Kathleen writes “First Read In at the Westgate Regional Library 7606 Paula Drive Tampa, Florida 33615-4116 on July 21 from 7-9pm. This will be a quiet protest, in which we encourage people to borrow
a book from the display that was taken down (you may need to request it ahead of time to be sent to the Westgate Library) and read them. In front of each person we can have signs saying something to the effect of “This is one of the Gay Pride books the BOCC doesn’t want displayed”.”
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Our First Read-In … http://www.prideisback.org
Hi There,
I’m one of the organizers of the Read-In protest and this is something new for us (they didn’t cover this in Library School!). So we are open to ideas, thought, etc. — please post ANY input here or email me at [email protected]
This is our first of many, if this policy does not get repealed. We will plan one per month at various library locations – check for future dates and location on the Equality Florida website
Martin
The Library Display that Rocked Hillsborough
The following is the list of teen-friendly books that were on display at the West Gate Library that spurred the Hillsborough County Commission to bar county agencies from acknowledging, promoting, and participating in Gay Pride recognition and events.
My Father’s Scar by Michael Cart
Hello, I Lied by M.E. Kerr
Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block
Girl Goddess, #9 by Francesca Lia Block
Talk to Me: Stories and a Novella by Carol Dines
Tomorrow Wendy: A Love Story by Shelley Stoehr
Breaking Boxes by A.M. Jenkins
My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr
Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
Ironman by Chris Crutcher
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
The Shell House by Linda Newberry
A Face in Every Window by Han Nolan
Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence by Marion Diane Bauer
Alice on the Outside by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff
The Car by Gary Paulsen
Postcards from No Man’s Land by Aiden Chambers
Razzle by Ellen Wittlinger
Box Girl by Sarah Withrow
Eight Seconds by Jean Ferris
In its Proper Context
I consistently maintain that this policy needs to be put into the proper context of Discrimination. My reasoning for this is because (1) we’re seeing quotes by people in newspapers and other media who are bring out what are properly described as Medieval superstitions, prejudice, stereotypes, etc. such as allowing educational displays of gay/lesbian content promoting a “lifestyle,” harming children (an age-old political ploy), and somehow creating more gay/lesbians because of the influence and “choice” belief; (2) because it would be self-limiting to focus on one policy, and people will tire or burn-out from the intensity of focusing only on reactionary condemnation of the policy; and (3) because it provides an opportunity to talk about what this means in a broader context. The posting to both my blog and sent to the Commission is Part 1 of an ongoing series that seeks to address all 3 of these aforementioned reasons, and provides a model of looking at the insidious strategies that have been used to divide groups throughout history. In 2005, we’ve had the intellectual tools to combat ideological bias with reasoning for quite some time. Now we have to collectively communicate it repetitively and in different ways–both tenets of education.
http://perspectiveofpete.blogspot.com/2005/07/in-i ts-proper-context-letters-to.html
7/12/2005
In its Proper Context: A Letters to the Commission Series
Part 1
It has now been nearly 4 weeks since your policy to “abstain from acknowledging, promoting, and participating in Gay Pride recognition and events� made Hillsborough County look like we’re a bunch of ignorant, southern bumpkins—a stereotype we now share. The reasoning has largely come from Commissioner Storms, and has since been made “religious� according to one article. Ideology, or 6-1 bias then, rules supreme in Hillsborough County.
The gay and lesbian community has been given the opportunity to share our thoughts with the rest of the world to show that at least some of us can rationally examine this policy and put it in its rightful context: past, present, and future.
The carefully constructed conceptual walls have been raised, but crumble upon closer inspection. In each installment of this series we’ll examine the one-sided rhetoric that’s been pushed onto our community.
Myth: Similarities and comparisons can’t be made to other groups (e.g., African-Americans, women)
Fact: Drawing similarities between the struggles of one or several groups does not take away from their individual experiences. Instead, they’re to be learned from and reflected on in terms of what these struggles mean to social progress. This absolutely furthers their poignancy.
It’s also a very short walk between racism and other forms of discrimination, because the actions supporting discrimination are always the same. These form the 4 Pillars of Discrimination (Diminishing, De-humanizing, Denying, and Distancing):
Diminishing the value of a group of people has a long history, and involves negating their contributions to society. We are parents, soldiers, police men and women, nurses, renovating a huge portion of the county, and working for the Hillsborough County Government. If you want to avoid us, you need to steer clear not only of Gay Pride events, but also the grocery store, the library, and the hospital.
