# Librarian rejects books donated by First Lady **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 28, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548 "2017-09-28T22:02:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/21 "2017-09-29T01:42:32Z")
Purely asshole move on the librarian’s part. There’s no other way to describe it. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/22 "2017-09-29T01:51:06Z")
Oh the places you’ll go! Was given to me as a gift by some of my favorite professors after i won a couple of awards. It was extraordinarily meaningful to me- as it was presented by a beloved mentor during a ceremony where my achievements were recognized. This is… slightly different. It seems an empty gesture meant to look like this administration gives a good god damn about education, but as it was presented to the highest ranking schools, while actually needy schools were once again left wanting, i can see why the liberian reacted with anger. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/23 "2017-09-29T02:18:48Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > But it’s not really that unbelievable–I have consistently heard that Melania Trump is actually involved in her son’s life and seems to genuinely care about him. I’ll bet she had ZERO to do with choice of schools, books, or anything at all with this entire thing. They just stuck her name on it, and gave her a photo op. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/24 "2017-09-29T02:19:40Z")
Apparently, The Cat in the Hat is a racist parody of black people. I wish I was making that up, but the librarian read a book that says so. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/25 "2017-09-29T02:30:28Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Apparently, The Cat in the Hat is a racist parody of black people. > > I wish I was making that up, but the librarian read a book that says so. Well there is this too. [http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/28/living/feat-racist-dr-seuss-drawing/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/28/living/feat-racist-dr-seuss-drawing/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/26 "2017-09-29T03:02:53Z")
No wonder the books were rejected. Dr. Suess for elementary school students _in Cambridge, Mass._, who have access to a library run by a professional “with a graduate degree in library science”\*? Hell, those kids have probably already run through the collected works of Shakespeare and John Stuart Mill. \*no mockery intended; I’m married to one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/27 "2017-09-29T03:20:22Z")
Nice of the librarian to loudly and proudly announce that her school library is adequately funded. I’m sure voters will remember that the next time the school board asks for additional funding, right? The gift was not just a few books, it was also a moment in the spotlight to raise awareness for school libraries and childhood literacy. The librarian, with all her professional credentials, didn’t seem to see the obvious and grasp the moment in a positive manner. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/28 "2017-09-29T03:46:49Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > The librarian, with all her professional credentials, didn’t seem to see the obvious and grasp the moment in a positive manner. She probably did. The kind of people who read (are capable of reading) and love books probably also dislike Trump. I bet this is a net positive for libraries, who will soon have a surplus of donated books. It’s not like f she’d kissed Trump’s ass the library would have actually benefitted. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/29 "2017-09-29T04:52:40Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Hell, those kids have probably already run through the collected works of Shakespeare and John Stuart Mill. _…On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill._ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/30 "2017-09-29T07:14:49Z")
The other thread is funnier. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/31 "2017-09-29T07:25:59Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Eh, she probably did the right thing. The Trumps tried to use her for political purposes and she rightly rejected them. Plus the attention she got from her action probably resulted in more books being donated to more libraries than the Trumps would ever have given. Plus, if my understanding of Trump’s “donations” is correct, after the Trumps got praise for promising the books, they would never have actually sent them. Plus the attention she got from her action meant her brief flickering sorry place in the limelight when otherwise nobody would ever have heard of her. Just taking the books graciously wouldn’t have been news at all. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/32 "2017-09-29T08:47:23Z")
I think this librarian acted foolishly. I think she should have accepted the donation and if they were not needed at her school she should have donated them to another. Of course, now we know that she didn’t have the authority to do either of those things, nor to take the action she did. Which means she acted foolishly in acting foolishly. > [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Plus the attention she got from her action meant her brief flickering sorry place in the limelight when otherwise nobody would ever have heard of her. > Just taking the books graciously wouldn’t have been news at all. This is one of my favorite bullshit lines: someone only spoke up about something so they’d be famous. :rolleyes: It’s so wonderfully dismissive without needing any evidence at all; in fact, it’s a downright self-reinforcing way to negatively categorize someone (as an attention whore, fame-seeker, etc.), isn’t it, thereby marginalizing their message. I mean, they must have wanted the attention because now they have attention, amirite? :dubious: It’s also transparent as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/33 "2017-09-29T08:53:05Z")
Not really. You are speaking nonsense. If this person wanted to reject the books for any reason she could have done so without telling everybody. Like most people do. And I loathe Dr. Seuss and the Trumps. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/34 "2017-09-29T10:15:16Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > The other thread is funnier. Well, since this is the pit–the land of petty attacks and insults–may I point out (from the photo at [the bottom of the page](http://www.hbook.com/2017/09/blogs/family-reading/dear-mrs-trump/)) that the librarian is approximately 90 percent neck? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/35 "2017-09-29T12:00:31Z")
What kind of organization does Melanoma have that she didn’t have the situation vetted and know in advance the response she’d have when she gave the books? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/36 "2017-09-29T12:10:07Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Not really. You are speaking nonsense. > If this person wanted to reject the books for any reason she could have done so without telling everybody. Like most people do. > > And I loathe Dr. Seuss and the Trumps. Except she didn’t have the authori-tah to reject the books in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/37 "2017-09-29T12:18:56Z")
If Fox News doesn’t put Ms. Soeiro on staff, I hope they give her a sizable honorarium for her generous contribution to their cause. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/38 "2017-09-29T12:19:29Z")
Another person forgetting that she’s supposed to be representing a whole institution and acting on the basis of personal views. I can understand why she’d be pissed off with the Trump administration (like every single teacher I know) but it wasn’t her call to make. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/39 "2017-09-29T12:36:38Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > I’m usually down for any amount of anti-Trumpism, but I agree that this crosses a line. Melania is not Donald, has not shown any great enthusiasm for this administration’s policies, and was making a goodwill gesture with no political content. I could see a brief “Thanks, but as our school library already has copies of these books we will be donating them to a school district with greater need,” but anything more than that comes across as tacky and graceless, and feeds the Republican narrative that all liberals are humorless crusaders who go around arbitrarily declaring harmless things to be offensive. This. I happen to agree with the librarian’s estimation of Dr. Seuss: he was a big improvement over your typical kiddie lit from 60 years ago, but he hasn’t aged well, IMHO. (Sam-I-Am needs to learn that, fercryinoutloud, ‘no means **no** ,’ and the Cat in the Hat doesn’t give a damn whether the two kids are having fun or not - they’re obviously quite stressed out by everything he does - as long as **he** is having fun. He’s a real schmuck. And by today’s standards, his books are overly preachy and moralizing.) I’d give the libraries some Julia Donaldson instead. But still, when you’re given a gift, you don’t say this stuff out loud. You accept the gift graciously (unless it’s something really unacceptable, like a hagiography of Stonewall Jackson), and if you don’t want it, you quietly pass it on to someone who does. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548/40 "2017-09-29T13:39:10Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > I’m a liberal who thinks that Donnie Boy is a font of all things awful, but even I think that ways to protest go this is pretty weak. I would be surprised if Melania any thought at all one way or the other into the schools or books chosen, and the fact that the protest included a complaint about the free Seuss books being “a bit of a cliché” shows that she was clearly reaching. > > Not all forms of liberal protest are great and not all liberals are on an even keel. So you admit that the liberal philosophy is totally intellectually bankrupt in each and every manifestation, and that this proves every liberal is hypocritical and dishonest? I THOUGHT so! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/librarian-rejects-books-donated-by-first-lady/797548.md?page=3)