," and defined prurient interest as "a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion"
I'm mainly remembering this both from my high school journalism class re: First Amendment protections, but also from my boyfriend's story that his hometown in Oklahoma failed in an effort to shut down a screening of Pink Flamingos in the '80s by a panel who screened the film and ultimately decided that anybody who got lustful thoughts from it was not an "average person."
posted by queensissy at 11:49 AM on July 25 [10 favorites]
The Court clarified, however, that, "sex and obscenity are not synonymous. Obscene material is material which deals with sex in a manner appealing to prurient interest. The portrayal of sex, for example, in art, literature and scientific works, is not itself sufficient reason to deny material the constitutional protection of freedom of speech and press . . . . It is therefore vital that the standards for judging obscenity safeguard the protection of freedom of speech and press for material which does not treat sex in a manner appealing to prurient interest."12 The Court identified the relevant standard for unprotected obscenity as "whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest."13 The Court defined material appealing to prurient interest as "material having a tendency to excite lustful thoughts," and defined prurient interest as "a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion"
I'm mainly remembering this both from my high school journalism class re: First Amendment protections, but also from my boyfriend's story that his hometown in Oklahoma failed in an effort to shut down a screening of Pink Flamingos in the '80s by a panel who screened the film and ultimately decided that anybody who got lustful thoughts from it was not an "average person."
posted by queensissy at 11:49 AM on July 25 [10 favorites]
Somebody needs to give that pig a wedgie
posted by Reverend John at 11:50 AM on July 25 [3 favorites]
posted by Reverend John at 11:50 AM on July 25 [3 favorites]
I propose a swap, Constable: your internet browsing history for whatever books you want to take. Watch the threats slowly dissipate.
posted by hairless ape at 12:06 PM on July 25 [4 favorites]
posted by hairless ape at 12:06 PM on July 25 [4 favorites]
What I don't get is someone whose response to that is "Books! That's the problem! Kids are reading too many smutty books!"
Because that's not what they think.
They are FINE with blatant sexualization as long as it's cis and het. The people who bring this sort of book challenge think it's hilarious to buy baby onsies that say things like "sorry boys daddy says I can't date" and have no problem at all with Snow White kissing the handsome prince, or ads featuring provocatively posed and dressed women. Or whatever.
Their problem is with acknowledging that LGBT people even exist, much less allowing two guys to kiss. Their problem is with admitting that Ruby Bridges faced a mob of hateful white racists. Their problem is with admitting that slavery was not good, actually.
And largely their problem is that they're ignorant fuckwads who don't read so they're already suspicious of books
The rest is that they may not be able to make LGBT people vanish but they do have the power to bully school librarians so they're doing what they can in that direction. I'm sure they'd love to make TV ban shows with LGBT characters, but they don't have that power.
Small minded bigots use whatever power they can find to enforce their small minded bigotry.
And, personally, I think they just really hate books and reading in general. They sense on a primitive, instinctive, level that books free our minds and they would rather clip our wings than learn to fly themselves.
posted by sotonohito at 12:45 PM on July 25 [15 favorites]
Because that's not what they think.
They are FINE with blatant sexualization as long as it's cis and het. The people who bring this sort of book challenge think it's hilarious to buy baby onsies that say things like "sorry boys daddy says I can't date" and have no problem at all with Snow White kissing the handsome prince, or ads featuring provocatively posed and dressed women. Or whatever.
Their problem is with acknowledging that LGBT people even exist, much less allowing two guys to kiss. Their problem is with admitting that Ruby Bridges faced a mob of hateful white racists. Their problem is with admitting that slavery was not good, actually.
And largely their problem is that they're ignorant fuckwads who don't read so they're already suspicious of books
The rest is that they may not be able to make LGBT people vanish but they do have the power to bully school librarians so they're doing what they can in that direction. I'm sure they'd love to make TV ban shows with LGBT characters, but they don't have that power.
Small minded bigots use whatever power they can find to enforce their small minded bigotry.
