Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/02/21/west-virginia-considers-prosecuting-librarians.html
…
14 Likes
“Ignorance is bliss” is meant to be a warning, not a motto.
17 Likes
23 Likes
West Virginia: Ignorance is enforced by law
17 Likes
huzzah! and that fine librarian, and books in general, promoting figurine is based upon the redoubtable Nancy Pearl!
20 Likes
Christ, this new wave of “obscenity” panic is really getting old fast.
14 Likes
Thanks for hipping me to the Goddess mortals know as Nancy Pearl!
15 Likes
Fascists who mess with librarians and archivists before consolidating power are making an amateur mistake.
16 Likes
West Virginia: “We’re 50th in education out of US states.”
West Virginia legislators, educated in that state: “That’s not good enough! Can we make it 51st?”
18 Likes
20 Likes
Hey, that’s Nancy Pearl. She used to work with my mom for the American Library Association
eta: I see @theophrastus already pointed it out. Maybe I should read comments before posting
22 Likes
Would U still have told us about your mom’s association with her? 
That is so cool!
15 Likes
Yeah, well, maybe eliminate the “near” in “near poorest” anyway. Thing is, there seems to be lots of competition in the Willful Ignorance Olympics.
12 Likes
Land of the free to do as I tell you. My general perception of the USA over the last thirty or so years has gone from, mmm, I’m not so how I feel about that, to Christ on Bike! Prosecuting Librarians! what’s next, triple digit IQs are unamerican? It concerns me as the US is such a powerful country and what goes on over there invariably effects everywhere else.
4 Likes
For whatever it is worth, the ones pursuing the willful ignorance crusade are a small, very vocal minority. There are lots of us fighting to protect our kids from this shit. My personal suspicion is that a lot of this resulted from a near-fatal level of “it can’t happen here” lassitude among the center-left folks, and a view of the screaming warnings from the farther left as hysteria. Neither of these turned out to be true, more the fool us. I can only hope there is enough awareness, dare I say “woke-ness,” to overcome the lead the fascists have given themselves.
21 Likes
I want to be supportive, but I really don’t know what I can say that’s meaningful. I want love to triumph over hate around the world, even at times I feel overwhelmed by all that’s going on at the moment.
10 Likes
Let me share with you my line for teenagers overwhelmed with the state of the world, if I may. You cannot fix the world. This is a fact. It’s too big. You can work to make your little chunk of the world a better place, in whatever way you can, in whatever way is important to you. This you can do. It may seem like it is too little to matter. But just imagine thousands, millions of other people working to make their little chunk of the world a better place. Millions of little chunks add up to a bit honking change. So, do what you can, where you are, with what you have. Do it the best you can, with your whole heart, and try not to worry too much about all the stuff you can’t do. What you can is enough for you.
28 Likes
FTFY – and for me too 
14 Likes
“People become librarians because they know too much. Their knowledge extends beyond mere categories. They cannot be confined to disciplines. Librarians are all-knowing and all-seeing. They bring order to chaos. They bring wisdom and culture to the masses. They preserve every aspect of human knowledge. Librarians rule. And they will kick the crap out of anyone who says otherwise.”
And I love the use of Katchoo from Strangers in Paradise (I believe Moore gave permission, but I can’t verify).
11 Likes
One of my faves
6 Likes
