They are jailing people in Texas over unreturned library books.

Looks like the police state is alive and well in the Lone Star State.

From sending in the swat team, helicopters and entire police departments over a few pot plants to now issuing arrest warrants and jailing people for unreturned library books.

Land of the free...my ass

A Texas man who was arrested for failing to return an overdue library book ignited an online flurry of snarky comments and headlines about the Lone Star State extending its tough-on-crime bravado to books.

A Texas state law took effect in September that defines the failure to return library books as theft. The law, which doesn't trump stricter community ordinances, mandates up to a $100 fine per offense.

Source

Better start checking to see if you have any late library fees...or else your door might be kicked in soon.

reply to post by muse7


If they want to start jailing people for theft, they need to start with Congress and move swiftly to the banksters. How much money is the state saving by jailing people? None. That's a money-losing proposition. People should obviously return their books on time but the punishment needs to fit the crime and this is OTT.

muse7
Land of the free...my ass

Land of the free yes, not land of the dont return your books and then dont pay the fines.

Sorry if you owe money you pay it, which can be completely avoided by not losing them or whatever in the first place.

Unless you managed to borrow the very first bible or something, how hard is it to pay a fine you deserve?

Have Americans become so retarded that they cant return a book they borrowed?

Or refuse to pay the minuscule fine when they are so inept to return it?

I think you will find there was an extenuating circumstance to this case.

reply to post by muse7


How many people in Texas have been jailed? I read the article you provided a link to, and that didn't mention any numbers. It did mention the jailing of a man from Newton, Iowa, but that wasn't in Texas the last time I looked.

What exactly do you mean by "land of the free"? A land where people should be free to borrow a library book and never have to return it?

reply to post by muse7


wow so much for socialism

reply to post by whitewave

Imo this is less about jailing people for theft and more about keeping the general population in line.

Banksters and lawmakers are the only ones that live without rules. While they run amok they feel the need to impose more restrictions on us.

There's no way they're going to allow the rest of us to exercise our freedom to rape, pillage and economically destroy a nation much less a library. I'm afraid those freedoms are exclusive to those at the top.

Isn't this the state that's for less government? Funny how that works. I'm so glad I live in Colorado.

What, are things getting slow in the Private Prison Business?

It costs an average of 50K a year to house a prisoner. What'd the book cost?

At least with this new policy, we'll have some literate people in prison. Yup, that's probably it. They want to increase the number of people in prison who actually know where the libraries are, and use them, if infrequently.

Biigs
Land of the free yes, not land of the dont return your books and then dont pay the fines.

Sorry if you owe money you pay it, which can be completely avoided by not losing them or whatever in the first place.

Unless you managed to borrow the very first bible or something, how hard is it to pay a fine you deserve?

edit on 28-12-2013 by Biigs because: (no reason given)

As much as I do agree with you about returning something you borrowed(I work for a place that rents movies/games, and some items get rented, and never returned. So those people get sent to collections). I do think arresting people is a bit ridiculous, and gives me one big concern regarding it.

I feel like by arresting people for overdue library books, you're putting more nails into the libraries coffin. Anything you can find in the library, you can find on the internet. So why would people want to use a library, and checkout any books if there's a chance they'll be arrested?

Sure, you can easily throw out "Well, if they return on time, they have no problems." or "They can just pay the fee's, or pay for the book if it's lost.", but we all know that's not how people work. Most people follow the rules, but occasionally you have people who are forgetful, or their lives are so busy, they may forget they even checked a book out. I saw it a lot growing up, and see it still where I work.

A good example is this gentleman I spoke with maybe around half a year ago. He called us angry, because he got an automated call regarding a late movie, claiming he's returned all his movies. When I researched his account, I told him the movie he had out(kids film). After a moment, he realized he's seen his kids watching it, and then had an "Oh shi-!" moment. He returned the film later, apologizing for it being late, because as he put it, life is so hectic with kids/family/work/life in general, that he spaced it. He did pay his late fees.

Now, yes, in the end, he paid his fee's. But the movie was 2-3 months overdue. Now what would happen if we had him arrested for that, claiming it's theft as Texas is claiming?? Well, I can promise you that not only would he not rent movies from us anymore, but word would get around, and I'm pretty sure our rental sales would plummet.

