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And I, Shannon, truly appreciate your response, understanding, and = acceptance of differing opinions. After I read the comment concerning = laughter and the 1950s time warp, my cheeks burned and I felt = humiliated. I am very liberal and accepting, but my comments to the = person who posted that message were that I think we do make mistakes = sometimes in book selection by review and that we are responsible to = provide appropriate materials for our schools. I said I think elementary = children should not have to think about sexuality. The other comments = pointing out that it was not about sexuality but about acceptance = reminded me that that is absolutely true. I appreciate that reminder. I = still think, however, that I must do my best to reflect the values of my = community in my collection, that the libraries I direct are not my = libraries but belong to the people in my community. I would never = ridicule or allow students to ridicule the shortcomings, lifestyles, = choices, orientations or physical and emotional differences of other = people. I do, however, make choices in selection of materials based on = what is appropriate for age and emotional level and for our community = values. Sometimes I make mistakes. I do my best to represent all views, = have a balanced collection and to promote acceptance. I personally = believe that someone who asks for opinions then ridicules the ones who = are different from hers has an acceptance problem herself.=20 Marilyn Johnson District Library/Media Services Coordinator Holbrook Unified School District #3 Holbrook, Arizona mjohns@husd3.holbrook.k12.az.us -----Original Message----- From: Shannon Miller [mailto:blm98j@CHARTER.NET]=20 Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 11:34 PM To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU Subject: Please Vote I've truly appreciated everyone sharing their opinions and providing = helpful information for those of us who have not yet experienced this = controversy. I know it's been difficult for some to share their opinions = for fear of being labeled as biased, old-fashioned, or worse, identified = as prejudiced. As I've been reading, I was reminded of my job as a = librarian to not make judgments on issues and to simply provide = information on either side. Man, is that hard sometimes! I feel that it = would be beneficial to present some viewpoints of the more conservative = side and offer a way to respond to it productively as an elementary = school librarian. It is far more important for us to understand their = perspectives before disregarding their opinions or preaching against = censorship. I have no doubt that these books will be on our elementary = school library shelves shortly, if they're not already, so I view my job = as finding a way to productively address the concerns of these parents = without making their values out to be petty. These days we believe in being totally tolerant of anything and if you = have concerns about something then you, in turn, are bashed (ironic, = isn't it?). Although it's not always true, people in the more = conservative category are often Christians or otherwise God-fearing = citizens. They feel that h0mosexuality is wrong in the eyes of God and = fear that if these types of books make it to the school bookshelf, then = their child will learn to believe that these relationships are the way = God intended them to be. They feel that the penalties of practicing = h0mosexuality, in the Bible, are equal to or even worse than death (A = few are: Gen. 19:4-5, Lev. 18:22, Lev. 20:13, Romans 1:18-27, I Cor. = 6:9-10, Jude 1:7, 1 Tim. 1:9-10). They hear about the "g*y gene" that's = recently being debated amongst doctors and wonder why it's any different = from all of the other genes that make humankind desire unhealthy things = (for example: alcoholism, obesity, violence, etc.). For in all other = gene-related situations, there are a number of successful methods in our = society to work against inherent urges. This group believes that we have = free will, that we can make our own decisions despite bodily urges, and = that no inherited gene forces us to do something that God calls sinful. = They even have thousands among them who now consider themselves = "recovered homosexuals". Hearing of these books entering their child's = library that promote g*y/l*sbian lifestyles strikes fear in their hearts = because their belief is that this act leads to death. In their minds, = having such a book in the library is just one step away from having this = side being taught as truth to their child in the classroom. So when = considering the library books available to their child, they are looking = for consistency. In the library we claim to believe in presenting all = sides of an issue, no matter who is offended, and that we provide equal = reading materials so that our patrons can get an even amount of = knowledge and perspective. However, it is doubtful that any school = library will be allowing the other side to this issue in their = libraries. It's simply not the same to have a story about a = heterosexual family and call that equal representation because it is not = at the heart of this issue. In other words, it's not homosexuality vs. = heterosexuality, obviously. But can you imagine having a book = specifically about homosexuality from the conservative "Christian = family" perspective on the elementary library shelves? So, these = parents have logical fears that only one side will be represented, thus = encouraging their children to believe in its justification. As a librarian, I would be especially sensitive to this crowd. I am a = Christian and my husband is a Greek and Hebrew scholar. Therefore, I = feel that I could talk with the above-described parents easily. = Although not all Christians see everything the same way (in fact they = rarely do, LOL), I do understand the above-mentioned concerns and I = admit that I feel similarly. I sympathize with their fears about = parenting in the coming generations. That being said, I would encourage = them to check out the books in question, take them home and read them = with their children, and then discuss their own beliefs with their child = based on the Bible and their relationship with God. It seems that facing = this subject head-on would be better than hiding it from children. = Trust me, their children will be hearing about it at school regardless = of what books are on the shelves. Do they want their young children's = education to come from another student at school, who might be = name-calling, or from them? If they have this opportunity to share with = their child, then they can also share the Godly perspective about loving = others even if they don't agree with their actions-which I deem as the = most important lesson for a child to learn when dealing with such an = issue. Thank you for allowing yet another perspective. It's just a (very) = general overview of one side and my .02 on one possible way to address = this positions. (I inserted * and 0 in some words as I understand the = need for filters. At work we were getting hundreds of spam e-mails = daily asking us if we wanted to view porn and such. There was no way to = block them so they did the next best thing-added filters.) Shannon Miller Previous K-2nd Teacher Currently completing MLS degree DFW, Texas =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D= -=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D=3D-=3D-=3D- All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. 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