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Palin too "gross" to grace San Francisco-area book stores
Sun, 11/22/2009 - 01:44 — Dr. Zaius
Via The American Thinker comes word that liberal, open-minded booksellers in the San Francisco refuse to stock Sarah Palin's smash best-seller Going Rogue.
"Our customers are thinking people," said Nathan Embretson, a bookseller at Pendragon Books in Oakland. "They're not into reading drivel."
"Anything like that we wouldn't carry," said clerk Emily Stackhouse at Cover to Cover Books in San Francisco. "We're a small store and it would probably gross us all out. Some things you carry because of freedom of speech, but a book like that is just gross."
So, at the doors of some Bay Area stores, a book by a woman who was a vice presidential candidate for a couple of months is just too icky to put on the shelves. I'm sure this is not an isolated incident in liberal "thinking people" enclaves.
Granted, there is probably not much of a market for Palin's book in those insular (read: not diverse) neighborhoods, and I'm all for the free market. Emily Stackhouse — a great name for a bookstore owner — is free to run her business as she pleases. Though it's hard not to think that the fella who owns Geno's Steaks in Philly, who caught hell for his "Order in English Only" sign a while back, might note the irony of our society's selection of freedoms a businessman may exercise.
But it's the moral preening of the Emily Stackhouses of America that grate on me. She makes certain to fly the "freedom of speech" flag in her comments, but doesn't really mean it. She has, in fact, banned Palin's book from her shelves. Again, there's nothing wrong with that. She has the right to sell what she wants. But please, don't ban Palin's book from your shelves and at the same time celebrate your supposed adherence to free speech. Don't brag that you are willing to bravely carry controversial works, but not Palin's work, which would genuinely challenge your customers.
It reminds me of Hollywood producing movies like "Good Night, and Good Luck," or "Redacted" — movies that reinforce the group-think of the industry, challenging no one — and patting itself on the back for its "courage" during the Bush "horror."
Ban Palin's book, if you must. But spare me the sanctimony, please.
(HT: Moonbattery)
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Comments
"Freedom of Speech" doesn't mean what you think it means
In a long line of silly things you've said, Jim, this is about the silliest. For all your throat-clearing about the market, you decide that not stocking Sarah Palin's book is somehow a violation of freedom of speech. If a lefty made the same comment about a conservative bookstore not stocking, say, Michael Moore's latest book, you'd make mincemeat of it and rightly so.
It's not the government keeping Palin's book off Emily Stackhouse's shelves, after all. And Emily Stackhouse's freedom of speech, I would presume, involves the freedom not to support expressions of speech she doesn't like. If she was organizing a large group of San Franciscans to make sure the book could be found nowhere in the city, under (say) threat of a boycott of the offending establishment I might be more sympathetic to your point of view. Instead, she's making the private decision not to stock the book on her own shelves.
Unless you think that supporting and celebrating "freedom of speech" requires private individuals to financially support every expression of speech they dislike in order to prove their bona fides. In which case I'm VERY much looking forward to your forthcoming donations to the KKK, ACLU and Emily's List. I've also got an Amazon Wish List I think you'll find very interesting.
Spare me the sanctimony, please.
Me being the silliest
Joel. Read more carefully please. If you think I believe deciding to not carry Palin's book is a violation of our free speech rights ... you're not getting my point.
I'm saying it's a little hard to take this bookstore owner's moral preening about how she values freedom of speech while at the same time banning Palin's book. That is not the same as saying a private person deciding not to stock a book is a free speech violation.
A subtle difference, I know. But you seem to have gotten so upset that you missed it. She could have merely said, "Palin's icky, so I won't carry her book" and I'd have never written the post.
Still the silliest
But again ... that suggests you believe that valuing freedom of speech means not just protecting freedom of speech you oppose, but actively taking a financial risk on speech you oppose. Otherwise, Stackhouse is a hypocrite!
You find her "moral preening" hard to take because she's exercised her right of free expression differently than you would. That's silly.
They know their market
Be fair, Joel. Jim has said far sillier things. Just ask his wife.
Seriously, though: I tweeted the Chronicle story on Friday, with the comment "Be angry at the sun for setting, if these things anger you." I found the story amusing, especially the quote from Nathan Embretson at Pendragon Books in Oakland: "Our customers are thinking people. They're not into reading drivel." Naturally, some wiseguy blogger at Pajamas Media thought to check what counts as "not drivel" at Pendragon Books. Here's what he found. (My personal favorite from the highly selective but nevertheless hilarious list: "Cold Fusion: Challenge to U.S. Science Policy," by Lyndon LaRouche.)
