Young minds at risk

Harsh words from The Chicago Sun Times
\”Have we as a society become so desensitized that the idea of children accessing hard-core pornography in a children\’s library does not bother us? I sincerely hope this is not the case.\”
I\’m afraid it is. And the library profession defends it as acceptable, if not desirable, behavior.

Harsh words from The Chicago Sun Times
\”Have we as a society become so desensitized that the idea of children accessing hard-core pornography in a children\’s library does not bother us? I sincerely hope this is not the case.\”
I\’m afraid it is. And the library profession defends it as acceptable, if not desirable, behavior.More from the times

I\’m speaking, of course, about the American Library Association, with headquarters in Chicago, which has conjured up a litany of bogus reasons why this kind of child abuse should be tolerated. The litany includes the fictions that filters don\’t work; that parents can oversee their children\’s computer use 24 hours a day; that libraries, as if they had no judgment, stocked their shelves with everything anyone wanted to see, and that only a minority of patrons (including children) use the porn sites. Even if the last point is true, it ignores the existence of the many patrons, including children, and staff who, unexpectedly or against their choice, are exposed to such sites.

Over time, I\’ve made the same points about the ALA\’s policies, which are similar to the points made by the Federal Trade Commission on Monday about how the entertainment industry promotes violence. To me, the ALA\’s policy constitutes the same kind of malevolent child abuse. But each time I\’ve made the point, I\’ve been accused of being a boorish right-winger.

Morgan says she is honored to work for the Chicago Public Library, \”one of the finest in the nation.\” But, she adds, \”the [ALA] hierarchy and some others in the library profession are doing their best to fight any state or federal mandates for Internet filtering. I believe they represent a radical view that is not shared by the majority of librarians or the public. While they will try to marginalize outspoken people like myself as right-wing extremists, I am proud to say that I have always considered myself a liberal.