De-humanizing is when the Diminishment approaches zero, and involves associating us with criminals, pedophiles, necrophiliacs, and engaging in bestiality. We are depicted as preying on children, pushing our agenda onto society, and threatening all that is good and holy. In a world filled with thousands upon thousands of depictions of us in a negative light, or as stereotypes, some are afraid that we will somehow make more people gay/lesbian by way of acknowledging not only our worth, but our presence. We are still amazingly seen as making a “choice,� as reflected in the term sexual preference rather than sexual orientation. The only choice we have is to have a complex and hide or accept ourselves and live free.
Denying involves not allowing us to have the same life options as everyone else: our love, commitment, and struggles are the same so we want the same word and meaning of civil marriage (the religions that accept us can bless our union, while those that don’t can abstain). We also want to be able to adopt, for example, from the thousands of children in the Florida foster care system–a system so broken that kids are “stacked” in some homes to double digits, are shifted around constantly, and are subject to all of the associated problems of poverty (abuse, neglect, crime, low educational and career development, etc.). In terms of living our lives day-to-day, we want the same benefits and the avoidance of economic/legal hassles as everyone else.
Distancing is seeing people as foreign and separate. The word “lifestyle� is used to show that we have an entirely different way of life as everyone else, yet we have been around for thousands of years, born to heterosexual parents, to this very day. The reason we seem to have emerged only recently is because we’re finally in the media and are finally speaking out. Don’t like that we’re everywhere? Want to restrict the message that we’re around or avoid us by not acknowledging us? Tough. We will continue to be here through the ages.
Defending each of these strategies by tradition, ideology, or majority opinion without the benefit of a rational discussion exposes them as groundless. In Part 2 of this series, we’ll revisit each of these with specific examples.
READ-IN and BOYCOTT SHOW LIBRARIANS IN OPPOSITION
Jul 22, 2005
Librarians Hit The Books To Oppose County’s Ban On Gay-Pride Display
BY GRETCHEN PARKER and JULIE PACE
The Tampa Tribune
TAMPA – Meagan Albright went to WestGate Library on Thursday night to read – and to protest.
She silently paged through a book while sitting next to a sign that said, “Let Librarians Display All Kinds of Books.”
Albright was joined by about 20 others who protested equally quietly.
Last month, a display of gay literature designed by Albright, a part-time librarian and graduate student in library science, prompted the Hillsborough County Commission to adopt a policy banning county-sponsored acknowledgment of gay pride.
Also Thursday, in an e-mail to its 1,500 members, the Florida Library Association declared the county off-limits for its members’ meetings, conferences and workshops until the commission rescinds its policy.
It’s a stepped-up response to the commission’s policy, which prompted the director of the county library system to take down Albright’s display, as well as two other library displays of gay-themed and gay- authored books. Earlier, the association voiced objections in a letter to the county commission and asked the board to reconsider its action.
The boycott is a “more powerful tool than just expressing concern,” said Nancy Pike, president of the association and director of the Sarasota County library system.
“As small as our economic impact might be, it’s what we have,” Pike said.
The association’s board approved the resolution in an e-mail vote last week.
The association immediately canceled a two-day meeting of its executive board, which was set for Aug. 25-26 at a library in New Tampa. The 30 to 35 attendees instead will report to Sarasota, where some will stay overnight at a local hotel there, Pike said.
Librarians who belong to the association meet about once a month in Hillsborough County. The association holds its annual conference in a rotating cast of cities, but no conventions will be set for Tampa until the policy is rescinded, Pike said. The conference draws about 900 librarians and staffers for 3 1/2 days.
County Commissioner Kathy Castor, the only board member to vote against the policy last month, said: “That’s what happens when you pass a discriminatory policy without giving much thought to it.”
Commissioner Thomas Scott said he hadn’t heard about the boycott. He said the responses he’s heard are evenly split for and against the policy.
At Thursday’s protest, Martin Sicard, a Hillsborough school librarian, said he expects more groups to support the boycott.
“This is just the beginning,” Sicard said. “Economics is really the only way you’re going to get anything to change.”
Sicard organized the silent protest of librarians and educators at WestGate. They gathered to read the books that were taken down from Albright’s display. Sicard said he got permission from the library staff to reserve the meeting room for the protest.
One of the participants was Mel Pace, associate director of the school of library science at USF, who said the county’s policy is a threat to the future of libraries.
“This is about the mission of the library system, which is a uniquely American system,” Pace said.
The county’s policy, which bans county departments from “acknowledging, promoting and participating” in gay pride events, has drawn the ire of librarians nationwide, who say it jeopardizes their freedom to choose books they supply and promote.
On Wednesday, the commission heard from about 20 residents who object to the policy. Without commenting, the commission declined to reconsider it.
Reporter Mark Holan contributed to this story. Reporter Gretchen Parker can be reached at (813) 259-7562. Reporter Julie Pace can be reached at (813) 865-1505.
This story can be found at: http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBZF3WUFBE.html