It
seems like the issues of book bans, censorship, and boycotts never seem to go
away. Even in America, where free speech
is discussed, taught, encouraged, and praised we continue to come across cases
that challenge us. The latest such
firestorm is over the announced book deal for conservative loudmouth Milo
Yiannopoulos.
I
must profess I never heard of this guy before last week. From what I have discovered about him, there’s
little to like but I’m prepared to defend his right to be published and the
right of his publisher, Threshold Editions, an imprint of Simon & Schuster,
to publish him. Free speech is more
important than any one person or book.
So
what’s the controversy? Well, it is
two-fold. The initial controversy is
over whether Milo deserves a platform.
The Donald Trump supporter has compared Islam to cancer, mocked
transgender people, and suggested women who are harassed online should stay off
the Internet. He’s a senior editor at Breitbart News. Over the summer Twitter banned him because he violated the
platform’s rules on hate speech and harassment.
He
got a six-figure advance. I say, so what?
If
you don’t want to buy or read it, don’t.
It’s
that simple. The publisher sees an
opportunity to make money by publishing his diatribe. That’s capitalism. The publisher also helps create a dialogue,
which is what books should do. It people
read it and disagree with the book, they will be inspired to act.
But when
one person or group says someone doesn’t have the right to talk or publish the
words of others, we sink far lower than Milo’s actual words. The reaction to the planned publishing of the
book has been swift.
Some
of it you expect – fellow authors criticizing the deal or experts questioning
what he could offer readers. But some of
the reaction is an overreach. Not only
are some calling for a boycott of the book, but a boycott of the publisher’s
catalog of books. One misintentioned
media outlet, The Chicago Review of Books, said it would not review any
of the company’s books this year.
Once
you get into punishing the publisher beyond the targeted book you cross the
line. What you are then doing is
punitively going after free speech itself.
Those in the book world who engage in or endorse such behavior are
barbarians, hypocrites of the highest order. We don’t just publish or read books that we
like or agree with our views; we engage in the thoughts, ideas, experiences and
opinions of all in order to properly make an informed conclusion.
It
pains me to have to bitch-slap those in the book publishing and news media
world. But anyone who shits all over the
First Amendment is asking us to go back into tyranny, anarchy, and the Dark
Ages.
Luckily,
others are speaking out against the haters.
English PEN and these groups have defended the Milo book deal: National Coalition Against Censorship,
American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Foundation, American Booksellers
Association, Association of American Publishers, Author’s Guild, Index or
Censorship, National Council of Teachers of English and the Comic Book Legal
Defense Fund.
The
passion behind the boycotts is understandable.
The reaction is not, however, in proportion to the situation. No book, however offensive, controversial, or
ugly, should be banned, and no publisher, printer, bookstore, or author should
be threatened for its role in publishing and selling the book. Further, to take the argument beyond that
specific book, and to issue a war on all books of a publisher, store, or author
is to turn the argument away from one book and to threaten all books.
Yes,
free speech allows for others to criticize the publisher and author, and I
encourage such behavior. But when we
look to extort a publisher, we’ve gone too far.
The
controversy, of course, has sparked the exact opposite outcome that protestors
were hoping for: the book is a big
seller months before its scheduled release.
Amazon said it became the No. 1 seller one day after being announced.
Twitter,
where he’s banned, noted its number one trending topic was Milo in the U.S.
Do I
plan to buy his book? No. I don’t have an interest in reading the
misinformed opinions of a right-wing hater.
I didn’t buy Glen Beck’s books, nor those of Bill O’Reilly, Ann Coulter,
Dick Cheney, or Rush Limbaugh for the same reason. But I support their publishers for choosing
to publish them and would never think to call for a backlash against the
publishers or stores that produced or sold such books.
I care more about free speech than the contents
of that speech. I care more about protecting all of our rights then concerning myself if a bad
apple benefits as s result. The best way to contain speech we disagree with is to let it get published and
use your free speech rights to counter, correct, and place it into context. You can protest by not buying the book, by encouraging others not to buy it, by
criticizing the book publicly, by countering with a book of your own, and by
helping others to learn why this book is wrong in facts or intentions.
Free speech is challenging, but we should keep it simple. Just acknowledge that writers can say what they want, provided it’s factual and doesn’t violate copyright, libel, or slander, or defamation laws. Publishers have the right to publish all viewpoints. Stores can sell such books. Readers can choose what to buy and they reserve the right to protest and to criticize. But keep it contained. Once we raise an issue that goes beyond a specific book, we create a nuclear war scenario that no one wins.
Free speech is challenging, but we should keep it simple. Just acknowledge that writers can say what they want, provided it’s factual and doesn’t violate copyright, libel, or slander, or defamation laws. Publishers have the right to publish all viewpoints. Stores can sell such books. Readers can choose what to buy and they reserve the right to protest and to criticize. But keep it contained. Once we raise an issue that goes beyond a specific book, we create a nuclear war scenario that no one wins.
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