Lowrider Librarian

I humbly submit some programming ideas for my friends who work in libraries. Do something different! Constitutional rights workshops Civics workshops How to avoid ICE DACA rights workshops Cannabis Consumer Workshops (In states where it is legal) Medical Cannabis patient workshops How to decolonize Education Activism Workshops Anti-Doxxing Workshops FreeSpeech versus HateSpeech Community Discussions Black History Programming How to monitor the police Patron electronic privacy workshops Marginalized people in Children's literature How to share electronic information anonymously  Ethnic Studies Workshops for local communities Archiving local neighborhood history How to build community How to get involved with local  public cable broadcasting How to publish a book How to blog How to be a neighborhood reporter How to start a news program How to write news articles How to be a public speaker How to listen How to argue How to self-reflect How...

One of the symptoms of being unconsciously inculcated by #Whiteness is the inability to see the experiences of POC as they are lived by POC. When I was teaching my children to be empathetic, I always told them that, When someone asks you to stop something--particularly when they say you are hurting them--you stop what you are doing immediately.  You don't come up with excuses (reasons) why you should be able to continue to hurt them.  You don't continue hurting them. The inability to see other's pain and to listen to them when they tell you about this pain--particularly if you are causing it--indicates a fundamental loss of humanity.  It also indicates a deeply narcissistic quality that seems to border on sociopathy. This is an indication of unsound mental health. A large part of our culture is sick like this. Our nation is unhealthy in this aspect. We should not repress this. We should talk about it, and begin to heal this. Libraries can help with ...

There is a split in libraries.  The split is on the question if Nazis and other racists  can use their rights to terrorize their fellow citizens and still be welcome in our libraries. Racist 'free speech' is a tradition that has been used to create an atmosphere of hate a violence against POC in the US. Of course this is not how this discussion is framed, nor how it is approached in the library community--which is immersed in a culture of Whiteness. It is described as a matter of "Free Speech."  I would agree, but I would clarify this by stating it is a matter of White people's right to terrorize their fellow citizens by using speech which creates an environment of terror for POC in the US. "Jews will NOT replace us!"  is terrifying enough for me to hear, but then I think of the utter terror and alarm it must be raising in my Jewish friends--I share their terror. "All lives matter!" Yelled at my Black friends who are holding a sign...

This is in response to David Lee King's blog post on: http://www.davidleeking.com/ugly-beliefs-free-speech-and-libraries/   What kind of drivel is this? And look at the photo--a photo of a white dude with duct tape on his mouth!!!! Poor White Dude who can't spout his hate! Fuck David Lee King! " We stand for the principle that government and public information shouldn’t depend on the whims of the moment.” Quote from Joseph Jane's article that D quoted. It isn't a fucking 'whim' you asshole--maybe to SOME White people Genocide is a whim, the desire for genocide is a whim, or maybe it is that the potential victims are stating a whim that they don't like to be threatened. It isn't neutral if you are backing the ONE side--the white side. Fuck your founding fathers and their rapist bullshit. Fuck Nazi 'free speech.' It sure would be nice if people like mr. King would fight for POC's rights just as much as he is fighting fo...

I'm a Gen` X'er and most of my political influences come from the 1960's, 1970's and into the early 1980's.   In 1994 there was a little light with the birth of the Zapatista movement in Mexico.  I really didn't see much political relevance (Relevence to POC) all the way through the 2010 or so--with the advent of "Occupy Wall Street."  And later, the more socially powerful, Black Lives Matter movement.  Anyway, back to my point--I gain so much of my inspiration still from people like MLK,  Che Guevara, Malcolm X, Robert F. Williams, Audrey Lorde, Huey Newton, Kwame Ture, Angela Davis, George Jackson, James Baldwin,  and so many more great leaders of the struggle in the past.  Groups like the Black Panthers, AIM, Los Macheteros, the Yellow Peril, the Brown Berets, the Weathermen, and others are part of the reason we (POC) have the 'civil' rights we possess today.  But how many students, let alone LIS students ever get to read about them, let alo...

We need critical information studies now! EthnicStudies Readings + LIS education = some good shit.   Are there any Ethnic-studies based LIS classes in the US?   I draw much of my inspiration and my thinking is different than most of my colleagues because of my exposure to writers like   # Acuña   # Fanon # Newton   # Baldwin   # Peltier   # Churchill   # RobertFWilliams   # MalcolmX # SubcomandanteMarcos   # bellhooks   and others... We need something like this to help create change in LIS.