Moralistic Authoritarianism: Louisiana Republicans Try to Criminalize Librarians

In Louisiana, four conservative lawmakers have filed five bills trying to bring down public libraries with legislation that “could criminalize librarians."

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Watching the culture wars play out in the United States and wondering when these people are going to wear themselves out with their constant outrage. They’ve shot up Bud Light cans and set Barbies on fire in protest of the film. They’ve canceled Disney and they’ve tried to legislate pronouns. They’re now angry with Planet Fitness and Ben and Jerry’s.

Photo by Alexei Maridashvili on Unsplash

They’ve wailed about CRT and then moved on to their next dog whistle, DEI. In case it’s not clear yet, the GOP rapid response Twitter team helpfully shared this in 2022:

And now they’re using “DEI” to signal when they’re speaking about a Black person, even when the person is duly elected and their position has zero to do with “DEI” policies:

But my friends, they were just getting warmed up.

Now, the war is on librarians. Specifically, criminalizing librarians.

CRIMINALIZING LIBRARIANS

In Louisiana, four conservative lawmakers have filed five bills trying to bring down public libraries with legislation that “could criminalize librarians,” the LA Illuminator reported:

Three bills filed could lead to criminal punishment for librarians. 

House Bill 777 by Rep. Kellee Dickerson, R-Denham Springs, would prohibit any public employee from spending public funds with the American Library Association. Anyone who does would be subject to up to two years in prison or a fine of up to $1,000. 

Oh, a year in prison for daring to associate with the American Library Association, that sounds totally normal. What has the ALA done to treated like a criminal?

Apparently, the ALA is “Marxist.” Indeed, “far-right activists have filed thousands of book challenges in the past few years and pushed libraries to disaffiliate with the ALA.”

In reality, the ALA is a nonprofit organization and is also the oldest and largest library association in the world. It’s actually something of which Americans can be proud. It promotes library education internationally, even.