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Seriously, Are We Still Talking About Sad and Rabid Puppies?

January 26, 2016 /

Allum Bokhari of Breitbart claims that bookstores are purging their shelves of politically incorrect authors.

Allum Bokhari is full of shit.

Just like most Breitbart so-called journalists.

Geek Culture, Social Justice Stuff

12 Comments

  1. Vetarnias

    Oh God, Bokhari’s article: “SJWs continue to demonstrate their inability – or unwillingness – to separate good art from questionable artists.”

    This while the Puppies reportedly go out of their way to promote crap just because it’s crap compatible with their reactionary views, while the same people have demonstrated time and again how they won’t have anything to do with anything allegedly bearing the taint of “SJW”ishness, like the supposed Return of Kings boycott of Star Wars, or GG’s obsession with Depression Quest.

    As a matter of fact, there was a famous Canadian precedent for trying to pull something from bookstores. Only what ruffled feathers at the time (2001 but also later) was that it was the CEO of the practically monopolistic (at the time, before Amazon entered the Canadian market) Chapters-Indigo chain, Heather Reisman, who decided what she would and wouldn’t stock. The most famous example was when she pulled “Mein Kampf” from shelves, because if there is one awful book that has historical importance, it’s that. I remember that she was roundly condemned for it at the time (there was even an editorial cartoon under the title “Fahrenheather 451”). But add to this that she’s not only Jewish but of a pro-Israel bent, and that at the time the largest newspaper chain of the country was also sold (by Conrad Black) to the Asper family, known for its Zionist views *and* its constant attempts to meddle with editorial content, and you had a perfect storm of controversy.

    • Vetarnias

      It’s also what I meant, in the other post, about how companies with a quasi-monopoly can carry out a de facto censorship if left unchecked. Ideally, the government should take action to break it up, but we know that rarely happens.

    • ThirteenthLetter

      “But add to this that she’s not only Jewish but of a pro-Israel bent, and that at the time the largest newspaper chain of the country was also sold (by Conrad Black) to the Asper family, known for its Zionist views *and* its constant attempts to meddle with editorial content, and you had a perfect storm of controversy.”

      Not that there’s anything wrong with Zionist views, of course.

      • Vetarnias

        Though I don’t really want to launch that debate here, Zionism becomes a problem if you get the impression if the owners of the largest newspaper chain (and they no longer do) attempt to align your country’s entire foreign policy with that of another country, in the entire service of it, because of their own interest. Very much like our pro-Iraq War businessmen who judged the entire merit of the war not on whether there was any legitimate basis for it, but “we don’t really want to offend our largest trading partner by saying no, do we?”.

        • ThirteenthLetter

          “Zionism becomes a problem if you get the impression if the owners of the largest newspaper chain (and they no longer do) attempt to align your country’s entire foreign policy with that of another country, in the entire service of it, because of their own interest. ”

          But it’s not a problem specifically because the paper’s owners are attempting to align your country’s entire foreign policy with that, etc.; it’s a problem because the paper’s owners are using it to push any specific political point of view at all in service of their own interest. It would be just as bad if, say, the Asper family was desperately in favor of contracts with Iran and so pushed the Iran nuclear deal, or if the Asper family owned Albertan oil sands and so pushed oil pipelines. There’s nothing specific about Zionism in particular that’s any worse than any other cause.

          • Vetarnias

            Oh, Conrad was no better, especially if you keep in mind that the reason he sold his Canadian media was because he was renouncing his Canadian citizenship which was getting in the way of his peerage.

            Some of the editorial sleaze that goes on nowadays with the same media outlets, when the entire chain pushed for re-electing Harper just because his economic agenda served the rich, when the entire country was palpably sick of him. (The Globe and Mail, not part of that chain, managed to one-up that nonsense by endorsing the Conservatives, but only without Stephen Harper as prime minister, apparently forgetting that the Westminster system is a package deal, and that Canada is not even known for Australian-style leader putsches against sitting PMs with healthy numbers in the polls.)

  2. Dan Coyle

    Before that bomb threat was called in to AirPlay, Milo Yiannopoulos was going to make a speech crediting Allum Bokhari with introducing him to GamerGate.

    I always thought YIannopolous stumbled upon itself one day looking for things to be pissed off about.

    And if you’re wondering why Bokhari didn’t take advantage of GamerGate himself, well, his pieces and look indicates he’s a huge dweeb.

    • Damion Schubert (Post author)

      Allum is not nearly as driven by building a cult of personality as Milo is.

  3. ThirteenthLetter

    It’s a good thing that someone went to the effort of debunking this rumor. I will say, though, that the followup discussion on File770 the next day was quite… _illuminating_. I asked the local commentariat their opinion of bookstores en masse refusing to carry books due to their authors’ political opinions, and almost to a one they were not just approving but highly enthusiastic about the idea.

    • Mart

      Problem is that you’re lying. They were to a man enthusiastic about the idea that this was up to the bookshops themselves.

      • ThirteenthLetter

        Yes, I completely believe that they would have been so enthusiastic and delighted if it was a rumour about bookstores removing, say, LGBT literature.

        • Mart

          Goalpost shift noted. So you concede that they were not enthusiastic about dropping books then, just about the right of bookshops to do so.

          And yes, I saw at least one person argue that Christian bookshops should have the freedom to not carry material they considered objectionable. Without being shouted down.

          The problem with lying about easily verifiable facts is that you get caught. Here’s a hint: stop digging yourself deeper.

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