Congressional candidate shows childish behavior in children’s section

It seems a childish way to act, even in the children’s section. Wisconsin Third District congressional candidate Derrick Van Orden recently got upset about a display in the children’s section of the Prairie du Chen Public Library. The target of his ire was a celebration of Pride Month on display in the library, something they do each June. Van Orden, who lost to La Crosse Congressman Ron Kind in the most recent election and who is running again, angrily, with a raised voice, criticized the selection of books. They included books, both fiction and non-fiction, on diversity, inclusivity and the LGBTQ community. He challenged the teenage library employee who set up the display, and is herself a member of the LGBTQ community. He called the display disgusting. But Van Orden didn’t stop there. He took out a library card, and checked out all of the books that made up the display. Apparently if he didn’t want to read them, he wanted to make sure no one else could either. People, especially those who aspire to power, should recognize that a library is a place of intellectual freedom and serves a broad base of patrons. He is of course free to have his views, but should allow other people to have their views, especially those that seek to treat all people equally.