And, personally, I think they just really hate books and reading in general. They sense on a primitive, instinctive, level that books free our minds and they would rather clip our wings than learn to fly themselves.
posted by sotonohito at 12:45 PM on July 25 [15 favorites]
They’re right, books are powerful and can be dangerous - to them. They can teach children not to hate the people they want them to hate. https://nicolagriffith.com/phd-thesis-norming-the-other-2/
posted by bq at 1:30 PM on July 25 [2 favorites]
posted by bq at 1:30 PM on July 25 [2 favorites]
Just today the library system for the university system I work in published (well, internally made available) its very first data-protection report and recommendations.
They stated they're in compliance with their records schedules, including for circulation records.
As best I can tell -- and I have receipts thanks to state sunshine law -- this is bullshit. I'm gonna ask about it. If they've destroyed those Voyager records, fine and dandy. If not, they need to correct their report.
(The rest of the report is actually pretty okay; I definitely didn't hate it. But I am NOT letting this slide, and the Follett crap that others have discussed above is EXACTLY why not.)
posted by humbug at 2:11 PM on July 25 [6 favorites]
They stated they're in compliance with their records schedules, including for circulation records.
As best I can tell -- and I have receipts thanks to state sunshine law -- this is bullshit. I'm gonna ask about it. If they've destroyed those Voyager records, fine and dandy. If not, they need to correct their report.
(The rest of the report is actually pretty okay; I definitely didn't hate it. But I am NOT letting this slide, and the Follett crap that others have discussed above is EXACTLY why not.)
posted by humbug at 2:11 PM on July 25 [6 favorites]
The admin-level people of a school library are pretty much never librarians, it's usually IT (or a principal somewhere is the name on record but it's actually an IT person who does the work) but it's definitely someone who doesn't care.
If you have an IT person who doesn't care about data retention policies and issues, they probably haven't been an IT person for very long. It's equally as likely the person who is in charge is not aware of all the system functionality to automatically delete older records.
BTW: anyone who's an 'old' recalls the time when you used to look up books to see if people you know checked them out in ye even older days when all that was written on a little card on each book - which is far different (and far harder to search) than a modern computer system.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:04 AM on July 26 [4 favorites]
If you have an IT person who doesn't care about data retention policies and issues, they probably haven't been an IT person for very long. It's equally as likely the person who is in charge is not aware of all the system functionality to automatically delete older records.
BTW: anyone who's an 'old' recalls the time when you used to look up books to see if people you know checked them out in ye even older days when all that was written on a little card on each book - which is far different (and far harder to search) than a modern computer system.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:04 AM on July 26 [4 favorites]
Where does one sign up for the Ordo Bibliothecarii?? Because that's the best thing I've read all week
posted by Jarcat at 9:47 AM on July 26 [2 favorites]
posted by Jarcat at 9:47 AM on July 26 [2 favorites]
Jarcat I think we have to start it.
I'm sufficiently enamored by my own idea that I'm looking into how to make cosplay power armor in a vaguely 40k space marine style.
posted by sotonohito at 10:23 AM on July 26 [1 favorite]
I'm sufficiently enamored by my own idea that I'm looking into how to make cosplay power armor in a vaguely 40k space marine style.
posted by sotonohito at 10:23 AM on July 26 [1 favorite]
Though, to keep going on a derail, my sister says my dog Latin is terrible and it should be Ordo Bibliocustodes.
posted by sotonohito at 11:13 AM on July 26 [1 favorite]
posted by sotonohito at 11:13 AM on July 26 [1 favorite]
Thing is, 40K already has Librarians. They’re terrifying.
Custodes are worse.
posted by McCoy Pauley at 8:10 PM on July 26 [1 favorite]
Custodes are worse.
posted by McCoy Pauley at 8:10 PM on July 26 [1 favorite]
Ack. I'm sorry my comment imagined that any of this was being driven by parents who were going after libraries in response to concerns about general changes to explicitness in media. It's almost always really about going after positive depictions of people who are LGBT.
I think I was imagining trying to talk sense into someone who isn't paying much attention but vaguely approves of "not giving porn to children" by saying, "How often is your unease about that topic been triggered by a kid reading a book?"
posted by straight at 9:29 AM on July 27 [2 favorites]
I think I was imagining trying to talk sense into someone who isn't paying much attention but vaguely approves of "not giving porn to children" by saying, "How often is your unease about that topic been triggered by a kid reading a book?"
posted by straight at 9:29 AM on July 27 [2 favorites]
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posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:45 AM on July 25 [14 favorites]