We hear, from time to time, that the red-blue map of America is a construct, a sham. Well, that's as may be. But the Bay Area is different, and its denizens are more than happy to tell you so. One of my favorite things to do in the Bay Area -- it's been a long time since we've visited, alas -- is to go to a bookstore in San Francisco or Berkeley and buy a conservative (or at least a "non-progressive" but political) magazine, just to see how the clerk reacts. (That may no longer be possible in Berkeley, by the way.) You know what's interesting? Most of the time, they would just ring it up -- as they would pornography, perhaps -- and keep their thoughts to themselves.
Those filthy commie elitists know -- and respect -- their market and their customers.
Do not display
My liberal wife got mad at me recently because I dared to leave out (on purpose, natch) my copy of "Going Rogue" just as her friends were coming over to play some poker.
The quotes in this story, and that anecdote (yes, her friends are all lock step liberal) speak volumes of a certain mindset.
Eww Eww Ewwww
(doing the spider dance) Mr. Toto! Puh-leeze! That's so gross!
.
"Don't confuse political savvy with competence or principles." -- RobbL, 2009
Re: Liberal wife?
I've got to say, that's the most stunning news of the day. I thought you HATED all of us!
Joel's Right
Joel's right, Jim, you're being really silly here. Emily Stackhouse -- which may be a good name for a book clerk but is even better for a burlesque dancer -- is being silly by even mentioning freedom of speech in her dismissal, too. Fact is you can support free speech as much as any patriot and still decide not to carry certain items in your store. It's not even remotely hypocritical.
Note also that Emily is not the owner or even the manager, but merely a clerk. She probably had no say in the decision, even if she agrees with it.
Believing that anyone can say and publish anything they like is a far cry from being merely horrified that your idiot husband left out a copy of a crappy book by a dopey author and her ghostwriter. Check with your lock-step wife, Mr. Toto, and see if she'd have been just as annoyed if you left out something by James Patterson or Stephanie Meyer. I know I would.
Or James Carville?
.
"Don't confuse political savvy with competence or principles." -- RobbL, 2009
Crywalt and Joel
You owe Mr. Toto an apology. A big one.
"Idiot husband." A "lock-step wife." How can Christian be married to a liberal if he "HATED" all of "us."
Commenting on the personal life — the marriage — of a man you don't even know is so out of bounds that I can't believe I even have to type this.
Re: Crywalt and Joel
Wow. You keep topping yourself in silliness Jim. This is a barn-burning, record-breaking day for you.
I didn't insult Christian or his wife -- so I'm not going to apologize.
I expressed surprise that he's married to a liberal. And I am, for the reason I expressed. You're right, I don't really know Christian. I know him from friendly discussions on a couple of movie podcasts, but political discussions in the comments here have led me to believe he has almost nothing but contempt for liberals. He presented a contrary piece of evidence, and I remarked on it. Period.
But if remarking upon spouses in a political context is completely beyond the pale here, I've got a pretty good idea about how to keep it from happening: Don't talk about your spouses. And don't use them as examples in your political discussions.
Good lord, Jim. You've got the umbrage meter wound up so tight these days you can't tell the difference between regular conversation and actual insults. Dial it back a notch.
No Offense
No offense intended. I was using hyperbole. Joking around. Poking fun. I have nothing against Mr. Toto and in fact hadn't seen his name until this thread.
So I'm sorry, Mr. Toto. I was just kidding around. I don't think anyone on this site is all that deadly serious. I expect, in fact, that Mrs. Toto probably called Mr. Toto far worse things than I ever could.
Re: Crywalt and Joel
Seemed to me Joel's comment was typed with his tongue lodged in his teeth. And Rywalt is just being Rywalt. I doubt even Christian will be demanding satisfaction.
Let's chill out a little, gents.
Ah... I see that Joel and Chris replied as I was typing this. Good.
Me Being Me
Ben sez:
And Rywalt is just being Rywalt.
That sums up so much.
I apologized since I realize not everyone here has been dealing with me as long as you, Ben. In fact few people anywhere have been dealing with me as long as you. Hard to imagine but true.
Slow news day?
Really? Berkeley bookstores not selling Palin's book and clerks commenting clumsily about it is the best we've got to talk about?
[Tip o' the hat: Ben @Infinite Monkeys]
Re: Slow news day
It's a Sunday. Sure, we could have written about health care, but then I would have had to drink a bottle of whiskey, and drown myself in the neighbor's swimming pool.
I thought about finishing up the stimulus post, but... (see paragraph, above). I have a couple of things in the works about Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown, too.
Cool video, by the way.
Easy now
Tone is really hard to pick up with online conversations, so I'm assuming Joel was tweaking me with his initial comments. No harm, no foul.
I don't judge my wife for her views. I disagree with 85 percent of them, but she's a warm, smart, wonderful person and I see that far more than her voting patterns. We cancel each other out each Election Day -- so there's that ...
Seriously?
I understand, Liberals don't like Palin, conservatives don't like Obama. I get it. However, Palin is so irrelevant it's ridiculous. Can this woman just go away already, I don't know a single person that would actually vote for her now in any capacity, let alone President.