It seems to me the correct response would be to make a determined effort to out the people who reported on the kid. Then you can begin a campaign of public shaming. A public example needs to be made of the type of people who complain about this sort of thing. Otherwise, they will keep hiding in their homes doing what they can to make everyone as small and miserable as they are.
We need to publicly hold people accountable for their actions.
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So does that make mailboxes illegal?
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Detached garage would need a permit. Tool sheds and maybe dog houses depending on whether they are movable, or if you want to lay a foundation and make them permanent fixtures/appurtanences.
If his library was stocked with Bibles, the city would probably give him money to make the library bigger.
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Just sent them all an email.
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I believe they have either those slots in the door, or the small boxes actually attached to the house.
[quote=âdacree, post:42, topic:34896â]
Then you can begin a campaign of public shaming. A public example needs to be made of the type of people who complain about this sort of thing.[/quote]
So because someone disagrees with you, you feel the need to try to publicly humiliate them?
Look this isnât some nefarious conspiracy. Itâs a question of taste and preference and what one considers tacky or not. EVERYONE has a threshold. You may be fine with a min-library, but start adding other crap like 6 garden gnomes, a Chevy on blocks in the front yard, an old fridge on the porch, and a sofa housing a family of raccoons and at some point youâre going to be repulsed.
Another thing, itâs not like this kidâs mini-library is actually providing a needed service. This isnât some poor neighborhood where people arenât exposed to/have access to books. No one there has an issue ordering any book they want on Amazon. They have a nice library, and it being a small town, itâs not far away from anyone. While I get the concept of a mini-library is kinda neat, really, no oneâs life is being directly effected negatively here.
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Yeah, Iâm sure whatever enlightened part of the world you live in, doesnât have stupid codes and stupid people enforcing them. And once again, BoingBoing (your comment and all the people who like it) have once again indulged in âLOL hicksâ classist bullcrap.
"He says the birds are on the dole!ââ
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That just makes it worse. Leawood residents may be interested to know that in my neighbourhood in Toronto (considered âaffluentâ because fully detached houses go for $1million, although trust me, most of us live in the cheaper apartments), there are several of these little libraries. They are considered to add charm and civic pride to the neighbourhood, not to mention encouraging a reading culture. Saying the neighbourhoodâs too posh for open book lending is just petty.
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Weâve got a few friends in that part of Kansas and theyâve said itâs more about Leawood being uptight in the HOA sense, than anything else. So, no, Kansans arenât against booksâand the city officials arenât either. Itâs the neighbors not wanting to look at what they consider to be an eyesore. 
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Little free libraries arenât some tacky lawn ornamentâthey promote literacy and (except in this case of hoity-toity neighbors) community. We have hundreds in our city and they are beloved and well cared for by neighbors and envied by those who visit from outside communities that donât have them.
Literacy and fellowship is always in good taste!
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Some communities DO require a permit to build a mailbox. A bit silly, I know. The code itself can be a bit strange, but it is designed to be rigid and inflexible. The jurisdictions who adopt that code have flexibility in how they do so, and how they react to it. The code is NOT the law by itself - it has to be amended and adopted by a local jurisdiction.
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Oh, NH has stupid codes and stupid people, but 90% of the time the âlive free or dieâ ethic wins out pretty quickly. Seriously, New Englanders can be pretty hardcore about minding your own business.
Iâve been to Kansas. Itâs, well⌠http://whatsthematterwithkansas.com/
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Taste is subjective. I donât know how much effect they have on literacy. YMMV.
Yeah, I live on the ass end of Illinois, and while we have a lot of codes, it tends to only kick in if youâre doing something obnoxious, or (more likely) if youâve pissed off your neighbor. And yeah, they tend to be of the âdonât tread on meâ variety.
Just to be gross about it, the âlagoonâ method of dealing with sewage is completely illegalâmy house has a fairly expensive, legally mandated septic tankâbut one of my neighbors has a lagoon (and is already getting pretty ripe.) I keep my trap shut because Iâve made a lot of modifications to my house and property myself, and weâre supposed to get licensed contractors, and follow code, for every bit of it, no matter how rural. It has good intentions but ultimately ends up being âgo be poor somewhere elseâ.
Speaking of âDonât tread on meâ, I saw some guys flying one of those flags along with an âImpeach Obamaâ flyer, off an overpass, in St. Charles, MO over the weekend. Nearly every car was honking. I justâŚokay.
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Like they had Words and they were strung in these awful, heathenish sentences which were satanic in the only way evil appears: Grammatically correct.
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False analogy you would need a permit for almost everything you just listed. And where is anyone calling this thing a âhouseâ?
Yes this town is being dumb, but so is taking the argument to the opposite extreme.
This has to be the greatest slacktivist post of all time. Yeah give them one star on Facebook woohoo thatâll show 'em.
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In fairness, it was the Ăźber-conservative fringey nut expatriates of the 80s and 90s who drove this idea. In the rest of the country these folks are known as âthe real-estate speculator/land development scam artists who showed up one day with a giant brand-new pick-em-up, backwoods accents that sounded like they came from the TV, and nothing good to say about the crazy libruls out in Californiaâ.
Hey, itâs just what people prove themselves to be with their actions.
