Posts by Craig Ranapia
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Muse: That Book, The Ban That Isn't,…, in reply to Jeremy Andrew,
Sorry, when did Ian Wishart, or any of his subject matter become feminist? I must have missed a press release somewhere…
Carole Beu's public statements are well on the record and linked to in the post. I find it rather ironic that she's talking about "sensitive subjects" that should never be discussed when feminist bookstores (and publishers like Virago and The Women's Press and the Spiral Collective that originally published a novel by a certain PASer) because all that feminist shit was kind of icky to the "mainstream" booktrade.
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Muse: That Book, The Ban That Isn't,…, in reply to Jackie Clark,
Personally, I see no value in this book, and I have no problem with Carole or any other bookseller choosing not to stock it. And I’m really not sure it’s a story any of us need to hear – at least not in this way.
Sorry for sounding like a broken record, but I’d like someone to ask Carole WTF she bothered opening a feminist bookstore in the first place. After all, who needed to hear women drivelling on about stupid lady-crap? Or why Unity Books founder Alan Preston made a point of making contentious, unfashionable or downright unpopular books available – and put his time, money and reputation where his mouth was standing up to Customs harassment and the Indecent Publications Tribunal.
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Muse: That Book, The Ban That Isn't,…, in reply to Cecelia,
No, his book shouldn’t be banned but what’s wrong with kicking up a stink when a woman who was part of the tight five of deniers during the police investigation, “breaks her silence” to Ian Wishart.
When “kicking up a stink” involves verbally abusing staff at a branch of Whitcoulls I patronise who have sweet fuck all to do with this, which I saw today, I find rather a lot wrong with that. Sorry, but that needs saying.
If you were a decent German bookseller in the 1920s, would you stock Mein Kampf????
Quite a few would. Of course, if you really want to go there let's note that for most of the 1930's decent German booksellers would have no choice whatsoever about what they stocked -- selling "degenerate" authors were a express ticket to a beating, at best, or a working holiday in a forced labour camp.
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I’m perfectly happy for the damn thing to be in libraries, but… my visceral reaction to the book’s existence is ‘how gross’. That’s allowed too, right?
I'm Mr Bennett to your Darcy: I wouldn't dare forbid you anything you cared to ask for. I'd also like to think hypocrisy isn't among my character defects, because "how gross" is my visceral reaction to plenty of things in this world.
But I think that's why I've been more disappointed by Jo McColl and (particularly) Carole Beu. I'm sorry to tell Ms. Beu this, but there plenty of people who'd be "grossed out" by the stock of a feminist/women's bookstore - you know all those icky books about periods, and lesbians and feminist stuff. I suspect there are one or two hairy-legged man-hating femi-Nazis of a certain age who weren't going to the local branch of Whitcoulls & Tombs to browse the radical lesbian feminist section.
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Muse: That Book, The Ban That Isn't,…, in reply to uroskin,
Any thoughts of how, as a consumer, you can rigthfully boycott a book (by not buying it) but you are powerless when your Council uses your rates to buy that same book for its public libraries.
Oh, I'm personally brimming with #Dorklandpride that Auckland City Libraries promptly found their over-sewed spine on this.
Ian Wishart, author of the controversial book. Photo / APN
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Ian Wishart, author of the controversial book. Photo / APNAucklanders will be able to stroll into their local library and borrow a copy of the controversial Macsyna King book but Wellingtonians may have to wait.
Ian Wishart's latest book has attracted outrage in some quarters, with more than 41,000 people signing up to a "Boycott the Macsyna King Book" page on the social networking website Facebook.
Auckland Council Libraries was the only organisation contacted by the Herald yesterday that confirmed it would be stocking Breaking Silence: The Kahui Case.
Libraries manager Allison Dobbie said the organisation upheld the principles of the Library Information Association, which stated that "information and resources should not be excluded because of the opinions expressed, who the author is, or on the grounds of political, social, moral or other views of the author".
Couldn't put it better myself. But I'm just counting the hours until some attention-starved councillor decides the pointy-headed elitist bookworms (who should have their budget cut and be forced to get a real job anyway) are a no-risk, easy target.
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I'm going to have to put some fresh nails in my seal club of loving correction, aren't I?
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Legal Beagle: Referendum Fact Check #1, in reply to Kumara Republic,
He seems to come across as politically schizophrenic these days.
Not necessarily a bad thing - being someone who seems terminally ambiguous about everything nowadays. :) But in the end, I agree with our host: A bad argument is a bad argument, and a good one is a good one, no matter who's making it for paying for the ads. Really, if we're going to turn this into a popularity contest why no just go back to high school and be done with it?
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Muse: Commonplace Book, in reply to Tim Michie,
Hell, if I turn ninety three with a pulse, let alone looking as dolly as Athill, I'll be well chuffed.
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Legal Beagle: Referendum Fact Check #1, in reply to Sacha,
John Armstrong is surprisingly unimpressed.
“Vote for Change looks very much like the National Party Preservation Society in drag” is a really cute line, but I really do draw a line at a newspaper whose idea of top-tier diversity and gender equity in top-tier editorial/management is "keep Tapu Misa on the payroll" pontificating quite so freely on what the tinted-people think.
Perhaps John Armstrong could stop recycling Trevor Mallard’s blog posts, and try doing some actual analysis of the arguments. You know, like those mean, nasty bloggers who make John Drinnan cry. If nothing else, a Herald columnist adding value to a public policy debate worth having would have considerable novelty value.
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Legal Beagle: Referendum Fact Check #1, in reply to Sacha,
Allowing easier public input into list ranking might appeal to some voters.
Perhaps, but I really that's for parties to determine -- and be rewarded by the electorate as they see fit in the only poll that really counts -- not the legislature.
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