So all in all, I think arresting that man for an overdue book was a foolish mistake, and will only harm that library in the long run.

lacrimoniousfinale
reply to post by muse7

 

How many people in Texas have been jailed? I read the article you provided a link to, and that didn't mention any numbers.

Nearly everyone I know.

I believe this is being done to make a direct attack on an institution that they hate, Libraries, why do they hate them? Because they are a socialistic type of business, sort of. I think they're trying to start jailing people over library fines so they can say what a "Black hole of government funds" It is, and try to close all public libraries down. This is par for the course, whenever they want to attack something it's always the "socialistic" departments, never mind how much a black hole of government funds the war complex and war on drugs complex is.

It's Texas....

When you invest all your treasure into Policemen and the latest gadget.

When they run out of real crime. They must justify their jobs.

When it comes to their jobs or your liberty...Guess who wins?

Beware Texans, Mr Bookman is going to kick down your door and unleash hell in your living room.

Yes that means you "Joy Boy"

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking... Why's this guy making such a big stink about old library books? Let me give you a hint, junior. Maybe we can live without libraries, people like you and me.... Maybe. Sure, we're too old to change the world. What about that kid, sitting down, opening a book right now in a branch of the local library and finding pictures of pee-pees and wee-wees in The Cat in the Hat and The Five Chinese Brothers. Doesn't he deserve better? Look, if you think this is about overdue fines and missing books, you'd better think again. This is about that kid's right to read a book without getting his mind warped. Or maybe that turns you on, Seinfeld... Maybe that's how you get your kicks... You and your goodtime buddies... I've got a flash for you, joy boy. Partytime is over."

- Lt. Bookman, in "The Library"

Shaiker
Have Americans become so retarded that they cant return a book they borrowed?

Or refuse to pay the minuscule fine when they are so inept to return it?

I think you will find there was an extenuating circumstance to this case.

I agree ..It was a GED study guide......a book that was in high demand......
I have worked in a library and books are expensive...This guy had gone to jailfor robbery...

Some of you people just don't get it...and you need to read the link objectively....

reply to post by muse7


"Debtor's prison" is an ancient concept, that the early colonists hated. Texas has now re-instated it, as states have a right to. I would just leave that state. Their money and jobs are not worth that.

reply to post by ldyserenity


I agree that it seems to be more of an indirect attack on libraries but not for the reason you listed. Libraries have books that can't be "hacked" like online information. There was a thread on ATS about a year or so ago that linked to information that the government was rounding up old books, especially those regarding history and government. Don't want people informed about how much things have changed. Or even the definition of words. "Democracy" has a completely different definition than it had even 50 years ago. "Chauvanist" has a completely different meaning. There's lots of words found in old dictionaries (books) whose definitions have changed. With a change in word meanings our views are also changed. Subtle, but libraries with their vast collection of written information contradicting the current propaganda can be seen as a threat to exposing the lies. Get rid of libraries by indirectly attacking them, making them unpopular or scary places and you tie up that loose end to the propaganda machine.

Our library system here (in Oklahoma) has a "food for fines" program where you can donate cans of food in lieu of paying fines. Sounds reasonable to me.

reply to post by ldyserenity


Emigrate to the UK, the chances of being arrested for library related offences is reducing in direct proportion to the number of libraries they are closing.

It's a bit like reducing the risk of drowning in a municipal swimming pool to nil, by closing it, brilliant logic, close all swimming pools and nobody drowns in one, faultless.

Beats me HTF the Industrial Revolution would get off the ground these days with the PC & H&S Stasi.

Aaa ah, Road to Damascus moment, buy a tablet thingy that has books squashed inside it. How would the Luddites have dealt with these devilish devices?

Better still, stop reading, no chance of being imprisoned for not returning a library book or paying a fine then?

See, always a solution to a problem if you search hard enough.

This is so ridiculous.

These so-called cops should put more time into incriminating the real criminals of this society. It's disturbing to see so many people here on ATS condoning this.

oh the irony.....

A man studies hard for the GED to get a great job.

Gets an arrest on his record.

Poor guy

reply to post by whyamIhere

It's Texas....

If you read the article, you would see it is happening in other states also.