Summary
A man checked out 100 books from Beachwood Library in Beachwood, Ohio, covering Jewish history, African-American history, and LGBTQ topics, and later posted social media videos showing the books with captions referencing “cleansing” libraries before burning them.
Princeton University’s Bridging Divides Initiative alerted the library about the posts.
The books were worth about $1,700. Since they are not overdue, the library will bill the man later.
Police say the matter is civil unless he fails to pay. He is now banned from returning to the library.
“A man”
This person has destroyed public property. Whether or not he pays, his name should be made public. People who know him should know what kind of person he is. His employer should know who they have hired. His employer’s customers should know who they are dealing with.
This is not normal behavior. This person is a sociopath and society needs to know who he is.
Agreed. He didn’t have any problems posting it to social media. There’s no reason not to include his identity in the article. Even if he posted under a pseudonym, that should still be included.
If you do that kind is stuff publicly on social media, you’re pretty much begging for people to make the connection between your name and those actions.
This is not normal behavior. This person is a sociopath and society needs to know who he is.
I wish people would stop throwing clinical terms around like this. Socio/psychopathy is a complicated psychiatric disorder with distinct behavioral and psychological markers, not a synonym for “evil.”
Sadly, you don’t need a psychiatric disorder to engage in despicable behavior. “Normal” people are quite capable of being racist, sexist douchebags, and most racist, sexist douchebags are not mentally ill. Bigotry is a product of culture, not abnormal psychology.
I think the correct clinical diagnosis in his case is “flaming asshole”
from the library’s perspective this couldn’t be simpler. they have an exact list of which books to replace and who to charge for the balance.
Yeah but in the current climate I’m worried he’s going to encourage other bigots to be similarly destructive, and that shithead nazis will come to his defense and try to normalize it.
well of course, I agree. but the library can’t control that; they’re just trying to hold on and survive.
Sadly. More power to the librarians! Those folks are truly knowledgeable and capable. I wish we would empower them to do so much more then just “survive”.
In my state the librarian can have a warrant issued for your arrest if you fail to return or pay for books worth over a certain amount after giving proper notice. It’s either $50 or $100 iirc.
yeah on the one hand it limits the availability while they are rebought but I guess on the plus side their authors make more money.
And hopefully minority authors make more sales because of it, get more publicity because of it and the bigots pay the bill.
Sending a bill is one thing; collecting on it is another. As it stands now, the library is out $1700 and those books aren’t necessarily getting replaced soon (or if they are, something else is not getting done instead).
An example needs to be made so that this tactic doesn’t spread.
The library may need to review its policies if a person can borrow 100 books at once, though.
Also, open a fund that people can donate to. With a damage like $1700, they can probably get back multiple times that in a week.
Good thing it wasn’t a Tesla, then “the man” would be doxxed by mainstream media outlets, he’d be tried as a terrorist, and the cops would have been deep into investigations before the sun came up.
The books were worth about $1,700. Since they are not overdue, the library will bill the man later.
Police informed CCPL that, because a contract was entered when the books were borrowed, failure to return or pay for the books would become a civil matter turned over to the city prosecutor.
Should the man return to the Beachwood Library, he will be banned from the property.
Shoutout to libraries. Absolute diamonds in the rough. Burn books? Whatever, people don’t return books all the time. When they’re overdue, here’s the bill, next!
We don’t live in the age of books anymore. Shit like this is ignorant and fascist but also just symbolic. Libraries are cornerstones of a free society, but the physical paper itself isn’t nearly as important anymore. It’s hilariously replaceable.
I want the list of books. “Banned” and “burned” books go hard as hell. Maybe even files for the m@tes to get 'em all at once. The modern age can undo all this idiot’s work with a single link.
The books were worth about $1,700. Since they are not overdue, the library will bill the man later.
honestly that’s hilarious as fuck 😂
Librarians are pretty chill, unless you’re a loud talker hehe
Except that librarian in the disc world books. He would probably rip some arms off.
“Banned” and “burned” books go hard as hell
Every library I’ve been to in the last 5 years has had a poster of “banned books” specifically to advertise them because people (especially teenagers) love that shit.
We don’t live in the age of books anymore.
We don’t, but there’s problems with only relying on electronic information that can be swapped out at any time. Don’t have to burn the information when you can make it say whatever you want.
Same as it ever was.
Police say the matter is civil unless he fails to pay. He is now banned from returning to the library.
Pretty sure Destruction of Public Property is a crime in most jurisdictions.
Shows which way the police lean, doesn’t it?
Something this article doesn’t mention is that the population of Beachwood is predominantly Jewish, so this was very targeted
Nazis gonna Nazi
And all the other nazis do not see nazis.
Americans gonna let them
He’s aware that the whole book burning thing was something that the German Nazis, the one various nations had a war with, did, yeah?
Yes. These people know exactly what they’re doing.
The thing that actually genuinely confuses me is the fact that most of these people are proud that we beat the German Nazis.
Cognitive dissonance is their standard mode of operation.
I don’t how long Hitler’s reign lasted, but for how short the Confederacy was, these losers began looking at other losers to try and become one giant loser. How our most “patriotic” nationalistic MAGA losers went to Nazism still baffles me, since the propaganda I was taught was that Naxi Germans were bad and evil.
In fact, I was taught alot of propaganda that Russia and China and Nazis are all evil monsters. Now these losers think Russia taking over Ukraine is a win, we’ve shot ourselves in the foot dealing with China and the world, and Nazis are mainstream.
Sometimes I wanna save our nation, but then I look at MAGA and how loud this “minority” is. Then you dig deeper into history and this isn’t even the first occurance this has happened in the US (concentration camps, slavery, war, citizen manipulation, etc etc)
Nuance about the police, government, and politics are gone. I used to have hope our system was initially working, and that it could be fixed. But now: I wanna burn it all down and start again like it’s 1774, or leave to someplace more empathetic where people can understand the basic concept of “don’t hurt others, hurting people is bad”
I don’t think this is a particularly bright segment of the population we’re talking about here.
Neither were the original Nazis, to be fair. Stupid people tend to admire stupid people who unapologetically flaunt their stupidity.
Stare into the abyss for long enough, and the abyss will start staring into you.
Or whatever that means.Pretty sure it’s a reference to goatse
These people think the only bad thing that the Nazis did was lose. They think the Nazis were too soft, and they intend to me much stronger this time around.
I’m not German. So obviously I can’t be a Nazi.
“ThE NaZiS wErE sOCiALiSt aNd iM nOt SoCiaLiSt”
They are well aware. They are following the same playbook.
“Dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man auch am Ende Menschen.” - Heinrich Heine
Book burners have never once been on the right side of history.
Ohio let’s you check out 100 books at a time?
He doesn’t want us to read those book, by the same logic, would it be OK to cut off that mans genitalia because we don’t want him to reproduce?
What a horrible human being. If destroying books or repressing knowledge is part of your dogma you are on the wrong side of history.
Wait…is this for real?..Typically there is a limit to how many books you can check out…
At my library, that limit IS 100 books.
My kid regularly has ~60 books checked out. It’s kind of a problem lol
But what an awesome problem to have!
Have they learned about the wonders of interlibrary loans yet? (And Anna’s Archive, if they don’t mind digital…)
Kinda? We have a couple library groups and they get books held from them and delivered to the local member library. No digital since they’re young and we’re trying to minimize screen time.
After “fuck this maniac,” this was my second thought.
Sounds like a hate crime to me.
