Kirk Cameron, Moms for Liberty, Jesus and John Wayne, and the "Woke Mob" that wasn't

It's as if this was all just a thinly-veiled attempt on Cameron's part to stoke outrage, garner free publicity, and sell a boatload of books 🤔

“Police in Alabama stop noisy protestors from disrupting Kirk Cameron library event.”

Wow, that wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. It was Saturday afternoon, and I was wondering how things had turned out that morning at Madison Library on the outskirts of Huntsville, Alabama. I’d gone over to TikTok to see if Lindsay Booker had posted an update but didn’t see anything. Turning to Google, I saw the alarmist Fox News headline.

I read on: Police had apparently “prevented a crowd of protestors from disrupting a story hour featuring actor-author Kirk Cameron and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines on Saturday.” A “group of protestors…reportedly attempted to enter the event,” while inside “an overflow crowd of adults, parents and children” were “trying to enjoy the book reading, which went off relatively smoothly.”

I was surprised. That didn’t sound like the event Booker had planned. She’d asked participants to keep things positive. She’d worked with the police to ensure that they were welcome and that they knew what rules to follow.

I wondered if other protestors had joined Booker’s event who hadn’t gotten the memo. I messaged her for the story. Turns out she’d just posted the real story on TikTok. It’s worth watching for yourself:

@bhambluedot#greenscreen it was a beautiful day to make good trouble! thanks to everyone who donated and/or showed up to support. you give me hope.

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That’s right. No disruptions. No attempts to enter the event. Good conversations. Respectful dialogue.

In the words of the police officer Lindsay had coordinated with: “You are most welcome. No issues at all. I think it went very well. You and your group have been very helpful and everyone out there was extremely nice. Thank you again!”

How is this possible? These aren’t just different interpretations of the same event, these are completely incompatible descriptions. It’s as if Fox News just made things up to suit their own narrative.

Or, in Booker’s words: “This is not journalism, this is not bad journalism, this is straight-up propaganda.”

Of course, this reflects Fox’s business model and their political agenda. Stoking controversy and division, real or imagined, drives clicks and enhances revenue. Keeping viewers and readers outraged keeps them fearful and keeps them coming back for more.

But it wasn’t just Fox News crafting this imaginary narrative. The event’s organizers—Kirk Cameron and Moms for Liberty—have perfected these tactics as well.

Remember, the whole “See You at the Library” movement “was inspired by actor-writer Kirk Cameron and his book publisher.” And remember, conflict sells. Trust me, I know.

Let’s look back over events from the past couple of weeks. Organizers had initially requested permission to host an event for an anticipated 20 attendees. That’s right. Twenty. The week of the event, the library learned that organizers were now expecting over 300, a number that exceeeded the capacity of any meeting room within the entire Huntsville-Madison County Library System.

Trying to figure out what to do, the library consulted with the city to try to make the event “logistically possible” and were told that Moms for Liberty “should seek an alternative venue.” According to the City of Madison, they applyied permitting regulations without respect to the group or organization requesting the event: “The Moms for Liberty group failed to apply for an event permit in advance, and it was determined that City resources cannot support an event of this size on such short notice. Alternative accommodations have been recommended ot the organizatoin to ensure a safe and well-attended event.”

Seems pretty straightforward.

But wait!

Enter First Liberty Institute, the law firm representing Cameron and his publisher Brave Books. This was not an issue of city ordinances and public safety, they claimed. It was nothing less than “unconstitutional religious discrimination.”

The battle was on.

And so was the press coverage.

Conservative news outlets alerted readers to the “Woke mob threat” that “force[d] Kirk Cameron-Moms for Liberty” to cancel the library event and noted the planned presence of “far-left protestors” led by Lindsay Booker, “better known as Bhambluedot, who would be giving out copies of Jesus and John Wayne.”

In the face of a threatened legal challenge, the library agreed to host the event with attendance capped at 225. Around 100 counter protestors attended the Jesus and John Wayne book giveaway. Both events went off without a hitch, for all involved.

Things were calm. Conversations were had.

But a peaceful event involving citizens holding different beliefs about what is best for their children and their country isn’t going to sell many books. Not nearly as well as embattled Christians being persecuted by woke mobs.

It’s almost as though the See You at the Library events aren’t so much a “mission to promote free speech in our libraries and schools” as they are an thinly-veiled attempt stoke outrage, garner free publicity from like-minded media outlets, and sell a boatload of books to willing consumers eager to fork over a few dollars to vicariously fight a battle that may not even exist.

Cameron has been clear about his goals: “I want to start new fires…I want to continue to grow the movement—not just of reading books in libraries, but parents and grand parents taking back the leadership role in the country morally, and spiritually, and economically. I want them to fight for the hearts and minds of their children and protect their grandchildren’s future.”

According to the Washington Examiner, he is busy writing his next children’s book, “a book that will focus on how one can show love to those who disagree with you or might consider you an enemy.”

Quite the business model.