I find this incredibly appalling. The very stores that are selling banned book stickers and tshirts are engaging in this. Shameful, hypocritical behavior! I am a major supporter of local independent bookstores, an avid lifelong reader and leader of a book club that is 30 years old. We were all trying to support them over Amazon and B&N a…
I find this incredibly appalling. The very stores that are selling banned book stickers and tshirts are engaging in this. Shameful, hypocritical behavior! I am a major supporter of local independent bookstores, an avid lifelong reader and leader of a book club that is 30 years old. We were all trying to support them over Amazon and B&N and this is what we get in return for our loyalty...now I'm not sure where to shop for my books any more, but it's clear that I won't be able to find some more "controversial" books in the indies - unless I can make it to Denver!
I feel for Nicole, who is fighting an uphill battle to keep her shop open but also provide a wide selection of books to her customers. Does the ABA think we are all too dumb to be critical readers?
You can find it appalling all you want. But, the difference is, folks refusing to carry books is different than people attempting to use the law to prevent books from being carried. It's not hypocritical at all.
Actually it is, because many of the people refusing to carry books are also the same people who actively protest those using the law to prevent books from being carried. The hypocrisy lies in them seeking the protection of the First Amendment while attempting to deny others the same protections. This usually isn't just refusing to carry books...it's often linked with attempts to push those books out of other stores and using peer pressure to achieve what they want. I'd be curious to know how many of these people don't support the right of other businesses to refuse to provide services they don't agree with (a bakery in I believe it was Colorado comes to mind).
Again though, are these people using thr law to ban books? No. They aren't. People are using their first amendment to speak out about books they believe are problematic. At the end of the day, the bookstore can choose to carry whatever they want regardless of social pressures, and at the end of the day, people will shop where they choose. No one is legally denying these bookstores their first amendment to carry what they choose. You dont get to alienate a group of people as a business and then whine when those people and their allies dont shop with you.
I find this incredibly appalling. The very stores that are selling banned book stickers and tshirts are engaging in this. Shameful, hypocritical behavior! I am a major supporter of local independent bookstores, an avid lifelong reader and leader of a book club that is 30 years old. We were all trying to support them over Amazon and B&N and this is what we get in return for our loyalty...now I'm not sure where to shop for my books any more, but it's clear that I won't be able to find some more "controversial" books in the indies - unless I can make it to Denver!
I feel for Nicole, who is fighting an uphill battle to keep her shop open but also provide a wide selection of books to her customers. Does the ABA think we are all too dumb to be critical readers?
You can find it appalling all you want. But, the difference is, folks refusing to carry books is different than people attempting to use the law to prevent books from being carried. It's not hypocritical at all.
Actually it is, because many of the people refusing to carry books are also the same people who actively protest those using the law to prevent books from being carried. The hypocrisy lies in them seeking the protection of the First Amendment while attempting to deny others the same protections. This usually isn't just refusing to carry books...it's often linked with attempts to push those books out of other stores and using peer pressure to achieve what they want. I'd be curious to know how many of these people don't support the right of other businesses to refuse to provide services they don't agree with (a bakery in I believe it was Colorado comes to mind).
Again though, are these people using thr law to ban books? No. They aren't. People are using their first amendment to speak out about books they believe are problematic. At the end of the day, the bookstore can choose to carry whatever they want regardless of social pressures, and at the end of the day, people will shop where they choose. No one is legally denying these bookstores their first amendment to carry what they choose. You dont get to alienate a group of people as a business and then whine when those people and their allies dont shop with you.