Post by Abby Zimet, Common Dreams
Give it up for Zealot of the Week Jennifer ‘Karen’ Meeks, who took it upon her pious self to scurry around her Arkansas neighborhood’s Little Free Libraries, remove “bad” books that “don’t align with Christian values” – mostly, eww, “Pride stuff” – and put in “good” books, aka Bibles. Her GOP lawmaker husband says “leftists” are lying and his wife is just nobly replacing worn-out books with newer ones, which means he’s already breaking 2 Commandments – stealing and lying – so God help him.
“I have been swapping out books in little free libraries for awhile,” the enterprising Ms. Meeks – sorry, she probably prefers Mrs. – announced on Facebook, possibly ill-advisedly, earlier this month. “A lot of these books and other things don’t align with Christian values,” she wrote. “Today, I saw a bunch of Pride stuff in one. There’s a group of leftists, especially in Conway, who are very active in keeping little libraries well stocked. I have seen good books, terrible books, toiletries, and needles (yes, needles)…Recently I have been picking up free Bibles at flea markets and thrift stores. Sometimes I find good devotion books or kids’ Bible stories at a good price to add. Or just great books, and a gospel tract is a nice idea too.” She went on, “This is a (sic) opportunity for the silent majority to be salt and light in our communities.” She’s presumably referencing Matt. 5:13, in which, “Our Savior calls His disciples the ‘salt of the earth’ and the ‘light of the world,'” two substances that transform food or darkness much as the church can transform society – especially if there are creepy sexy-time books lurking around in your blasphemous neighborhood.
Little Free Libraries is a non-profit promoting neighborhood book exchanges and literacy under a “take a book, share a book” honor system where people can freely borrow and donate books. They encourage “stewards” to curate boxes “in a way that best serves their community” with books that “enlighten readers, nurture empathy, and open (up) diverse perspectives.” Under that rubric, censorship is taboo: “When an individual removes books (that) don’t match up with their personal beliefs, they silence critical voices that deserve to be heard” – often LGBTQ and people of color. Ditto, said Meeks’ “group of leftists” keeping libraries stocked – the Faulkner County Coalition for Social Justice – who happily chimed in, “Thank you Mrs. Meeks, that would be us!” They said they continue to offer “life-saving” books, food, toiletries, reproductive health care and naloxone for queer kids not out to their parents, teens who need Plan B for an unwanted pregnancy, the “good neighbor preventing an overdose.” “Keep removing them, Jennifer,” they wrote. “But we will never stop coming right back (to show) love and decency will always win.” They also added that the Meeks’ “voting records and actions speak for themselves.”
That would be Stephen voting for a bill criminalizing librarians for distributing material deemed “obscene”; trying (unsuccessfully) to remove “explicit materials” from libraries and cut their funds; voting for an anti-trans “bathroom bill,” an abortion ban, a heartbeat bill, to allow guns at universities and churches, to have Bible instruction in public schools etc. After local outrage, his wife’s proud post about deciding what books other people should/shouldn’t read was deleted – hubris remorse? – but anyway Meeks said it was “a complete lie” by a “leftist” group she was “removing books that she disagrees with..My wife would not do that,” even though she herself wrote she’d “taken out a bad one and left a good one in its place.” Also, the post went public because someone “betrayed her” hoping to get “political dirt” on him; his wife is “adding Christian-related books as well as history, science and other books,” sometimes removing “a worn-out history book” to replace it with a nicer one; as Christians “we too should be stocking Bibles, devotionals, things like that” to “give people more choice,” and “I think everybody would agree having more choice is a good thing,” except when it comes to, you know, your own body or health care or voting or beliefs or… Also, his wife “did not want to discuss the matter.” Cowards, liars, bigots all.
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” – Matthew 7:1
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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What massive hypocrites!
Why are christians so terrified of viewpoints other than theirs and books that may not fit their particular religious dogma?
If I can read the Bible or any religious writing from the various world religions and learn from them without converting , then surely Christians can do the same.
After all they have god. If they have him then what should the fear? Is Satan so strong that god cant overcome?
For gods sake, this is god we are talking about here. If he supports your cause then who can stand up to that?
It’s a deplorable human that makes trouble where there was none.
There should be a new sticker to slap on these wonderful altars in neighborhoods where censorious zealots ply their nothingness, identifying them as Little Mind Free Libraries.
Be still, my twitching middle finger. Aimed at these poor excuses for human beings, who want to shove their religion down other people’s throats.
I was wondering when the Christian zealots would start attacking Little Free Libraries. They have the freedom to start their own little Christian library, stocked with religious literature. They could even put it outside their church. But no, they must take away other’s choices and push their agenda onto the community. Don’t be surprised if the next step is vandalism and book burning. I’m so glad I live in a neighborhood of urban hippies.
Always good to see TrueChristians(tm) ignore their god when convenient.
Bruce, not as much a comment on the “Evil” of books but in general I was thinking the other day how the “Library” which used to be so important in my youth nowadays thanks to Social Media just is not as important to youth today. Does anyone miss the old fashioned library? Walking into silence and all those books that can take us into totally other places? As a kid, besides all my Bible study and memorization, I read the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. Over the last 3 or 4 years I have been collecting them and re-reading them. The newer editions from the 60’s and 70’s and the old brown cover ones from the 20’s and 30’s. Now, at age 55 it is amazing as I re-read them how I can still remember the names and plots of the characters and settings from so long ago. Just wanted to say Bruce (and, I know I changed your subject a little) I miss the old fashioned library. 📚 by the way Bruce, did you read them as a kid? What was your fiction reading like?
Growing up in Oakland, California, I had access to a terrific municipal library that was fiercely difficult to park near, and the bus that ran near my house didn’t go near enough to it. Periodically I would need to do research for high school classes, though, and could talk my mother into dropping me off there for a few hours. I never needed more than an hour there, but I loved the place. Graceful older building with high ceilings and just worlds of wonder contained in those spacious rooms. I could easily get lost there, and discover with a start that it was time to go meet my mother.
University libraries I’ve had reason to use since reminded me of the Oakland library.
wE dOn’T NeEd nO BoOkS BuT ThE BIbLe HeRe……..
High control separatist religious groups are so afraid of media outside their small minded bubbles.
The same mentality as this mind-rapist exhibits by thievery at little libraries, the very same mentality has allowed Americans to stand by and assent while human beings are slaughtered as witches, as not-sexually compliant, as wrong-skinned etc. You think you serve a loving God, you hate-filled biped? You serve your own toxic brain and nothing more. The applause you hear for your hatred is a boiling cauldron of poison called Fundamentalism in American Christianity. May the books you burn be read to you in your dreams!