Opinion: Book Banners Aren't Stupid

By Bradley Roemer

At the December 10^th, 2024 meeting of the Greater Clarks Hills Regional Library Board I spoke in opposition to adoption of the Guidelines for Determining Book Placement as approved by the Columbia County Commissioners on September 3, 2024. The arguments in favor of the guidelines were essentially what I had expected but, nonetheless, I left somewhat confused about the ideological inconsistency. I couldn’t pinpoint it at the time but something was off about what they were saying and it has taken me a few weeks to sort it out.

I knew something was off about their reasoning because at different points in my own responses (mostly in my head) I was forced into contradictory positions myself. For instance, part of my own statement at the board meeting included recognizing that those seeking to move children’s books to the adult section are not stupid. They know that calling to ban books outright is a non-starter so they have adopted a strategy that allows them to claim this is not their goal. They also know how libraries work. They know that most children don’t start off searching the card catalogue or the electronic database. They wander around the sections that have general stuff for their age and grab something that looks interesting. They also know that libraries track how often books are checked out and that, periodically, books that have not been checked out are removed to make room for more popular titles. So, if you want a kid’s book removed, hide it in the adult section where it is less likely to be found and eventually, it will be gone. Smart.

Then, I listened to what those supporting the policy actually said to support their position. Though the guidelines include standards for reconsidering book placement based upon violence and profanity as well as sexually explicit content, all of the complaints cited have to do with material based on gender or sexuality. Even when the use of profanity was referenced, it was almost entirely in the context of a sexual reference or innuendo, and specifically non-heteronormative sexuality. This makes clear what we already know: they want to ban books supportive or inclusive of the LGBTQ community. Another indication that this is the true aim is that they claim they are protecting children because these books might cause gender confusion or make otherwise “normal” children question their sexuality. That’s stupid because that’s not how books work. So now I’m stuck. Are they stupid or are they not?

In addition, if this fear was genuine, then why aren’t they keeping an eye on their children as they browse the Children and Young Adult sections? Rather than do the work of parenting by monitoring their own children, they complain so that the offensive [sic] material is moved (at great administrative cost to the library and with potential legal exposure) and the burden is placed on others to actively find it rather than on themselves to passively watch out for it. Again, stupid.

I can’t have it both ways. I can’t say they are not stupid when it is convenient for my argument and then say they are when it seems the obvious response. In order to sort out this inconsistency in my own arguments, I had to identify its roots in theirs. What I have come to realize is that they are misrepresenting, perhaps even to themselves, what their true fear is. They are not afraid that a book might make a child gay or question their gender identity. I believe they know that, somewhere inside themselves. Besides, if they truly believed books had that kind of power, they could simply give the child another book or two about a cisgender straight kid and all would be back to normal. But this route is unacceptable to them. Why? Because they know that’s not how it works. Because they are not stupid. They are not afraid of books turning kids gay or causing gender confusion. They are afraid that if children are exposed to books that portray those in the LGBTQ community as the normal decent people they are, those children will begin to accept that message. In other words, they are afraid of anything that portrays queerness as normal or even acceptable. Once I realized that this is their true fear, it all makes sense. If a book can make people accept new and different ideas they may not be exposed to in other parts of their lives - this, after all, is their true power - then the only way to safeguard against exposure to those ideas is to get rid of the books. They are not trying to protect children (their own or anyone else’s) from material that may cause them to be confused. They are trying to prevent children from exposure to material that will teach them empathy toward a group of people they would prefer not to be openly accepted in the community. This does not protect anyone. Instead it perpetuates an environment of fear and bullying that puts LGBTQ children in greater harm. But they don’t care about those children.

With this I have come back to the beginning. The people who support the newly adopted guidelines for the Columbia County Library are not stupid. They know very well how libraries, and the books they house, work and they are using that knowledge in an attempt to ostracize a part of our community who they do not like. They have intentionally supported a set of guidelines that appears reasonable on its face but is broad enough to be manipulated in support of their cause. They do this not because they fear what exposure to a book may do to a child’s view of themselves but because of how it may impact their view of others. They do this not because they are stupid but because they are mean. When you realize that the real motive here is a fear different than the one represented openly, the inconsistencies in their arguments make sense and you can see them for who and what they really are.