Alabama House of Representatives advances bill allowing arrest of librarians

alreporter.com

13 points·hollywood_court··6 comments

> The crux of the bill is [...] changing the definition of “sexual conduct” to include “any sexual or gender oriented conduct that knowingly exposes minors to persons who are dressed in sexually revealing, exaggerated, or provocative clothing or costumes, or are...

Sounds like photos of traditional heterosexual couples getting married in Southern Baptist churches might easily meet their new standard.

Like all reactionary policies, the point is not to create a neutral standard that can be enforced by an impartial bureaucracy, but rather to create a justification for selective persecution by those in power.

Bureaucracy is a liberal idea. And as much as we're frustrated by it and hate it at times, it's better than the previous alternative of autocratic power.

> Like all reactionary policies, the point is...

I'm thinking that performative politics and loudly venting right-wing anger might be the main points.

With the internet available on ~every kid's phone, it's not like arresting librarian or even closing the libraries would meaningfully restrict the access which minors in Alabama have to "obscene materials".

Or child beauty pageants.

The first book that would qualify to be removed under this bill is the Bible.

Obviously this culture war is already lost and will join such losses as the fights against interracial marriage, the satanic panic, gay marriage, etc. Things we look back on sheepishly that they were once taken seriously. But man, is it tedious waiting it out.

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