A helpful anonymous caller contacted police in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, earlier this month to report that a middle school teacher’s classroom contained a book full of “pornography” and “obscene” images, because now calling the cops and demanding arrests is a routine part of how rightwing Americans do culture wars.
The Berkshire Eagle reports that following the December 8 call, the police department and the Berkshire District Attorney's Office opened an investigation into whether the book — you guessed it, once again it’s Maia Kobabe’s comics memoir about being nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer (Wonkette commission link) — really was too criminal to be seen by eighth-graders. They could have googled it and found out it isn’t, but why bother?
An English teacher at WEB Du Bois Regional Middle School had the book in her classroom resource library, so naturally enough, it was investigated like any other danger to kids:
Police Chief Paul Storti notified Peter Dillon, superintendent of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District, that police were investigating the complaint and referring it to the DA’s Office.
After school let out, Principal Miles Wheat escorted a plainclothed town police officer to the classroom to investigate the potential crime of "obscenity."
I am not an expert on police procedure, but I don’t know why anyone thought that would be a better course of action than reading some of the extensive journalism about how Gender Queer is the most-censored book in the country, but definitely neither “obscene” nor “pornographic” in any legal sense. No matter how much wingnuts fulminate about it. Then again, maybe all they’d have found was that clip of Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) reading aloud, and out of context, about strap-on dildos
While the police had let the school know they were coming, that courtesy wasn’t extended to the teacher, who was in the classroom when the principal and cop arrived. The cop announced he was turning on his body cam and searched for the book, planning to remove it as “evidence” for the investigation, but he didn’t find it.
There’s sort of a happy-ish ending here, if you overlook the whole Police Raid A Teacher’s Classroom thing: After Berkshire County District Attorney Timothy Shugrue consulted further with Chief Storti and Superintendent Dillon, he announced that the investigation was closed and that it’s up to the school district to decide what books are appropriate for students — which if you ask us is how the police should have responded in the first place.
“The complaint that was filed did not involve criminal activity, therefore, the Great Barrington Police Department and our office have closed the matter and referred any further action back to the Berkshire Hills Regional School District," Shugrue said in a statement.
"The superintendent assured the District Attorney’s Office that the issue will be reviewed according to the Berkshire Hills Regional School District’s policies and shall remain as a school department matter," Shugrue added.
Even so, plenty of parents and students in the district are pissed that a cop was sent to the school in the first place, because what is this, Soviet Germany under Mao Jong-Un, or worse, Florida?
After the news broke, more than 100 students at the local high school staged a walkout to protest the attempt at censorship and to support their LGBTQ+ peers, and good on them. Principal Wheat says the English teacher is “exceptional” and that the school will support her 100 percent, although it’s looking like there’s no formal action being contemplated against the teacher anyway. The teacher, who obviously keeps up with the news, asked not to be identified by media outlets, although she did write on social media. “How on earth is a cop more qualified to decide what books are OK to be in an educational setting for teens?”
As for why the police couldn’t have just done a little homework beforehand, WGBH reports that Chief Storti says he wasn’t familiar with the book before the complaint came in, but also that the school visit was “cordial.”
“The officer didn't touch anything. They didn't search,” Storti added. “They basically asked if the book was still there, to give the context of what we were dealing with dealing with. The teacher said the book wasn't there, and the officer left.”
Julia Sabourtin, a spokesperson for DA Shugrue, insisted the police had no choice, and that once a complaint of possible criming was received, law enforcement had to check it out:
“Police are duty bound to investigate reported criminal acts, and they can’t choose when to respond and when not to,” Sabourin said. “‘Gender Queer’ is the most banned book this year … but just researching [that context] doesn’t complete what officers are bound to do.”
Well, that’s just your opinion, man, says Ruth Bourquin, a top lawyer with the ACLU of Massachusetts, which is now is looking into the incident, and has filed two public records requests to find out why a cop was sent to arrest a book.
“We are deeply concerned about the overreach by law enforcement in going down this path at all,” Bourquin said. “These are the tactics of a police state. … There is no serious argument that this book would give rise to the basis for any criminal investigation.”
The criticism of the police response, or over-response, has included a condemnation from Gov. Maura Healey, who issued a statement saying that “book banning has no place in Massachusetts.”
“Our administration stands with educators who are committed to ensuring that their students have inclusive, comprehensive resources,” Healey said. […] “I’m proud to see these students stepping up to support their teacher, their peers and an inclusive learning environment.”
And now school officials are falling all over themselves to apologize for their role in the incident. Superintendent Dillon and School Committee Chair Stephen Bannon — that must be a fun name to have in Massachusetts — issued an apology and promise to air the matter at the next school committee meeting in January.
“Faced with an unprecedented police investigation of what should be a purely educational issue, we tried our best to serve the interests of students, families, teachers, and staff,” they wrote. “In hindsight, we would have approached that moment differently. We are sorry. We can do better to refine and support our existing policies. We are committed to supporting all our students, particularly vulnerable populations.”
See, that’s how you apologize, without a bit of “if anyone was offended” getting in the way.
No word on whether the person who griped about the book has plans to move to Florida or start a militia.
[Berkshire Eagle / LAT / WGBH / Berkshire Eagle / Boston.com]
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And yet if someone calls about some dude walking down the street with an AR-15 and body armor strapped on, the police will tell the caller that there's nothing they can do and it's that person's right.
So obviously the solution is to arm books.
Police aren't duty bound to do.anything according to the Supreme Court