Obviously, all Howard County Citizens commenting ..........

What’s the relationship to TikTok?

Exactly. I really hope that the Board of Ed is prepared.

Libs of Tik Tok is an account that posts a lot about LGBTQ issues and things that they seem to be "grooming." They have a huge following and many of the subjects of their posts get harassed and worse by the followers of that account. Teachers and librarians (and others) have been sent death threats for having certain books in their schools and libraries.

Holy shit that comment section is an absolute dumpster fire

It really is. And again I would bet that most of those people don't even know where Howard County is. But they'll have people show up at the meeting screaming about groomers.

Can someone please explain to me what the big deal is with libs of TikTok? All I’ve ever seen is them reposting content liberal’s posted first.

"Libs of TikTok," is the name of a Twitter account that appears to be devoted to targeting places that have books that talk about gender identity. I didn't dig very deep though. Twitter is such a cesspool.

It's not so much always what they post, it's the fact that they have such a huge following and many of those followers are a bit unhinged. Teachers and librarians have gotten death threats after being seen on that account.

I have a kid in HCPSS and I don't want anyone from outside of the county weighing in on what my kid can or cannot read. This is just going to become a complete shitshow.

They intentionally brigade the targets of their posts with an overwhelming amount of hate online and in person. Teacher and librarians have regularly gotten death threats after being targeted by the account in the same fashion that they just targeted HCPSS.

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None of those cunts actually live here.

It never occurs to them that the inclusiveness of the school system might actually be a benefit to those of us that live here.

Yes we do and still think it’s batshit crazy

As a parent of HCPSS students, I feel it’s my responsibility to sign up (assuming I can get a slot) and be a rational and supporting counterweight to that hate-filled community. Anyone else ready to step in to the fray and hold the line for inclusivity?

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Yep a few of us have signed up in support of the teachers and librarians. I'm a public librarian in another county and we've had issues with similar groups.

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Yeah, pretty much

I don't go to their page, but I was completely shocked when I saw the comments in response to HCPSS's tweet and it seems that the only reason it is getting all of that attention is because it was reposted by that account (who I'm sure knows nothing about Howard County, it's citizens or it's values).

I don't think that having inclusive books in a library is "out there" and I'm upset that now teachers and librarians in my kid's school system will likely be targets because of that accounts followers, regardless if they show up or not.

Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.

Can’t get out soon enough. Enjoy your bubble

Are you worried that a word may make you suddenly find guys attractive?

I bet this happened before and it didn't work out for you. Otherwise I can't imagine why you are so worried about any of this.

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Okay, but my point is libs of TikTok don’t actually create content. They only repost content that other people posted. If a racist posts a video of themselves saying all people of a certain race are evil and I repost that video saying “check out what this person said” is the hate that person gets my fault or theirs for saying racist things in the first place?

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I’m an hcpss teacher and I don’t want people from outside my he county having a say either. I just find it a bit weird that people get mad at the person reposting what others have shared and not the person who originally posted it. It seems to me like the libs of TikTok account only shares things others have posted saying “check out what this person posted”. Like, if you don’t want people seeing what you posted, it probably shouldn’t have been posted at all.

Does that make sense or did I totally miss anything?

I wonder how many of those showing up to the meeting know that our county schools are subject to county code Title 12, Subtitle 2, §§ 12.200—12.218, which protects numerous groups from discrimination, including based on sexual orientation, personal appearance, or gender identity or expression. This code applies to many areas including "public accommodations" and "any other facets of the lives of its citizens where such practices may be found to exist."

Any 'parents rights' advocates can complain all they want; the board literally cannot change HCPSS policy regarding LGBTQIA+ inclusion or representation under county code. Not that they would, seeing as the Superintendent serves as an ex-officio member of the county's LGBTQIA+ Commission and the policies protecting LGBTQIA+ staff and students have been on the books for decades (with the last revisions years ago).

You’re full of shit.

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Can’t reason yourself out of a position you never reasoned yourself into.

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I only insult people on the basis that they are disingenuous morons. These people are out here spewing hate on the basis of sexual orientation. Try again.

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I think it's pretty disingenuous to pretend that the the Libs of Tik Tok account with its millions of followers, followers who have been known to send death threats to people that they accuse of "grooming" isn't aware of the consequences of reposting what they do. Especially with their editorial commentary. I have no idea of the context of that original post, but I do know the context of the repost.

It was an honest question…not sure why this is downvoted.

You haven’t, but you are running interference for the people who are, which is only marginally better.

Yes but did you see what kind of TikTok actually posted? They literally just shared a post from hcpss. If they didn’t want people seeing it they shouldn’t have posted it in the first place.

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Just out of curiosity, they don't happen to only allow people who are Howard County residents to only attend?

I’m agreeing with you…not sure why you’re arguing with me…or am I misunderstanding?

lol

I would love an example. I would read through it and decide

It really sounds like something Foxnews would hype for a day, no one would research it and it would just become some pseudo fact.

You seem pretty up on this. What is the book and you seem to know a passage I should look at. I hope to learn something here.

The context of the repost was hey, look at this post from HCPSS and this book that highlighted. Again, if you don’t like people knowing about what’s being said then it probably shouldn’t have been put on the internet in the first place.

Like, if someone posts a video saying all members of a certain ethnic group are evil am I the asshole for reposting it saying “check out what this person said”?

Sigh. My wife runs an Instagram account for LGBT kids at her school, and recently has had comments on her posts from an account "ihate____fags", just leaving hate filled comments.

I'm sure she is excited for this.

