A man in Beachwood, Ohio, stands accused of checking out 100 books on Black, Jewish and LGBTQ studies and burning them all — and all I can think is: Gee, I wonder where he got that idea from?
According to NBC News, the Beachwood Police Department stated that the man, whom the department did not publicly identify, checked out the books in April, days after he went to the Beachwood library branch on Shaker Boulevard and got a library card. So, allegedly, this man’s only reason for getting a library card was to target certain reading materials just to destroy them, which, of course, indicates that he’s a member of a certain political cult of red hat-wearers who seem to firmly believe books on sexuality, gender studies and non-whitewashed Black history should be banned into “woke” oblivion.
To make matters worse (albeit, completely predictable), the man also allegedly posted a photo of the books in the trunk of his car to an online site frequented by white supremacists.
From NBC:
He allegedly told the librarian that his son was a member of the LGBTQ community and that he was trying to learn more about it, the news station reported.
The library was informed that the man had posted a photo showing a car trunk full of books on the site, Gab.com, according to WKYC. The books had Cuyahoga County Public Library stickers on them. The library was later informed that the man posted a video that appeared to show him burning all of the books he checked out.
The books were worth around $1,700, the news station reported.
The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism described Gab as “an online hub for extremist and conspiratorial content” that it mostly used by “conspiracy theorists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, members of militias and influential figures among the alt right.”
Police indicated that the alleged burning of the books was likely a civil matter, not criminal, but the department did confirm that a local prosecutor will determine “whether there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed.”
“The Beachwood Police Department is actively investigating this incident,” Chief Dan Grispino said in a statement. “Our department stands against antisemitism and all acts of bias-motivated crimes. We are committed to vigorously investigating and prosecuting any hate-motivated incidents within the City of Beachwood. Our priority is to maintain a community that can thrive without the fear of threats of intimidation or violence.” (It’s kind of weird that Grispino only specifically mentioned “antisemitism” while reducing blatant racism and queerphobia as “bias-motivated,” but whatever.)
Meanwhile, Interfaith Group Against Hate — which describes itself as “a coalition led by Jewish, Muslim, and Christian congregations in solidarity with community partners united by the belief that we must confront white supremacy and create a society where people of all races and religions thrive together” — publicly condemned the alleged book burner’s actions, and stated in a Facebook post Monday that it’s seeking to collect 1,000 “new books lifting up Black, Jewish, and LGBTQ+ voices.”
“Whoever perpetuated the idea that you can burn us out of Cleveland, deport us out of Cleveland and deny our ideas and oppress us and frighten us to the corner…they picked the wrong community!” Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk from Mishkan Or said in a statement. “And that community will continue to respond with love. Let’s use this moment to instead of standing in fear, to stand against this oppressive act, and deepen our convictions to learn about each other’s faith, race, culture and values.”
Rev. Ryan Wallace of Fairmount Presbyterian Church echoed similar sentiments, saying, “We want to take this act of hate and turn it into a powerful symbol of unity, solidarity and love.”
Ohio state Sen. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) also released a statement denouncing the vandalism.
“I condemn this act, not only because it is a crime against our institutions and community, but also because it is fundamentally un-American,” Smith said. “This act of violence is not just a crime against the public catalog of literature that was destroyed, but also is a violation of the marketplace of ideas that is a bedrock principle of American life.”
Of course, there are certain political figures of a certain party whom we shouldn’t expect a statement from. Can you imagine a MAGA Republican condemning the actions of the alleged vandal?
“How dare you burn those books before we can ban them for no discernible reason outside of our own seething bigotry???”
Yeah — it would have to go something like that.
SEE ALSO:
Op-ED: Ohio Man Accused Of Burning 100 Black, Jewish, LGBTQ Library Books. Wonder Where He Got That Idea?
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