LETTER TO THE EDITOR
At recent school board meetings, a gang of people mostly from outside of San Marcos has shown up to spew hate and yell. Most of these people do not live in our community. Most do not have children who attend our schools. In fact, some of them don’t even have children. They claim to be here to protect our children.
These folks are citing a new Texas State bill that requires a review process of books in public school libraries. As our Superintendent explained to them, we are undergoing that process. You might think this gang of outside agitators would feel like they’ve won, and yet they continue to show up and behave in ways that are disrespectful to our school board and disruptive. This seems to demonstrate that they are not here to protect any children. If they wanted to protect children, I think they could spend their time and energy fighting to change the legal system that allows individuals to continue to get away with sexual assault. Maybe they could spend their energy volunteering with those children who have been victims of these crimes? They claim they are following the Bible, but instead of working to address needs in their own communities, they bring their rage into our town. It seems like these folks are disciples of far-right politics, not Jesus Christ.
Similar groups have visited many Texas communities. I think their behavior and unwillingness to let us follow our review process shows that what they really want is to shut down our libraries and prevent San Marcos kids from having access to any ideas that this angry mob doesn’t like. That’s how New Braunfels CSID has responded recently. If people want to live in a community that doesn’t value diversity of ideas, where out-of-town activists tell them how to live, they are welcome to find such a place in nearby cities. I do value our local San Marcos community, and I truly appreciate the SMCISD staff, faculty, and volunteers who work to HELP our children.
Mari Salmi San Marcos