Its disingenuous to pretend that Libs of Tik Tok doesn't have an agenda with what they repost or that they don't know the consequences of it. I have no idea what the context of the original post was, but I know the context of the repost. I would venture to say that the majority of parents in the school district are fine with their child having Jacob's New Dress in the library, but that isn't going stop people who had never heard of Howard County before seeing the repost, from weighing in with hateful messages. It is clear that they nothing about Howard County or what the majority of parents value.

I'm a public librarian so I am aware of what the books in question are, as well as the scrutiny and review that the books have gone through by education professionals. I may or may not be okay to have my child reading certain things, but I don't have the right to make that decision for other parents.

No, sorry. I misunderstood. I thought you were saying something different. My bad.

Honest question, do you think gay/trans children magically go away or become straight because they are not allowed access to media that represents their life experience?

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I believe so, although I myself have never been so I can’t be 100% certain. If they do let other people attend I’m sure they wouldn’t be allowed to speak.

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“These are the books they’re giving your kids in school.”

It’s pretty clear that in the context of this tweet this Twitter account is attempting to spark outrage. It’s not simply re-tweeting a post. It is providing commentary designed to rile people up.

All good, it’s hard sometimes, I’ve done it plenty

Well hopefully none of your coworkers receive death threats by people who had never heard of HCPSS until they saw the post on Libs of Tik Tok.

People leaving those comments are despicable, I’m sorry she has to deal with that.

People are free to make decisions for their own children and I respect their right to do that, even if I disagree with their decisions. But they don't have the right to make those choices for other peoples children.

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Was that picture actually taken at a Howard County school? I can't find anything indicating it is in the photo itself.

They did't share a tweet from hcpss , they shared a tweet from a parent that was complaining about their kid's libray; although, we don't know if the 'parent' staged the photo or if it is even an hcpss parent.

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I have no idea. I just happened to see the tweet from the School District, was surprised by how many comments there were under it and then shocked by the tone of the comments. But it very well could be a Howard County school 🤷‍♀️

It's an account whose sole purpose is sewing hateful rhetoric and doxxing people

You knew that though didn't you, and you'll follow up with some innocent-sounding whataboutism next right?

Fuck off

Most parents aren’t allowed in schools right now because of covid restrictions. The ones that are can only go with an employee and aren’t allowed to take pictures. That photo came from hcpss. Whether it was from the official hcpss account or an account from one of the schools run by the media specialist I don’t know but it wasn’t from a parent.

Ok, now what if you were part of an interracial couple and you posted a picture of you and your partner having just gotten married, smiling for the camera. And then a white supremacist social media account retweets it saying “Look at this marriage that happened today…” And suddenly you and your partner find yourself getting nasty messages and threats.

The white supremacist account merely reposted it telling people to take a look. Are you saying that you are at fault here because you posted the original content?

The account knows what it’s doing. It’s sharing things to rile up its audience. That should be obvious. Context IS content, and context includes audience and purpose.

I think any idiot adult who tries to make this about groomer nonsense is not prepared for and is underestimating our kids, much less choosing to stomp on one of the more highly educated cohorts of parents around.

Perhaps I should sign up, read up and comment.

The same two people will show up from the same non-profit, “Families Unite Howard County”, and spew the same hate. It’s a small group of hateful people that have too much idle time. They are worthless bags of trash that have nothing of value to add.

there's like ten books in a library of 300+ (I can't count don't @ me)

this is absurd

I don't have a child in the school system but I live in HoCo and feel like I need to show up to this to counter the mob

edit: also, so many people in those comments are like "ooh Grandpa's Camper sounds suspicious!!!1!" while if you go look up the plot summary it's actually a very sweet story about a girl who inspires her grandfather to go adventuring again. This is infuriating.

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Get fucked :)

> If I repost racist content and reframe it, subtly, as "but maybe they have a point!"

You're a fucking racist too, and fuck off

Not quite...

They have decided that inclusiveness isn't a benefit to anybody anywhere.

They are mainly people from different states and such. It's like, we are good up here. Keep your crap where you live.

Parents are limited during school hours. After school activities use the school, including media room, every day. I am in my kid's hcpss school's media room once a week for scouts and could easily rearrange a shelf to stage a photo. I am not saying this photo is staged, but something seems off about it. I doubt it was a school official because they were complaining about it, but again, there isn't a great way of knowing for sure.

I agree. I work in a much more conservative county and their Board of Ed caved to this nonsense and the kids were not having it. All it does is damage the relationship between them and the adults around them.

This is crazy. We are proud of our inclusion. They need to leave our community alone.

Even if taken at a hcpss school, it could also be staged by a parent trying to create controversy... the picture/scene just seems off to me.

These people are living under a rock.

So pointing out that Donald Trump says racist things makes me a racist?

The problem with this is that most of us either have kids or jobs that prevent us from going to these things, so even though they’re a minority the crazy people that show to these things disproportionally outnumber the actual parents who have kids in HoCo schools and support this type of inclusivity.

Is there a way to participate in this discussion from home? Not necessarily during the live event but perhaps send a letter or email afterwards?

My family and I moved from Miami to HoCo last June precisely to escape this kind of hate and anti-LGBTQ crusading happening in FL. HoCo being inclusive and diverse has always been one of the biggest selling points of this place for us (along with the schools)

I believe you can sign up to attend virtually. That is what I'm doing.

I can't take anybody seriously who uses the pejorative "Libs"

Yes the thing about many these "think of the children" types is they really tell on themselves with their comments. They take harmless, benign books and immediately find a a way to make them seem sexual. Accusations being confessions and all that.

I grew up in Howard County and now in Florida but I feel like I should show up and counter the negative people

Please do not use this language. Keep it civil or your comments will be removed.

This post has been locked. Too many comments are getting out of hand and the conversation is no longer productive.