Has cancel culture made inroads at the library?

Has cancel culture begun to make inroads at the Sandpoint library? When I read the letter by Cort Gifford, a senior citizen and frequent library user with COPD problems that prevent him from wearing a mask, I was shocked at the treatment he experienced from library staff: they threatened him with calling the police for merely lowering the mask below his nose. He also has diabetes-related vision difficulties, so the face shield does not work for him either, so he raised it while 12 feet away from the nearest person. For this, he was subsequently denied service and had his library card pulled.

What have we come to here at our library? Totalitarian control of citizens – the very citizens who pay for this library and its staff with their property taxes. It wasn’t enough to deny him service right there and then, they wanted to make sure he got the message and would not be able to use the library again.

This draconian mask policy was unanimously enacted by the board and is still in place, despite calls for reversing it. Two of the board members - one the current chair and one the previous chair - bear responsibility. Both are running for re-election. Both tout their qualifications and experience in running the library. Neither shows any regard for how their disastrous policy affects the citizens they are supposed to serve. They are unqualified for public office.

On May 18, vote them out. Kathy Rose and Jalon Peters are the two candidates who deserve your vote.

HOLLY PARKER

Sagle