quijotescx:(Back at it again with banned works show entry 2 of 3. This is “Compliance.”)

quijotescx:

(Back at it again with banned works show entry 2 of 3. This is “Compliance.”)

When the topic of censorship comes up, a lot of well-meaning observers tend to insist that librarians will heroically beat back any enemies of the First Amendment and inevitably triumph over the narrow-minded forces of evil, saving everyone. 

What they fail to take into account is that while librarians are tasked with making up for many failures in our society, they are also from our society. Racist librarians and administrators exist and make life hell for librarians of color. Queerphobic librarians and administrators exist and make life hell for queer librarians. When your coworkers or employers already think less of you for who you are, even just hanging on to your job becomes a struggle; you are expected to endure a deluge of microaggressions and open vitriol, and seeking support or even speaking up for someone in a similar situation makes you the problem. 

So when bigots demand the cancellation of literacy programs and the removal of books from the collection out of their determination to keep the Other firmly Othered, librarians often comply, sometimes even preemptively. Some are unable to safely advocate for even a print version of experiences they share. Others simply agree with the bigots who want the content gone. 

Institutions will not save you.