if you're threatening librarians, and opposed to books even existing/being available, you can just fuck all the way off. ಠ_ಠ
y'all know I rarely curse on here, but what librarians and kids are having to deal with as a result of right-wing culture war BS (entirely manufactured, zero basis in reality) is just sickening. https://www.npr.org/2023/08/11/1192034923/the-plot-thickens-the-battle-over-books-comes-at-a-cost
I dunno about y'all but I am checking the site for my local library right now, looking to see if there are ways I can volunteer and help out. I encourage you to do likewise.
I understand the concerns of parents about influence on their kids coming from all over the place (although should be far more concerned about influence from the Internet than from libraries; dad of 4 here, speaking from experience).
But this isn't really about kids; this is about propagating a culture war based on manufactured outrage and punching down on marginalized groups you really wish did not exist, in the hope they will disappear entirely if you deny their existence loudly enough.
if you're a parent who is concerned about what your kids might be reading at the library: whatever the scary/inappropriate/horrible idea might be, they heard about it from their friends long before they ever read about it in a book.
Talk to your kids: whatever idea or identity you're afraid they might adopt, the antidote to untruth is truth, the foundation of influence is trust, and the prophylaxis to relational breakdown is love and acceptance, expressed firmly and consistently.
If your kids don't feel safe going to you with things, they will seek counsel and guidance elsewhere, and you will lose whatever influence you might have had with them. Make peace with change, because it's coming whether you fight it or not.
If you let your kids use the internet or social media mostly unsupervised - but are afraid of what they might see at the library - I got bad news for you.
