Mississippi Ain't Burning After All

The Jackson-George Regional Library System in Mississippi is whole again after the board of trustees lifted its ban on Jon Stewart’s “America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction.” The trustees had decided to ban the book because of its satirical nude depictions of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices.

The board of trustees acknowledged that they reversed their decision to ban the book after coming under intense scrutiny by the community. They also noted that most of the messages criticizing the move came from out of state.

“We got some absolutely nasty e-mails and telephone calls that you would not believe,” said Robert Willits, the library system director. “We were communists and fascists at the same time.” For the record, OTP did not call or send an e-mail to protest the ban.

According to Willits, approximately 12 to 15 people who attended the board of trustees meeting defended the book. and the board merely responded to the community input.

However, one audience member remarked, “Shee-ut, ah di’nt know we had libaries.”

One board member, David Ogborn, opposed lifting the ban, asserting, “Our libraries are not a trash bin for pornographic materials. My apartment is.”