The Strategy

 

"It's an absolute travesty, but it would appear that you won't be stopped until, hopefully, the lawsuits begin in earnest." --Amy Jane Hoogstraet Safley

By Gretchen Garrity

The battle to make libraries safe again for children is a minefield. Organizations like the American Library Association (ALA) are extremely organized and well funded, and they often offer resources to those who oppose parental rights and the protection of children from age inappropriate and sexually explicit materials.

The political agenda to sexually indoctrinate children and demoralize them is well documented in books like "The Naked Communist," by W. Cleon Skousen. I want to thank the Christian County Library staff for purchasing this book for its collection.

While court decisions are beginning to move in a direction that recognizes the rights of parents, and the rights of public libraries to curate their collections without forced book shelving, the battle is still deeply engaged.

A recent case in Wyoming illustrates how complex the issue can be. A library director, Terri Lesley, was fired in 2023 and later sued under federal law. According to an article just published, "Lesley claimed that she was discriminated against because of her association with and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.

Three more claims alleged that the commissioners and library board violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which protects people who oppose discriminatory practices against, advocate on behalf of, and associate with protected classes."

Not only did Lesley sue her county commission and the library board, but she has also sued a family in the community in a separate suit. While that suit is in the discovery phase, the suit against the library board and commission has been settled: "According to a settlement agreement provided to the News Record, the commission and the library board settled with Lesley for $700,000. The settlement agreement 'is not to be construed as an admission of liability by any party,' according to the court document."

Lesley had filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2023, which this year gave her a notice of right to sue. These things take time to shake out.

In exchange for the money to be paid out to Lesley and her attorneys, the former director agreed to dismiss the suit. This is common in such cases, because insurance companies are hesitant for lawsuits to go forward with expensive litigation costs.

Note that while the legal arguments were based on personal discrimination claims against the library director, Lesley's lawyer stated: "...that she hopes this sends the message that 'elected and appointed officials need to represent the interest of their entire community, not just a small band of activists.'

“'It is really important to remember the ideals of America,' she said. 'We do not discriminate, we believe in the First Amendment.'”

Of ten claims, only two mentioned First Amendment violations: "The seventh and eighth claims for relief had to do with the First Amendment. They argued that as a public employee, Lesley could not suppress the First Amendment rights of library users 'by censoring books based on disfavored content or their association with historically marginalized minority groups.'

They also alleged that the commissioners and library board participated in 'viewpoint discrimination and retaliation,' meaning they engaged in 'censorship based on their disagreement with the content of Ms. Lesley’s protected speech and association.'”

Of course, none of these claims will be heard in court because the case has been settled. However, court cases like Little v. Llano and Peter Parnell v. School Board of Escambia County, Florida, and The Roxbury Moms are bringing clarity to the issue of age inappropriate and sexually explicit books in school and public libraries. The Parnell suit is being appealed to the 11th Circuit Court.

 "If appointees have, indeed, engaged in unlawful activity, what is the most effective action that a citizen can take to ensure that taxpayer funds are not used to defend trustees engaging in personal activity that does not serve the best interests of our county?" -- Greg Swick

Note in the two screenshots I provided that local activist citizens are suggesting lawsuits or other actions may or should be taken against the Christian County Library District and/or the board members. These are not the only examples that are out there. This is an aggressive strategy being used all over the United States to force a viewpoint, to force shelving of books, and to deny parental rights--not to mention the protection of children.

Mr. Swick is a retired teacher who seems to hope that actions be taken against the board of trustee members as individuals outside of their official actions as a board, thereby depriving these unpaid volunteers of legal costs protection. Incidentally, Mr. Swick's Facebook comment was very quickly deleted from U-turn in Education's page. However, a screenshot was obtained.  U-turn in Education was founded by MSU professor Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk.

U-Turn in Education

 

From U-Turn in Education's website

By Gretchen Garrity

In an October 19, 2022 article, Springfield News-Leader reporter Claudette Riley featured the parent group U-Turn in Education. Riley described the group as “...created to fight censorship, to ensure students can access a wide range of books in school libraries...”

See the setup there? U-Turn is pro First Amendment and pro students having access to books.

Riley featured a quote from U-Turn’s Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk: “We’re standing up against fascism...And we stand for freedom of education and experience.”

See that again? U-Turn is against fascism.

Later in the article, a subhead says, “Conservative parents, minister voice support for bans.” And a little later another subhead states, “Opponents of book bans say choice shouldn’t be taken from parents, students.” Riley then quotes U-Turn’s Dudash-Buskirk again, “We believe parents have the right to decide what books and what movies and what expressions their children are actually engaging...Unfortunately, what no one has the right to do is to take away that choice to guide our children from every other parents or community member.”

And there you go, parents and Christians support book banning, but U-Turn is for rights and choice.

