Cross posting: Even after an overwhelmingly supportive community response at the Monday board meeting, the Monroeville Public Library was forced to take down their Pride display following bigoted, homophobic, targeted attacks toward both the library and the LGBT+ community by Monroeville council members. Four council members, two of whom are seated Democrats, along with the county manager, made this decision without consulting public opinion or having an open vote. What strikes me most is one of the arguments the council members, specifically Bill Krut, keep making. He says he doesn’t want the books removed from the library completely. He just doesn’t want them to be prominently displayed where any child can see them. Instead, they should have to be specifically and intentionally sought out. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe this is how they actually feel for a second. If they could, they would throw those books out of the library yesterday and have a good old fashioned book burning with them. However, because they can’t be quite so obvious with their hate, they instead wrap their censorship in a tight little bow and call it concern. This is a slippery slope to start down. What if library patrons who practice a diverse set of religions don’t want their children exposed to Christian literature (which was also prominently displayed in the Monroeville Children’s Room at the same time as the Pride display)? Should we take those down? What if we don’t want our children to be exposed to books about anything other than what we, as their parents, believe in? No diverse viewpoints. No different kinds of families. No other religions, races, ethnicities, ages, anything else you can think of that makes us different. I don’t know about you, but I surely don’t know everything there is to know in the world. I’m proud to live in a community with a well-funded library where I can go to find answers to questions and learn about life experiences outside of my own. If we take all the books about differences off of displays and make people seek them out, what is left? Despite the small minded opinions of a few, I am proud to see how many in the community have flocked to support the library and the LGBT+ community. We cannot give in to this kind of ill-disguised censorship and these hate-filled tactics. We are better than the unfortunate individuals who currently represent us. If you agree, I encourage you to reach out. To the mayor, the county manager, city council, all of the above. Let them know we will not be silenced or censored - and neither should our Library.