by Al Benson Jr.
Member, Board of Directors, Confederate Society of America
One thing you can learn from a visit to your local public library is that all internet sites are equal, but some are not quite as equal as others. And the ones that are not quite as equal as the others get blocked. Who gets to define what constitutes “equal” is yet another question. Back in the days when we spoke in more plain English because the fear of “offending” someone wasn’t quite as potent as it seems to be today, this sort of thing was just labeled for what it really was–censorship!
This afternoon, I went with a friend to our local public library while he used one of their computers to check out his email and a few other things. While there, I did the same, and checked out several websites that I usually check out each day.
Toward the end of my checking I thought, since I had not checked it in two or three days, I would check out the website for The Confederate Society of America of which I am a member.
So I typed the name into the search line on the search engine and instead of being connected to CSA’s website I was connected with something called Barracuda which dutifully informed me that the site I was trying to connect with contained “hateful or racist material” or words to that effect and therefore it was blocked and inaccessible to me. My first thought was “what’s this crap?” So I tried again and got the same politically correct response.
At that point I went to get one of the library employees and she came over to see what the problem was. She went to check and came back to tell me there was nothing they could do about it. All the parish libraries are set up like this. I asked her how I could file a complaint about this. She told me I would have to go see the head librarian at the main branch. I asked her why something like this is on their computers. She didn’t know but she said that this program is set up so that certain key words you type in trigger this response and that’s as far as you get. I asked her “I suppose the word Confederate is one of those key words?” She figured it probably would be. What a surprise!
I told her that “I happen to belong to this particular group and there is nothing racist or hateful on their site. It deals with culture and history and that’s all it deals with.” While she might have been sympathetic, there was nothing she could do. The whole thing was set up from the main library. Given the demographics of the city where the main library is located, I am really dubious as to whether talking to those people would do any good or be an exercise in futility (probably the latter), and I don’t need anymore futility than I already have. This particular city has a set of six flagpoles out in front of the city hall. Years ago, one of those flagpoles used to contain a First National Confederate States flag. Then black leadership assumed control. Need I say more?
Some of you all around the country might check out the computers in your own public libraries just to see if this censorship situation prevails in your areas and let us know. Maybe some areas are not yet burdened with this cultural Marxism, because that’s really all it is. The cultural Marxists feel they need to be the final arbiters of what we see and hear and whether we like that or not makes no difference to them. They know what’s best (for them) and what’s best for them is that we don’t see and hear what gives them political indigestion. Kind of like the situation in Washington right now. Those generals on Mr. Trump’s staff seem to be deciding what he gets to see and hear and who he talks to and who is shut out. Same principle.
I just wonder who is responsible for deciding what material is “hateful” or “racist.” Who makes that decision? It is local folks? Is it this Barracuda outfit, or who? Or do some of these people involved have possible connections to the Southern Poverty Law Center for whom everything to the right of Joe Stalin is hateful?
These folks who may be denizens of the Great Swamp keep telling us all this is for our own good and that we are much better off if we don’t see the truth but rather let them interpret what is “racist” or “hateful” because they are the “experts” at all this.
Again, who gets to determine what is “racist” or “hateful” and what do they get out of it? That’s the real question.