Inexplicably, another U-Turn member is quoted as saying, “It’s a parent’s right to decide what their children are exposed to...But it’s not some (other) parent’s right to decide what my child is going to be exposed to.” 

That quote just made the case for every concerned parent in America, but I digress.

Further on, the reader is then told that “marginalized” kids are being harmed by the culture war and silenced.

The press amplifies certain voices and suppresses others. Besides the obvious propaganda that censorship and book banning are a conservative thing, and U-Turn members are for freedom and education, the article candy coats what U-Turn in Education is truly advocating for.

Let’s take a turn around U-Turn’s website and see if they are for parent's rights and educational freedom for children.

Their front page boldly states they are "Supporting educational opportunities for all." If you click on their Resources and Videos button it is clear to see that nearly all the videos are about "educating" the reader/listener about so-called censorship and book banning.

What is never stated is that censorship and book banning are not happening (unless one happens to be a conservative on social media). What IS happening is parents rising up to tell schools and libraries that there are some books that kids shouldn't be reading without parental permission. The 20-minute video below details some of the books that groups like U-Turn in Education are advocating to be widely accessible to minors.

U-Turn is so committed to giving children access to "educational opportunities" that they advocate starting a Little Library (like the one below) to provide them.

A Little Library disseminating "educational opportunities"

 

Furthermore, U-Turn provides a Student button with links to the "Brooklyn Public Library that offers unrestricted free library ecards to anybody (not just New York residents) aged 13-21." That means no matter how much parents try to monitor their child's reading materials, U-Turn is there to make sure the kids have access to unrestricted library cards online.

And that's not all, there's a link to a website called the Banned Books Book Club, that features some of the "most important books of our generation." Go here to see the "important" books.

Additionally, U-Turn in Education received the "2023 Intellectual Freedom award by the Missouri Association of School Librarians." To add gravitas to the award we are informed, "Note that MASL was selected as the 2023 chapter of the year by the American Association of School Librarians, largely for their Intellectual Freedom work and support of the right to read.  MASL also received the extremely prestigious 2023 Horace Mann Award from the Missouri NEA (~32,000 members), which is part of the National Educators Association (~ 3,000,000 members)." These groups do like giving out awards to their comrades.

And lastly, U-Turn has published a letter that the Missouri Library Association (MLA) sent to the Nixa School Board in August of 2022. It's quite eye-opening in its advocacy for the "freedom" of minors to read sexually explicit books. Providing smut to kids is always about protecting "marginalized" communities and freedom and such. Really, it just comes down to corrupting the innocence of minors, which is a feature of Marxist agendas.

Just one last thing. Many people scoff at the idea our libraries and schools are Marxist indoctrination centers. But the president of the American Library Association, an avowed Marxist, wrote a whole paper called "Queering the Catalog." It is shot through with Marxist ideology as advanced through Queer Theory. Here James Lindsay defines Queer Theory:

"Queer Theory: Straight people whose “gender identity” and sex match (and those who pass as such) claim access to a special form of property called normalcy (by declaring themselves the normal ones and defining normalcy to mean like themselves). They create an ideology called normativity (e.g., heteronormativity and cisnormativity) to justify this. This allows them to structure society with structural or systemic homophobia and/or transphobia (or, generally, queer-phobia) that advantages the “normal” and exploits, estranges, and disenfranchises “queers” (anyone different, especially gays, lesbians, bisexuals, the gender non-conforming, transgenders, and the mentally ill). People can be made aware of the Queer Theory theory of societal production and become queer-conscious (“proud”) allies operating in solidarity on their behalf. If they seize the means of normative cultural production of society and Man, they will usher in gender, sexual, and sex equity that will eventually ripen into gender, sexual, and sex justice (a kind of social justice) through the inversion of praxis."

In the end, U-Turn in Education is not about protecting parents' rights to determine what books and materials their children see. They aren't about intellectual freedom. U-Turn is about making sure your kids are exposed to any and all books, regardless of your values or your desires as a parent. There's a popular name for that nowadays...

On the Banning of Books

By Gretchen Garrity

Most of us have a visceral reaction to the idea of banning books. Having a storied history of free speech in the United States, Americans naturally recoil from the idea of making books unavailable to the public. Throw in the shibboleth of the Nazis and one is guaranteed to shut down conversation about what constitutes actual book banning.

Let’s explore that. What is included in the historical understanding surrounding the banning of books? According to Jeffrey McCall, a professor of communication at DePauw University, “The key in discussing “banned” or “censored” books is whether such materials are eliminated totally from the public domain by government order, and with penalties for offenders who would publish, distribute or read such materials. That is a reality in many nations today, but the United States is not included on that list."

McCall also states in his 2017 article at The Hill, “Decisions on which books get purchased for inclusion in a library or school curriculum are based on multiple budgetary, cultural and community standards. Personal judgments by librarians and school administrators necessarily factor in, but challenging those judgments is also inherent in the First Amendment.”

