I have written before on the issues of library censorship and campaigns by neo-Puritans who demand power to control the stacks. Past articles include Intellectual Freedom: A Library Manifesto and The Battle Over Idaho Libraries plus a mention of conflict in Sandpoint at the end of another post about one of my patrons. Election day is done, and it is time for an update.
First, the good news: Susan Shea won re-election as a trustee for the East Bonner County Library Board.
[Stacy] Rodriguez, who had the endorsement of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee, Idaho True Conservatives, Gays Against Groomers and District 1B Republican Rep. Sage Dixon, among others, made statements at an April 19 candidates’ forum that the First Amendment had been “used as a cudgel to sexualize children,” materials available to minors included “books that would make a sex worker blush” and the American Library Association is run by a “Marxist lesbian” whose “radical dictates” had been adopted by the East Bonner County Library.(Sandpoint Daily Reader)
As noted in my post about The Battle Over Idaho Libraries, the presidency of the ALA has no bearing whatsoever on local library administration. It has been ages since I lived in Sandpoint, but while the town has always been infested by whackadoodles, they have certainly not been campaigning to "sexualize children." As evidence, I point also to this pre-election rebuttal from East Bonner County Library District chair Amy Flint which delved into some of the specifics of the muckraking and mud-slinging.
The library has had no requests to offer a drag queen story hour and Susan has no intention of creating one. This topic from the candidate forum was an irrelevant distraction.
[...]
Our collection contains very few of the LGBTQ+ titles appearing on banned book lists, and those lists include classics like "To Kill a Mockingbird." Thankfully, East Bonner County Library has not had any requests to reconsider books. The idea of restricting or removing materials (aka censorship) is a solution in search of a problem. (Bonner County Daily Bee)
This tactic of calling anything these neo-puritans dislike, "pornography," and then accusing anyone who objects to their censorship demands, "groomers," is just as nonsensical as when the self-proclaimed AntiFa call anyone whose politics they dislike, "fascists" and "neo-Nazis." It dilutes these terms should they ever be needed to refer to the real thing, because now it just means, "people who disagree with me" thanks to widespread malicious misuse and lazy generalization.
In any case, congratulations to Susan Shea on her victory Unfortunately, this whole mess will doubtless escalate even further next time.
Text cropped from an anti-library leaflet, plus old memes!
Alas, I also have bad news. To the south of Sandpoint in Kootenai and Shoshone counties, the Community Library Network lost two trustee seats to challengers who have campaigned on similar accusations to those made by Rodriguez in the East Bonner County race. I already covered some of the defamatory claims, irrelevant points, and demonstrably false accusations surrounding that race.
Judy Meyer and Regina McCrea, thank you for your service and your principled stand against censorship.
Tim Plass and Tom Hanley, you are a pair of lying, manipulative cowards who placed your hunger for power over any desire to stand on principle. The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee which supported your campaigns also attacked another Republican in 2021 who refused to knuckle under to your authoritarianism. If you represent Republicanism, is it any wonder your party is struggling? And people wonder why I can't stomach politics...
Fun fact: For a few months, I worked at an adult novelty store that sold literal pornography, so I know exactly what pornography is. No, a book discussing puberty and adolescent development in the teen non-fiction section is not pornography. Neither is a board book for babies with pictures of breastfeeding. Books with explicitly descriptive sex scenes are arguably not even pornographic.
Pornography–"porn" or "porno" for short–is material that depicts nudity or sexual acts for the purpose of sexual stimulation. (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, emphasis added)
As a librarian, I can also guarantee that those of us who regularly serve home-schoolers, church-goers, and other members of our own communities would be facing direct complaints from our actual patrons if these allegations of pushing a "woke" agenda had even the slightest basis in fact. Yes, if you really want to feel offended, I guarantee you can find something in the library to dislike. That does not mean the library is pushing boundaries, though. It means the library serves people with different tastes and interests, and your interpretation of materials is not necessarily some kind of universal truth.
A few rules for any election:
Never trust a politician
The more hyperbolic and inflammatory a claim, the less you should believe it.
Do you really know what you think you know? Take personal responsibility to verify claims and check for alternative explanations or interpretations of alleged facts.
Trust your librarian. The vast majority of us are here to help, whether we agree with your taste in literature and politics or not. If you have questions, ask. Don't accuse without just cause and good evidence.
It's perfectly OK to object to libraries which are funded through taxation. Taxation is extortion. That said, libraries are one of the few services which have been monopolized by governments in most municipalities, but still provide an unequivocally beneficial service to the public despite that handicap.
NEVER TRUST A POLITICIAN!
What would you do if your management attained power over you through dishonest means?
