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[-] Zombiepirate@lemmy.world 184 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Found the article.

It's so incredibly stupid how he takes himself so seriously; he's like if Poirot had a satchel of lead beads he would stick up his nose occasionally.

And then like a coward he won't elaborate on his master plan of making education and edification punishable by law.

He wasted important people's time and then just fucked off, pretending it never happened.

What a dunce; no wonder he became a cop.

[-] c0smokram3r@midwest.social 121 points 1 month ago

TY for sharing the article!

“London, who has ties to the anti-government constitutional sheriff’s movement and tried to launch a local chapter of the far-right Oath Keepers militia in 2020, did not respond to questions.” No surprises here.

Also, homeschooling parents complaining @ a school board meeting? Wtf?? 🤔

[-] Zombiepirate@lemmy.world 73 points 1 month ago

Also, homeschooling parents complaining @ a school board meeting? Wtf?? 🤔

Reactionary entitlement knows no bounds.

[-] modifier@lemmy.ca 36 points 1 month ago

Speaking as someone who was homeschooled by people like this K-12, it's all about control. They only home school because it's the only way to control what their children learn, but if they can control what all children learn, well, that will do just fine.

[-] VerdantSporeSeasoning@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I was reading another article about this same town (Granbury, Texas), discussing a massive bitcoin mining operation literally giving the people & animals there sonic damage. Anyhow, the cop there trying to make things better is also noted as a former Oathkeeper. So... I guess that's part of the local 'culture' 🤦‍♀️

Also, if you want to hear more in-depth coverage of Texas school district fuckery, one of the authors of the above articles, Mike Hixenbaum, has two podcasts and a book about it: Southlake (2021-2022), Grapevine (2023), and They Came for the Schools (2024). I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of them.

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[-] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 44 points 1 month ago

So this guy went around reading books found in a children's library that he thought were disgusting. Then he looked up the names of the children who checked them out?

That sounds like something a pervert would do.

[-] reddig33@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

This is one reason why most libraries don’t keep records of individual’s past checkouts.

[-] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 33 points 1 month ago

You know, my kid's kindergarten librarian would say "anything that gets them reading is progress." So maybe we should be encouraging more dipshits to be checking out more books.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

The targets of the investigation? Three school librarians in Granbury, Texas. The allegation? They had allowed children to access literature — such as “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison — that the officer, Scott London, a chief deputy constable, had deemed obscene.

Summary of The Bluest Eye from Wikipedia:

The novel takes place in Lorain, Ohio (Morrison's hometown), and tells the story of a young African-American girl named Pecola who grew up following the Great Depression. Set in 1941, the story is about how she is consistently regarded as "ugly" due to her mannerisms and dark skin. As a result, she develops an inferiority complex, which fuels her desire for the blue eyes she equates with "whiteness".

The novel is told mostly from Claudia MacTeer's point of view. Claudia is the daughter of Pecola's temporary foster parents. There is also some omniscient third-person narration. The book's controversial topics of racism, incest, and child molestation have led to numerous attempts to ban the novel from schools and libraries in the United States.[1]

Now, if he read the book, like he claims to have read it, he would know that the only obscene thing in the book is that it shows why things like racism and incest are, themselves, obscene. And that sounds like something kids should learn.

Unless, of course, this cop doesn't find one or both of those things obscene and rather finds the obscene thing to be telling people racism and/or incest is wrong...

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[-] NABDad@lemmy.world 142 points 1 month ago

From the article:

Paul Hyde, a Granbury attorney who served on the volunteer committee tasked with reviewing dozens of school library books, said he informally advised two of the accused librarians early in London’s investigation and saw the toll it has taken on them.

“These women, that are amazing educators and librarians, have been terrified for over two years now that they’re going to get arrested, hauled off to jail on a felony charge of providing pornography to minors,” Hyde said, noting that one of the librarians left the district as a result.

“We lost a great librarian,” he said.

Anyone who thinks it's a non-issue because charges weren't filed should understand that intimidation is the point. It looks like the intimidation worked.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 23 points 1 month ago

Pigfucker County: Everyone Left?

[-] baltakatei@sopuli.xyz 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Drive out enough librarians and eventually youʼll find yourself needing to drive 4 hours to get a tool pulled or a melanoma whacked off since good dentists and doctors usually want decent schools with libraries for their kids.

[-] Rev3rze@feddit.nl 14 points 1 month ago

needing to drive 4 hours to get a tool pulled

This is why you should always use tools with a flared base.

[-] stevedidwhat_infosec@infosec.pub 133 points 1 month ago

You know who else did this shit?

Nazis.

[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 41 points 1 month ago
[-] samus12345@lemmy.world 31 points 1 month ago

"German Nazis."

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[-] gdog05@lemmy.world 97 points 1 month ago

The five year investigation concluded when he finished reading the three books.

[-] thesohoriots@lemmy.world 30 points 1 month ago

“Green eggs? Implausible. AND ham? Elitist!

[-] HonkTonkWoman@lemm.ee 23 points 1 month ago

PURPLE FISH ARE AN ABOMINATION NO MATTER HOW MANY

RED FISH & BLUE FISH DO NOT MIX

KEEP ICHTHYOLOGY PURE

LORAXES ARE FOR WIPING YOUR BUM & DO NOT GET TO NAME OUR TREES

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[-] Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world 90 points 1 month ago

Let me guess, he's a "christian"?

