Spare me. That is the single most ridiculous analogy I’ve seen today.
A bookseller can decide to stock a violent white supremacist fantasy novel based on The Turner Diaries if it wants, and I can call out that same bookseller publicly for making the decision to stock the book.https://twitter.com/DrDan_Biotech/status/1212545083461062656 …
-
Show this thread
-
Let’s put it another way. Just because someone like Stack has the right to write a racist book like this does not obligate a bookseller to stock that book, much less feature it in its New Year’s Day sale.

1 reply 1 retweet 21 likesShow this thread -
Criticizing that bookseller for deciding to stock such a book is NOT akin to book burning. There aren’t enough facepalms in existence to cover this comparison.pic.twitter.com/WshXSZwT7I
3 replies 2 retweets 34 likesShow this thread -
Seriously, this sort of thinking equating criticism of a booksellers’ decision to stock a hateful book with book burning basically says that you can never criticize a booksellers’ decisions to stock a book if you believe in freedom of speech.
2 replies 5 retweets 31 likesShow this thread -
It’s a false dilemma. You can do both: Support the bookseller’s right to stock whatever he wants while criticizing him when he stocks something vile like this.
3 replies 2 retweets 32 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @gorskon
Agree- Criticism is fine- but in this day and age this tends not to stop with criticism. If there is something to criticize it is the book itself and the author. What do we do when it is no longer “socially acceptable” for a bookseller to carry a Koran or the Talmud?
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @DrDan_Biotech
Spare me. Criticizing BOTH is appropriate. There’s no reason to exempt the bookseller for CHOOSING to stock such material. Also, boycotts are just free speech and the free market at work. Why do you hate freedom?
5 replies 0 retweets 4 likes -
Replying to @gorskon
That said- I respect your thoughts on the matter. This is a judgement call, and not a simple one. I owned a copy of Mein Kampf. Not my favorite read as a Jew- but I wanted to understand it’s significance in history. Should it not be available?
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @DrDan_Biotech
This is a quaint argument in the age of the Internet, when pretty much every “banned book” can be found pretty easily online.
2 replies 0 retweets 1 like
No one’s proposing “banning” anything, just criticizing a bookseller’s decision to stock a book. 
-
-
Replying to @gorskon
Agree you are not calling for a ban- and I do not think you ever would do so. It is a question of where social media goes with it. We’re gonna end up with “CNN Books” and “Fox Books” across the street from each other if we aren’t careful!!!
0 replies 0 retweets 1 likeThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.