| Last week we were talking about the American Library Association and how it has (or hasn't) positioned itself in the fight against book bans, and the question of who should be responsible for taking up that fight? Here's what you all had to say. Kristen H. wrote "Frankly, everyone who possibly can should fight censorship! ... Controlling what people read (or listen to or watch or…) is a one-way ticket to authoritarianism. I understand this means there will be things I find objectionable in libraries (e.g., Mein Kampf), but in order to defeat something horrifying like white supremacy we need to know what the arguments are to be able to present counter arguments to anyone who might be swayed by the rhetoric." Aaron O. raises this question: "One thing I wanted to point out that I find somewhat interesting is that challenges are nearly always about BOOKS! Why is that? What is inherently threatening about books? You take a look at TV shows, movies, and such, and they are rarely the target of challenges. When I consider some of the graphic stuff depicted in them, it makes me wonder why folks don't go after them more." And Emily P. gives us a public librarian's perspective. "We are directly in the target zone between concerned parents and the books themselves…. It has gotten so bad that this year, when I was diagnosed with brain cancer and had to quit my job, I thought, "Well, at least I won't have to deal with that mess anymore." My job used to be a quiet, peaceful job and these idiots have made it into a highly stressful morality war zone. I sincerely hope that librarians will not be tasked with fighting this fight because we're just people who love books and want to share that love - we're not warriors, at least not willingly." See you next week! P.S., if a friend sent you this newsletter and you want to sign up, the place to do it is npr.org/newsletter/books. :) | 
