AAAAAH how refreshing to see an administration promote freedom of speech

They should just put the banned books on the shelves regardless. It's not like the illiterate morons who ban books ever set foot in libraries.

While it's true they aren't reading anything, Mom's for Liberty sends people to libraries just to harass the workers

Am I to infer from this statement that the answer to harassment is silence and submission?

In cases where someone is trying to make a stink for attention, usually the best option is to ignore them. But then they go to admin and elected officials who care more about their own bottom line than doing the right thing. And then those people tell the libraries that they have to comply because they want the loud bigots who might cost them their jobs to go away. And then if the librarians don't comply, they lose their jobs and then no one gets any books.

Has anyone watched the new show yet? How’s it looking? Trailer seemed promising!

So am I to infer from this statement that silence and submission is the answer?

Guess we should just roll over for the Nazis, because putting up a fight is too inconvenient.

I mean, the truth is that the American populace needed to revolt 40 years ago, but since that's not happening and Americans seem incapable of fighting the fascism that's growing in their lawn by the methods it demands, yeah better to still have libraries than not have them at all.

Even if the only books they're allowed to curate are the Bible, The Art of The Deal and Mein Kampf? They're likely to quit on their own anyway.

I mean, that's a gross exaggeration of these bans. It is genuinely awful that they have weaponized the corruption and incompetence of the American govt system to silence LGBTQ+ voices, but libraries provide a ton of additional services to their local community, even beyond just the books they offer. It is better for them to exist than to not.

I would argue it is not an exaggeration. The bans always start small, because they can get away with the small things. And then it becomes normalized and it always escalates if left unchecked.

A small fight over a few books is a much easier fight to win before it becomes the systematic norm.

And yes, libraries have a ton of other services... for now. Do you think these same lunatics are going to leave the library alone after they've gotten rid of the books they don't agree with? After the book bans, will they still be offering free internet that isn't censored? Will they still have information for outreach programs that help homeless people, LBGTQ+ folks, people with mental health problems, and assistance for other vulnerable minority groups?

If they are allowed to have their way, they'll gut all of the services people use, then when nobody is going to the library, they'll have the excuse they've wanted all along to shut it down entirely.

This isn't hypothetical what-if-ism. It's happened before.

I mean sure, but what you're talking about is the now inevitable collapse of American society. Yeah once the fascists start bombing civil services and destroy town halls to consolidate power things will be bad. I don't believe saying "No" to these book bans and having the entire library shut down today is going to prevent that reality though.

So you wait for the roof to collapse before you fix the leak?

More like the leak in the library is nothing compared to the massive holes elsewhere that should be focused on first since the library at least works still.

And these other holes will destroy the library along with everything else first.

Free Speech is the first thing to protect. When that's lost, everything else follows.

But go ahead and give up. Others are still fighting.

In your analogy, there is no fixing the leak. They're already shooting civilians in the streets, the whole dam has burst at this point. The kinda action that is necessary to fix this now isn't trying to stand up to book bans, it's getting armed and tackling the rotten core of the country.

You only know what's wrong because of free speech. And that's what you're willing to give up.