We have talked quite a lot about the foolish little people who are currently agitating for books to be yanked off library shelves. But of course, those are still a small minority of people. Most people are good, nice people. All of us really do want the same things. (The hype about the huge divide is basically just hype drummed up by people who need hype to get elected or to get ad money. We’re basically all good people.)

So it’s great to see this kind of headlines by some of the good people who like library books, and like that people have the freedom to read the books that speak to them or the books that help them grow as humans. Big applause for every single person who has the decency to speak up for reading and for libraries encouraging reading.

Check out this excerpt from The Tennessean, and you can read the whole thing here.

Tennessee parents, teachers push back against ‘Maus’ removal from McMinn County curriculum

“Growing up in rural eastern Tennessee, James Cockrum hadn’t given much thought to the possibility that one day he might find himself speaking about his Jewish heritage in front of a packed school board meeting. 

But four days after news broke that the McMinn County school board unanimously voted to remove a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust from the district’s curriculum, Cockrum celebrated the birth of his daughter. That life-changing moment left the 25-year-old wrestling with the realities of the community he grew up in.

“My father was of Jewish descent; I’m of Jewish descent. There is nothing more personal to anybody than our heritage,” Cockrum said. “This is very disturbing.”

Cockrum was one of a handful of people who spoke at the meeting to try to persuade the McMinn County School Board to reconsider its decision that sparked international attention, renewing concerns about book bans and the growing threat of antisemitism. After the board quietly removed “Maus” last month, February’s meeting was packed with concerned parents, teachers and students who spilled into an overflow room to see how the board would respond to the criticism.

“…On Jan. 10, McMinn school board members called a special meeting to discuss “Maus,” only a day before their district’s eighth graders were scheduled to begin reading the book. The time crunch gave the discussion a sense of urgency. No recordings of the meeting have been released, but 20 pages of meeting minutes detail a back and forth between board members and school administrators, who defended the text as a vital lesson that brought home the horror of an important moment in history. 

The minutes show that none of the board members had read “Maus” and at least one member noted that the typical process for handling complaints over curriculum had been bypassed. Nevertheless, the board voted unanimously to remove the book and directed teachers to find a suitable replacement.

Those efforts have ignited fierce pushback from people offended by the board’s action. In McMinn County, where many were caught off guard by the move, some groups have sought copies of “Maus” and made it available to students through alternate channels. Sales have soared everywhere, making it among the top sellers on Amazon.com. Booksellers have offered to send free copies  to students in McMinn County and across Tennessee. Donations have poured in to help purchase copies worldwide.”

One thing I’m choosing to take away from this is to remember – to really, really know – that people are the same. Most people are good people. And the ones who choose to ban books, to advocate burning books, to try to make others feel ashamed or bad for their book choices and lives? They are a small minority of bad people.

There are more of us, and we do not need to live our lives being pushed around by small-minded fools.

Read a book today that makes you happy, that speaks to your heart, that helps your mind grow, that builds your empathy for other people. And if that book happens to really make some small minded fool mad? Heck – that’s even better.