Earlier this week, the Oklahoma House advanced HB 4014 to the Oklahoma Senate.
Dubbed the "Entitling Nosey and Controlling Parents Act," it will give parents the power to request and obtain the school library records of their offspring. It's being pushed by right-wing folks, Evangelicals, and other controlling parent groups who want to know if their kids are reading unapproved literature that may free their minds from parental indoctrination.
Naturally, one of the big proponents of the bill is book-banning State Rep. Sherrie Conley. She's the Newcastle Karen who griped and complained that a rainbow-colored fluid appeared in a kid's comic book about a grumpy unicorn was a sign that the gay agenda is targeting our youth.
As the State House debated the bill, State Rep. Merleyn Bell of Norman asked a series of questions that basically boiled down to "Why are we doing this?" Her point was that outside of one isolated incident in Stillwater, this doesn't appear to be a major problem that requires a privacy-invading solution.
In response to the question, Sherrie proudly and boldly said "You may only see one cockroach in your kitchen, but it doesn't mean there's only one there."
The comment amused and bemused the lawmakers, lobbyists, and other capitol spectators in attendance, generating a mix of laughs, groans and chatter.
Sherrie ate up her moment in the roastmaster spotlight, conducting a faux-mic drop, leaning her back against the wall, and slyly grinning like she was watching a batch of Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers, My Little Pony dolls, and other gay symbols being tossed atop a bonfire.
Check it out:
Yeah, I wouldn't be too proud about the joke, Ms. Denim Factory USA.
First of all, it probably says a lot about your own personal living conditions when the first analogy that pops in your while debating a bill has to do with cockroaches in your kitchen. Then again, cockroaches and Oklahoma lawmakers have a lot in common, so maybe it's just natural!
Either way, I expect better from a lady who's able to find evidence of the gay agenda in kids books about grumpy unicorns. Cockroach metaphors are easy, low-hanging fruit and border on the cliche. They're easy to come up with, like:
"I bet people with denim allergies scurry like cockroaches whenever Sherrie Conley turns on the lights and walks into the room."
Naturally, the pro-education, pro-library, and pro-sanity partisans at the Capitol took offense to her words, claiming that Sherrie attacked librarians and educators by equating them to cockroaches. I guess you could make that argument, but it feels like a reach. Although I have no doubts Sherrie would like to spray some Raid on most books at the library, I didn't make the connection that she was directly calling librarians cockroaches. It just seemed like a weak and stupid quip made by someone with a weak and stupid brain who wanted to avoid answering a legit question, something I personally excel at.
Anyway, the Entitling Nosey and Controlling Parents Act passed the house by an 81 - 13 margin and now heads to the Oklahoma Senate. We'll monitor its progress there and let you know if any lawmaker refers to librarians as mice, fleas or other pests you'll find in the Conley household.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We'll keep you advised.
