There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who value the freedom of speech and those who are threatened by it. The longest running war in history, one that has raged since the advent of the written word, shows no sign of ending anytime soon. I’m referring to the war against free expression waged by power hungry, self-appointed defenders of morality who seek to ban and/or burn books in order to tamp down dissent and maintain control over people whose religion, skin color, political affiliation, nationality, or sexual orientation differs from their own.
As long as there have been books there have been people who feel threatened by the ideas contained within them. Throughout history, books have been banned and burned in an effort to intimidate and frighten people who dare to upset the status quo. Nazis are perhaps history’s most notorious book burners, but they are part of a larger tradition of anti-intellectualism that began long before Hitler lived and will continue as long as deliberate ignorance and bigotry exist in this world.
A Republican Texas State Representative named Matt Krause recently compiled a list of 850 books to ban in schools because he believes they “might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex.” It is not known, however, if Krause or others who share his concern about upsetting young children plan to ban traumatizing active shooter drills in schools.
As a teacher, I have read books to young kids that mentioned the horrors of slavery, bigotry, and racism. I have also showed children as young as five years old how to hide from a gunman who is determined to slaughter them. I know, beyond any doubt, which is more psychologically distressful to children.
I find it incredibly ironic that most of the people who are banning and burning books are conservatives who hypocritically decry the evils of “cancel culture” and liberal “wokeness”. Apparently, it is not okay to cancel a white country singer after he drunkenly shouts the N-word at his Black neighbors, but it is perfectly fine to ban books that teach students about the painful history of racism in this country.
A dedicated and fierce group of people have been fighting against the book-banners/burners for ages. These defenders of knowledge and free expression are the true heroes in the war against censorship. We call these noble warriors Librarians. Unfortunately, anti-intellectual book-banners are not the only challenge facing librarians these days.
Last week, a group of employees of the Daniel Boone Regional Library announced their intent to form a union. A press release explained, “The growing group of staff, librarians and support staff are organizing to secure fair pay, accessible services, advancement opportunities, safer working conditions and a voice when it comes to decisions that affect the library.”
The press release included statements from several librarians, including this from Rowan Walsh. “As staff, we’ve experienced so many instances of verbal and physical harassment and discrimination from the public. A lot of these could have been avoided with the right policies in place. But administration continues to respond by doing nothing to keep us safe,” explained Walsh, who works in Circulation at Columbia Public Library.
“According to a letter of intent signed by nearly 50 DBRL employees, organizing efforts began after a small group of them met late last year to discuss the challenges of working as front-line staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. After realizing that the administration had done little to address staff’s longstanding concerns over safety, workers decided it was time to take action and unionize,” the press release went on to say. The new union would cover workers at Columbia Public Library, Callaway County Public Library, Holts Summit Public Library, and Ashland’s Southern Boone County Public Library.
Personally, I support the library employees’ plan to unionize. In an online community letter of support that members of the public can add their name to, the essential functions of librarians are laid out. “At Daniel Boone Regional Library, you might be surprised by all the services our library offers. Our staff helps provide access to rural communities, outreach services to childcares, hospitals and other institutions, educational and leisure programming, and story time for children. We offer printing services and computer help. We teach technology classes that help keep our patrons connected to loved ones. We even help the public apply for passports and provide notary services. Truly, our library is the cornerstone of our community.”
Librarians have long advocated for our rights. Now it’s our turn to advocate for theirs as well. Click on https://www.dbrlworkers.org/community-letter-support to show your support today.
1 comment:
Sorry you were misguided here. The wish to unionize is not the wish of all our local library workers and especially not all the librarians. I know you think you are doing the right thing, but you've spoken too soon without knowing all information. The current hyperbolic statements from the pro-unionizing sector that have been circulating on social media or news articles make it sound like all staff are in favor of this, or that librarians will benefit, or that staff have collectively and formally asked for specific changes in the past. None of these statements is true. Look out for more factual information that fleshes out this issue for you.
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