Censorship

After having thought about it a bit, I find it difficult to believe that Amazon is actually engaging in deliberate censorship, because unranking GLBT books seems like such a ridiculously stupid business move. I mean, this isn't subtle, and it's certainly not even slightly rational. Also, it's Easter weekend, and it just seems weird timing.

Anyway, I have never and will never be a proponent of censorship. I don't necessarily think we should stock middle school library shelves with erotica, but I also don't think that librarians are trying to do that, and the books parents complain about most are often the kind of books I remember enjoying most at that age because they challenged me. I remember sneaking books past my parents' radar I didn't think they'd like very much (my dad has some weird issues with ghost stories, for example), which was pathetically easy, since I was a voracious reader and usually carried about three books around all the time.

(On the other hand, I admit I gave a fairly negative review to a parent who asked me about Twilight because I don't think it's very good, has really weird gender dynamics, and also because I knew the parent and child involved. Bad review =/= censorship, however, and I'm dubious of the parent's ability to keep her kid from reading it if she really wants to anyway.)

As far as censorship for people of legal age? Yeah. Don't get it.

Mostly because it's such a tricky proposition. What do you censor? Whom do you restrict? Which opinion/knowledge is too dangerous to allow people to hear?

Isn't that the same information that someone needs to know for a legitimate purpose? Restricting information and experience only serves to make people less than they ought to be.

Censorship

After having thought about it a bit, I find it difficult to believe that Amazon is actually engaging in deliberate censorship, because unranking GLBT books seems like such a ridiculously stupid business move. I mean, this isn't subtle, and it's certainly not even slightly rational. Also, it's Easter weekend, and it just seems weird timing.

Anyway, I have never and will never be a proponent of censorship. I don't necessarily think we should stock middle school library shelves with erotica, but I also don't think that librarians are trying to do that, and the books parents complain about most are often the kind of books I remember enjoying most at that age because they challenged me. I remember sneaking books past my parents' radar I didn't think they'd like very much (my dad has some weird issues with ghost stories, for example), which was pathetically easy, since I was a voracious reader and usually carried about three books around all the time.

(On the other hand, I admit I gave a fairly negative review to a parent who asked me about Twilight because I don't think it's very good, has really weird gender dynamics, and also because I knew the parent and child involved. Bad review =/= censorship, however, and I'm dubious of the parent's ability to keep her kid from reading it if she really wants to anyway.)

As far as censorship for people of legal age? Yeah. Don't get it.

Mostly because it's such a tricky proposition. What do you censor? Whom do you restrict? Which opinion/knowledge is too dangerous to allow people to hear?

Isn't that the same information that someone needs to know for a legitimate purpose? Restricting information and experience only serves to make people less than they ought to be.

Censorship

After having thought about it a bit, I find it difficult to believe that Amazon is actually engaging in deliberate censorship, because unranking GLBT books seems like such a ridiculously stupid business move. I mean, this isn't subtle, and it's certainly not even slightly rational. Also, it's Easter weekend, and it just seems weird timing.

Anyway, I have never and will never be a proponent of censorship. I don't necessarily think we should stock middle school library shelves with erotica, but I also don't think that librarians are trying to do that, and the books parents complain about most are often the kind of books I remember enjoying most at that age because they challenged me. I remember sneaking books past my parents' radar I didn't think they'd like very much (my dad has some weird issues with ghost stories, for example), which was pathetically easy, since I was a voracious reader and usually carried about three books around all the time.

(On the other hand, I admit I gave a fairly negative review to a parent who asked me about Twilight because I don't think it's very good, has really weird gender dynamics, and also because I knew the parent and child involved. Bad review =/= censorship, however, and I'm dubious of the parent's ability to keep her kid from reading it if she really wants to anyway.)

As far as censorship for people of legal age? Yeah. Don't get it.

Mostly because it's such a tricky proposition. What do you censor? Whom do you restrict? Which opinion/knowledge is too dangerous to allow people to hear?

Isn't that the same information that someone needs to know for a legitimate purpose? Restricting information and experience only serves to make people less than they ought to be.