[-] cybersandwich@lemmy.world 89 points 1 month ago

This reminds me of the south park sting episode where the cop is just blowing dudes (dressed up like a hooker) and yelling "busted!"

This guy's is just reading whatever smut he can find then yelling "busted"

Lmfao

[-] orbitz@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 month ago

You know what I'm saying?

I got minimal more to add (okay had more than I expected) except that's such a power tripping cop, like let's attack people who help kids expand their horizons. To be fair I'm extremely pro library, even had a chance to work in one for a summer yay small towns. Had to read to pass time in the long before internet era (well not much before really) with limited video games available.

Anyways libraries and librarians rock and don't need to be targeted for offering kids (or anyone) a way to explore a world or think in a new way.

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[-] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 53 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Dream job lol. Do whatever you want, no strings attached, no requerements, no responsibility, and you are entitled to a higher position in any dispute with civilians. They aren't a part of the working class, they are a class of their own, lapdogs of the ones in power. How could this happen?

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[-] BetaBlake@lemmy.world 47 points 1 month ago

These fascist snowflakes need to be marginalized in a strong way

[-] todd_bonzalez@lemm.ee 43 points 1 month ago

But they distributed them to a adult man, not a minor.

I mean, I'm sure he has baby-brain, but that's not legally binding.

[-] Adalast@lemmy.world 35 points 1 month ago

They didn't distribute them to him either, he fucking took pictures then went home and found PDFs or used police funds to purchase eBook copies.

[-] CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 month ago

Which I assume he didn't actually read, but rather just did a Ctrl+F and typed in as many rude words as he could think of.

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[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 39 points 1 month ago

Dead Uvalde children hate this one trick

[-] secret300@lemmy.sdf.org 37 points 1 month ago

All these books he's read but I guess he still didn't pick up Fahrenheit 451 or 1984

[-] BigMacHole@lemm.ee 26 points 1 month ago

This is a MUCH BETTER use of Taxpayer Dollars then LITERALLY FEEDING STARVING CHILDREN IN AMERICA (which Republican States opted OUT OF because then they wouldn't have Tax Dollars to do THIS!)!

[-] TheTimeKnife@lemmy.world 23 points 1 month ago

The police are so absurdly radicalized in this country.

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 22 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The minor these materials were distributed to? The officer that was investigating the library. Cuz he's obviously a big fuckin' baby.

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[-] hopesdead@startrek.website 21 points 1 month ago

Why don’t stores that sell books get the same amount of scrutiny? I see A Court of Thorns and Roses books everywhere.

[-] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 32 points 1 month ago

Serious answer, probably because books from book stores aren't available to the poorest classes. Libraries are (and are meant to be!) a threat to every status quo.

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[-] bl_r@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 1 month ago

Say it with me now,

All cops are bastards!

[-] BleatingZombie@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

All cops are bastards

[-] drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago

As if pigs can read.

[-] affiliate@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago

cops will only read a book if it means they can put someone in jail

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[-] dumbass@leminal.space 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Cop: these books made me horny, you should be ashamed of yourself for allowing me to get turned on by a book, in fact I'm going to confiscate all of them so no one else has to be turned on by this filth.

[-] Lettuceeatlettuce@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 month ago

Oink oink! What a scumpig.

[-] echodot@feddit.uk 14 points 1 month ago

Really going out of his way there to be offended.

[-] nullpotential@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 month ago

They've been doing stuff like this for years. In 1990, a Florida judge ruled that an album by 2 Live Crew was obscene, and police officers went into stores and threatened to arrest anyone who sold copies of the album. The obscenity law specifically requires a "lack of serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value" and they were able to get it appealed.

Reading the article it's actually more insane than it first appears. He's been doing it for two years. This wasn't an investigation ordered by a court, it was evidence he himself was compiling for his own legal complaint, which was dismissed when finally brought to the DA.

[-] 108@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

Maybe they were too busy discussing their book club while hanging out at Uvalde

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this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2024
935 points (100.0% liked)

THE POLICE PROBLEM

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    The police problem is that police are policed by the police. Cops are accountable only to other cops, which is no accountability at all.

    99.9999% of police brutality, corruption, and misconduct is never investigated, never punished, never makes the news, so it's not on this page.

    When cops are caught breaking the law, they're investigated by other cops. Details are kept quiet, the officers' names are withheld from public knowledge, and what info is eventually released is only what police choose to release — often nothing at all.

    When police are fired — which is all too rare — they leave with 'law enforcement experience' and can easily find work in another police department nearby. It's called "Wandering Cops."

    When police testify under oath, they lie so frequently that cops themselves have a joking term for it: "testilying." Yet it's almost unheard of for police to be punished or prosecuted for perjury.

    Cops can and do get away with lawlessness, because cops protect other cops. If they don't, they aren't cops for long.

    The legal doctrine of "qualified immunity" renders police officers invulnerable to lawsuits for almost anything they do. In practice, getting past 'qualified immunity' is so unlikely, it makes headlines when it happens.

    All this is a path to a police state.

    In a free society, police must always be under serious and skeptical public oversight, with non-cops and non-cronies in charge, issuing genuine punishment when warranted.

    Police who break the law must be prosecuted like anyone else, promptly fired if guilty, and barred from ever working in law-enforcement again.

    That's the solution.

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