 

MISSOURI LIBRARIES ARE UNDER ATTACK  

In recent months, concerned citizens in southwest Missouri, as well as Cape Girardeau, Perry and Crawford counties have been actively investigating what books are available in their library systems. In the Christian County Library system, citizens have been questioning a number of books.

According to one carefully curated list by a local Christian County citizen, there are 193 titles (300 books total) that are rated anywhere from a 1 to a 5 with the UBC (Universal Book Content) rating system on BookLook.info. As expected, books rated 0 are appropriate for all audiences, while books rated 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 (based on content) are judged as “Might have minor issues for young readers” to “Might be arrested for reading at school board meetings.” 

 

The community has been attending county library board of trustee meetings for months, attempting to convince the board to implement a ratings system at the library, which would allow parents and caregivers the ability to know which books may be an issue for minors, and to be assured that those books would not inadvertently fall into the hands of vulnerable young children.

The Christian County Library Executive Director, Renee Brumett, and the library board, have been clear that, in their opinion, restricting children’s access to any books is a violation of the First Amendment. Apparently, a child’s “right to read” sexually explicit and even pornographic material is a proper reading of the First Amendment. Here is the First Amendment:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Is it reasonable to suggest that exposing minors to sexually explicit materials is a First Amendment right for children? Yet the library’s executive director assured the board at a recent meeting that having consulted two lawyers, any restriction of the questionable books was “most likely” an abrogation of the First Amendment. While the board of trustees has tabled the final decision about whether to implement a ratings system, the executive director’s report recommended against it.

 

             

 

 CHRISTIAN COUNTY LIBRARY HAS ISSUES

 

Many of the questionable books center around the LGBTQIA+ movement, particularly books and other materials that advocate for gender ideology.

The 2014 book “Beyond Magenta,” which is currently in the teen (or Young Adult) section of the Sparta branch, is described by one reviewer at Good Reads thus:

“Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out is an explicit book which is being promoted in the youth sections of local libraries.

The book contains explicit language, violent acts, and graphic descriptions of oral sex carried out by children as young as 6 years-old.

Written mostly in first-person, transgender people share their journeys without mentioning the illegal nature of their activities or the consequences of certain behaviours.

“From six up, I used to kiss other guys in my neighbourhood, make out with them, and perform oral sex on them. I liked it. I used to love oral. And I touched their you-know-whats. We were really young but that’s what we did.”

The account goes on to describe paedophiles masturbating. The author does not qualify that the acts were harmful or illegal.

Descriptions of violent behaviour include pushing over a pregnant teacher. The author writes, “I know it was wrong but….” – as if their anger were a justification for their actions." 

 Another book titled, “This Book is Gay,” is currently residing in the teen section of the Ozark branch. According to the description on Good Reads:

“Lesbian. Bisexual. Queer. Transgender. Straight. Curious. This book is for everyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference. This book is for anyone who's ever dared to wonder. This book is for YOU.

There's a long-running joke that, after "coming out," a lesbian, gay guy, bisexual, or trans person should receive a membership card and instruction manual. THIS IS THAT INSTRUCTION MANUAL. You're welcome.”

Many more books are marketed to quite young children, for example, “Born ready: the true story of a boy named Penelope.” This book is promoted to children ages four to eight, and is available at the Clever branch. According to the description, “Jodie Patterson, activist and Chair of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Board, shares her transgender son's experience in this important picture book about identity and acceptance.”

These are only three of the nearly 200 books currently in the Christian County Library system. Associated with the American Library Association (ALA) and the Missouri Library Association (MLA), both of which could be described as having far left leanings, the Christian County Library is following in the footsteps of these organizations. The ALA’s 2023-2024 president is an avowed Marxist lesbian.

Elsewhere, Drabinski opines on the library situation in Missouri.

 Pushing a radical agenda that includes giving minors access to sexually explicit materials is not a matter of free speech. Those books, if rated and moved to an area that would allow parents their right to decide if their children are exposed to such materials, does not meet the definition of banning.

  Those books are widely available in other venues, ones that don’t involve funding by taxpayers. It is a matter of protecting children and adhering to community standards in publicly-funded libraries. How many taxpayers are unknowingly funding porn in county libraries?

There are laws in place in Missouri (see here, here, and here) that prohibit giving minors access to pornographic and sexually explicit materials. Why does it seem the public library is an exception? And why is the library director and the board of trustees so willing to expose vulnerable children to such materials?

ACTION ITEM:

 

Citizens should consider exploring the online book catalog at their own libraries to see what sexually explicit/pornographic books are infesting the children’s section. Take screenshots and share on social media. Attend the public meetings of those governing your library systems. Ask questions. It’s a start. More to come.

(This article was originally posted at We The People of Missouri)