#a.k.a. Assholes with Casseroles

[archivlibrarianist]

Necessary reading, here, from the digital director of EveryLibrary. From the article:

"THIS IS NOT A GOOD-FAITH DISCUSSION

"The first thing we need to understand when we’re messaging about book bans is that we are not operating in a good-faith discussion, and we need to stop acting as if we were. In a good-faith discussion, both parties agree to an honest, respectful dialogue with the willingness to change their view if facts and data are presented. However, book banners are neither acting honestly nor respectfully. They will not consume new information and change their minds once educated on the issue. The individuals and organizations banning books are not looking to be educated. They don’t care about learning about the Miller Test for pornography, they are not interested in reading the books to put their propagandist images of a handful of pages into proper context, and they aren’t going to change their minds about books being banned. We have to stop acting as they will do any of these things.

"...Pro–book banning messaging and propaganda is used as a tool to build political power and influence for people and organizations to elect or appoint individuals to positions that allow them to govern and control Americans." [emphasis added]

They don't ban books because they care about books. They ban books because they are bullies, and they want to control people.

Don't let them.

[archivlibrarianist]

Short version:

Bigot visits local public library, sees transgender person working there in the children's section.

Bigot proceeds to have very big feelings about the existence of a transgender person working in the library, leading them to do the following on social media, library board meetings, and public meetings: a) lie about what the library worker was wearing (funny how this self-declared Christian bunch has never heard of the 9th Commandment), b) sexualize the library worker's existence, and c) call the library worker a "groomer" (fascist-speak for "queer person who exists without my permission").

Library worker is harassed and threatened constantly, including a person who showed up at said worker's library in an attempt to provoke them into a fight.

Bigot moves to the Huntsville, Alabama region, where she starts up the same garbage.

Library worker brings defamation suit against bigot.

[archivlibrarianist]

There's a Revolution Happening in Children's Publishing-- You Can Thank Book Bans (Fast Company)

From the article:

"Parents have contested books for decades, but the number of challenges has exploded since the fall of 2020. Teachers and librarians, who are already stretched thin, are on the frontlines, facing the ire of parents. The American Library Association invites librarians to report these challenges to books, for their record-keeping. 'In the past, we received a couple of reports a week,' says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s office of intellectual freedom. 'That has accelerated to four or five reports a day. On some days, we’re getting a dozen reports.'

"...One part of the playbook is for conservative groups to arm parents with tools to march into schools and challenge books. Moms for Liberty, for instance, runs a website called BookLooks.org that offers 'book reports' about thousands of books which parents can bring to school board meetings or their child’s principal. 

"For instance, they can print out a report about Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, which contains a list of concerns: inflammatory racial and religious commentary; sexual activities including sexual assault and  molestation; alcohol use. Many will use these reports word for word to call for it to be pulled from shelves. 'Once the challenges are on the table, they’re discussed at school board meetings and community events by people, some of whom haven’t even read the books,' says Rich Thomas, HarperCollins’s executive director of children’s book publishing."