Diversity/Equity/Inclusion from the MLA
By Gretchen Garrity
At last Saturday's Greene County GOP T.A.R.G.E.T. BBQ in Springfield, Secretary of State John R. "Jay" Ashcroft (candidate for Missouri governor) spoke about his efforts on behalf of taxpayers who are struggling with children having access to obscene and sexually explicit materials in the public libraries.
He shared that although a bill protecting children from such materials did not make it through the legislature, he was "...making sure your taxpayer dollars weren't being used for pornographic and obscene material in our libraries for kids. It didn't get through the legislature so I said, 'Okay, I had the authority, I put forth a rule. I said, 'If you're a public library and you want taxpayer funds from the state or the federal government you've got to put parents in charge, you've gotta rate books and you've gotta keep inappropriate material out of kids hands, because parents are given those kids by God to raise, not petty bureaucrats that think they're in charge."
While Sec. Ashcroft received applause for his statement, here in Christian County taxpayers are still fighting to get obscene materials out of the children's and teen sections of the library. A ratings system was voted down by Christian County Library Board of Trustees in June, and obscene books are still accessible by children.
The taxpayer funding was never really withheld either, (see here). This is how the political machine in Jefferson City works. Politicians say one thing in public, but the status quo almost always prevails.
From the link:
"Noticeably missing from Sec. Ashcroft's letter was any mention of the Missouri Library Association (a chapter of the ALA), and the Missouri State Librarian's ties with it. Robin Westphal is the state librarian, and here she is quoted in a January 2023 article from American Libraries Magazine: "As a state librarian, Westphal connects the 160 libraries that are part of the Missouri Library Association (MLA) with needed resources."
The MLA protesting on the ALA website
According to the April 28, 2023 meeting notes of the Secretary's Council on Library Development, "Vincent states that the state aid budget the House cut has been restored by the Senate. Vincent believes this money should stay. Vincent also reinstates [sic] that the new rule is at a local level and that it is up to the community and board to determine what goes in the libraries [sic] policies. She also wanted to mention that if the library has a room that is open to the public for event rental that there needs to be a sign posted with a rating. If the event is adult only, for children, members only, etc. it just needs to state that on the advertisement."
Trish Vincent is the Executive Deputy Secretary of State/Chief of Staff for Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. Again, according to the meeting notes, the new rule is "at a local level, and that it is up to the community and board to decide what goes in the libraries[sic] policies."
The rule, apparently, has no teeth. But it did give Sec. Ashcroft an opportunity to score points with unsuspecting Republicans who trust without verifying.
Additionally, while Sec. Ashcroft has withdrawn funding from the American Library Association over its attempts to discriminate against Christian story hours at public libraries, there is the question of the Missouri Library Association, which is a chapter of the ALA. Do any state funds flow to the MLA? Does taxpayer money pay for memberships in the MLA? Is the secretary aware that the same kind of ALA socialist agenda is present in the MLA?
According to MLA President Otter Bowman, in her March 2023 newsletter column, "President Elect Kimberly Moeller and I attended the Secretary of State’s budget hearing that morning [Feb. 7], and we were relieved that Secretary Ashcroft continued to advocate for funding our libraries, even as he engaged in some heated discussion with committee members regarding his proposed rule. As of this writing, an updated version of his proposal is headed to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for their consideration."
Here is part of an email to members of the MLA (received through Missouri's Sunshine Law for the Christian County Library) from Amigos Library Services, one of a myriad of "charitable" groups that push socialist agendas into our public libraries. Amigos works closely with the MLA. This is the type of "training" that our library staff is exposed to on a frequent basis. This is why our libraries have become vectors for socialist indoctrination.
Click for clearer image
It
is well documented that sexualizing children is part of the ALA/MLA
socialist agenda. If Sec. Ashcroft is serious about stopping such
indoctrination in Missouri's public libraries, surely he will also
withdraw any state taxpayer money from being spent on membership with
the MLA and our State Librarian Robin Westphal from supporting
membership in the MLA.
From the March 2023 MLA newsletter
And it must be noted again that the MLA is having ALA President Emily Drabinski as its keynote speaker at their annual conference in early October. It has been publicly known since at least March 2023 that Drabinski would be the keynote speaker at the October conference. Here is the latest from Madam Drabinski courtesy of journalist Karlyn Borysenko:
Additionally, there is ample evidence of the socialist agenda in the MLA's bi-monthly newsletters. Classes and seminars with titles like "Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in cataloging & Technical Services," or "Developing Collections on Gender Relations and Feminism in the Twenty-First Century," and "Sustainability 101," are common themes being funneled to public library staff at taxpayer expense.
What do you have a problem with? Is it the diversity? Equity? Or inclusion?
ReplyDeleteHere you go: https://newdiscourses.com/2023/04/marxist-roots-of-dei-workshop-all-sessions/
ReplyDeleteI guess you'll find a Boogeyman everywhere since that's what you're looking for.
ReplyDeleteNot an answer.
DeleteTo what? You didn't ask a question. But I did.
DeleteMy question is this: do you have a problem with diversity? Equity? Or inclusion? Which one, or all do you have a problem with?
ReplyDeleteI would love a dialogue.
ReplyDeleteWe would have to define what those terms mean. The Left uses them to silence opposition. Those words, to the Left, are a means to an end, which has nothing to do with a traditional understanding of what diversity, equity, or inclusion means or how they are used to further a political agenda of socialism. We can certainly engage in a discussion that exposes that, if you wish.
ReplyDeleteLet's just go with the dictionary definitions. So, which are you opposed to kids learning about? Is it diversity? Equity? or Inclusion?
ReplyDeleteSorry, you need to do better than that. A dialog, which you say you want, doesn't immediately attack. It is convenient for you to use common dictionary definitions. I would then have to share what the socialists mean when they use those words, because that is what we are dealing with here.
ReplyDeleteRight from the start we are diverging because I would guess you would like to attack me (as is typical with socialists and progressives) as bigoted and so forth. Your aggressive questions prove that.
Perhaps you can use your definitions (assuming they are the dictionary definitions) and I can show how socialists use the common understanding of words to further an agenda they would prefer not to have exposed--hence their consistent accusations of bigotry towards people who are arguing against the socialist agenda and not the words themselves.
Diversity and equity and inclusion have lovely meanings that most people would agree are positive. Unfortunately, socialists use the positive meaning as a way to implement something else.
You know it's true. Ask Emily Drabinski. :-)
I apologize if you feel attacked. I was simply asking a question. It's a common battle cry of the magas: "no CRT, no DEI". But when I've actually asked people what those terms mean in relation to education, they don't know! I understand that it's easy to get swept up in rally cries, but shouldn't you at least know what you are crying about?
ReplyDeleteI don't know why you've mentioned socialism so much. I'm not coming at this from a political angle. It's important for kids to learn why diversity (in thought, background, culture....) is important. You know, since we live in a diverse world. ;)
Equity is simple, everyone should have what they need in order to succeed. For example, I have an autistic grandson who gets to take tests in a quieter classroom with less students. He NEEDS this in order to focus and complete his work.
Inclusion, again, another simple one. ALL kids deserve to be included! For example, the city just recently put in an inclusive playground. This means that even kids with physical disabilities are able to have access. There's even play equipment specifically designed to encourage parents to play and interact with their children.
So there it is. There's the D, E and I "agenda". I am a teacher in the district and I promise you, this is the only "agenda" we are implementing in the classroom. There really is nothing nefarious about it.
I don't know Emily Drabinski so I can't ask her.