Thou Shall Not Steal

The Warren County BOS on Monday evening convinced me that along with tormenting the LGBTQ members of the community, what I refer to as the “Cleaning Crew” is attempting to steal the public library right out from under the county so that they can turn it into a glorified Catholic Bookstore. Their demands have increased. They now IMMEDIATELY DEMAND that BOS-appointed members be added to the library’s Board of Trustees, presumably to police the librarians who they’ve been insulting and harassing for months. They want the American Library Association standards removed. If they get their way, Samuels will be a substandard library with unqualified religious fanatics behind the counters completely unqualified to prepare local students properly for any college – unless it’s Christendom.

What board of supervisors would agree to create an inferior “library” to appease some religious extremists? The same one that allowed these fanatics to come in at 9 a.m. for a 7 p.m. meeting and fill the sign-up slots for Public Comment? Does this board not use Roberts Rule of Order? Or only when they feel like it? Because that’s not allowed in Roberts Rule of Order.

As for the wailing and gnashing of teeth that these young people engaged in about pornography in the children’s section, all I can say is that if you find Judy Bloom “erotically stimulating” (the definition of the word pornography), I’m not letting you anywhere near my kid.

They ended each of their speeches with the words “No taxation without representation.” With some families boasting 10-15 children, I doubt they’re paying income tax. They surely don’t pay MORE taxes than the rest of us. Guess what? We don’t get to do line-item adjustments regarding where our tax money goes. I vehemently disagree with one tax dime being taken away from public schools and being subverted to school vouchers. I don’t believe churches should be exempt from real estate taxes. But I don’t go to a BOS meeting and DEMAND that the churches start doing so immediately. Representation means you elect someone who shares your goals and helps them achieve them. That’s the American political process. What they’re asking the BOS to do is ILLEGAL. Libraries all over this country are dealing with people who scream the same junk that the CleanU Crew does. They’re told by judges there’s no legal precedent for what they’re claiming. There still isn’t.

I don’t know what style of parenting resulted in producing the ubermensch (the superior man who justifies the existence of the human race) that I saw at that meeting, but I do know it smacks of entitlement. They want things their way — NOW!! Well, all I can say is that I pray they don’t get it. To let these religious extremists dismantle a library that is well over 50 years in the making would be a disgrace. I hope the Board of Supervisors tells them no. Because I’m pretty sure the courts will.

Ann Masch
Markham, VA