Libraries Are For Everyone Pierce Edition

This is the speech I gave in support of LGBTQ displays at the Pierce County Library. It was difficult for me to do the speech without passion.  The crowd was large, and about 95% for opposing LGBTQ rights.  I was very nervous, my hands holding the script visibly shaking. The only way I
 could get through it was to put my actor's hat on and speak with great passion and force.  I apologize to any and all if I came across too strong.

I did not know how the opposing speakers would address this, so my response was not a direct rebuttal to what they said.  One speaker mostly dwelt on the religious aspect, trying to insist we are a Christian nation and must abide by what he thinks of as Christian values.  The other concentrated on fears of transgenders in the bathroom.

Clearly, the nation was founded mostly by deists who promoted the separation of church and state. He didn't even represent all Christians.  I am a Christian and do not support the vilification and demonization of LGBTQ people.  The public space should not be controlled by one religious faction.

The "transgender in the bathroom" argument is ridiculous.  The library has a single-stall, self-locking bathroom.  Anybody who does not feel secure can use that.  Case closed.  Even this imaginary one.

Anyway, for better or worse, here is the speech -

 Parents have rights.  They have the right to raise their child however they see fit.  They can determine what books they read, what media they see, what church they attend.  They are free to guide and indoctrinate in their faith and beliefs.  Parents do not have the right to dictate to another parent what their child can read or see.  That is not their place.  If a parent wants their child to know and respect all people, including the LGBT community, they have a right to do that.  The rights of parents do not include the right to take away rights from other parents.

Parents have responsibilities.  They have the responsibility to do everything they can to keep their child safe.  Sexual predators are a horrible thing, and they are endemic in our society.  Parents need to be vigilant, and they deserve the cooperation and support of others.  That caution needs to extend to everyone, everywhere, in every situation.

According to many sources, including the YWCA, Young Women's Christian Association, over 90% percent of children who are victims of sexual abuse know their abuser.  96% are male.  Some are family members, but many are friends of the family, people in a position to gain access and trust.  Coaches, youth pastors, preachers, and teachers are often in roles that predators use to acquire the "in" they need.  Google any of these professions, along with child abuse, and you will find pages and pages of prosecuted predators. 

Does this mean you should avoid youth pastors, coaches, etc.?  No.  Many are safe and positive mentors.  To blanketly condemn a whole group for the actions of a few is wrong.  You must use caution.  But you must not condemn entire groups.  That leads only to bigotry and hate.

Librarians have rights and responsibilities.  They are doing their best to protect everyone and to keep the Library open to all.  As the Georgia Public Library Service attests, they must be inclusive, including sexual orientations.  They must engage and cultivate a sense of community and belonging to all groups, including marginalized groups.

Often sexual orientation is confused with sexualizing.  They are not related.  They are two different things.  Who you’re physically attracted to has nothing to do with sexualizing.  If a woman is physically attracted to men, does that mean she is sexualizing?  She has a right to find books that feature heterosexual romance.  To what degree that romance is physicalized may depend on the book's age category, which librarians help regulate.  Girls may want to read about princesses being rescued by princes, and adult women may want to read, uh, more assertive material.  Those who are attracted to the same sex, should also be able to find age-appropriate reading material.  To be gay is no more sexualizing than to be straight. To see a picture of two Dads with their child is no more sexualizing than to see a man and a woman with their child.

Some groups in our community are vilified, mistreated, marginalized, and excluded.  That should not be true at the Library.

I don't think displaying something for Pride Month is asking too much.  I don't believe the inclusion of a rainbow flag or rainbow symbolism is asking too much.  It is never too much to extend the hand of kindness, inclusion, and love.

Everyone counts—every single person.

The rainbow flag has black and white bars, representing allies of the LGBTQ community.  I am an ally.  So are many others.  We have not been as vocal or loud, but we exist.  Unfortunately, often hate and intolerance shout louder than love and hope.

Even if it was just one solitary individual, battered, badgered, vilified  and scapegoated by some, who came to the Library and saw the rainbow flag, knowing …Here, they are welcome…Here, they are respected…then it would be worth it.

Because in the rainbow of diversity that is our open, public Library, everyone counts.  Every.  Single.  Person.

Everyone has an equal right to the Library's resources.  But no one has the right to base their participation on excluding other people - the people themselves, their books, their clubs, or their displays.  Because the Library is for everyone.  Every.  Single.  Person.