To the Editor:
At our May town election, Mattapoisett voters elected candidates for School Committee and the Library Board who were opposed to removing LGBTQ material from our schools’ libraries. It was a resounding declaration of the values of diversity and inclusion that Mattapoisett stands for.
Surprisingly, the opposition has not learned a lesson from that election. There are currently flyers posted in businesses and other public places in our community, entitled “See You at the Library.” The flyers announce a story hour on Saturday, August 5th at the Mattapoisett Library: a reading of a children’s book entitled “As You Grow” written by Kirk Cameron. It is described as a “fun story” with “refreshments to be served.”
It’s what the fliers do not say that is troublesome. This library story hour is not sponsored by our Mattapoisett library. Instead, it is the local version of a national campaign organized in our state by the Massachusetts Family Institute, an antigay organization that coordinates with like-minded antigay organizations across the country. This event is being replicated all across the country, designed to attract parents with young children to an event during which parents can be presented with right-wing propaganda.
Here is what you need to know:
1. The Matt. Republican Committee reserved the Library meeting room for the event. However, nowhere is their organization’s name on any event advertising. The flyer is deceptively written as if the Matt. Library is presenting this book reading.
2. Nowhere is it stated that this event is one of hundreds being organized across the country under the guise of a “children’s story hour.”
3. This is clearly a recruiting tool of right wing, anti-gay groups who are using young children to introduce their parents to the inaccurate, biased rhetoric of organizations like the Massachusetts Family Institute, an anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-vaccine, anti-sex education (and more) organization with offices in Wakefield, MA.
Mattapoisett voters rejected the politics of hate when they voted for School Committee and Library Board trustees who believe in inclusion, not exclusion. Please reconsider your plans to attend the event with your young children. Instead, read them a story of your choosing that reflects the supportive, inclusive values of our community.
Beverly Baccelli, Mattapoisett
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