Posts by Rich Lock
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Muse: That Book, The Ban That Isn't,…, in reply to Cecelia,
Would you have stocked it?
Interesting question. If I was a bookshop owner struggling in the grim recession years of Weimar Germany and thought I could turn a profit on it, would my scruples be stronger than my desire to stock something that would help me scrape a living? It's just a book, after all, right? What harm can the gibberish raving of an unhinged madman do, and I've got a family to feed.
I hope so. I don't know so. I'm old enough to realise there are some questions I hope I'm never tested on. I don't necessarily want to know the answer.
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Muse: That Book, The Ban That Isn't,…, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
Mein Kampf was written in the 1920's, but was still in print when the Nazi's gained absolute power* in Germany in the early 1930's. This when it was more or less mandatory for all german households to buy a copy.
*see what I did there? Do you, though? :)
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Up Front: Life on Mars, in reply to Russell Brown,
It was unusual getting a measurable earthquake in Auckland. First time I can recall feeling one here.
There was one 3-4 years ago. That one, I thought I'd left the handbrake off on the car and it had gently rolled into the house.
This one was strong enough that I had a quick look up and down the road to make sure a truck hadn't crashed outside.
Dont send The Feelers
And please feel free to keep Dave Dobbyn as long as you need him.
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Muse: That Book, The Ban That Isn't,…, in reply to Rob Stowell,
You are allowed. If you can hold your nose long enough to buy it from the skunk direct. And when you have read it, you're allowed to report back :)
That is the point people keep making, and other people keep missing: it's a boycott, not a ban.I don't intend to ever read it. Same as I never intend to read 'atlas shrugged', 'mein kampf', 'holy blood, holy grail', 'the da vinci code', 'the order of the phoenix', and 'Finnegans Wake', among others. My life is too short as it is.
I'm just interested in the psychology behind the human emotions which Whishart is so adroitly stirring up.
If you were a decent German bookseller in the 1920s, would you stock Mein Kampf????
You wouldn't have had a choice, if you wanted your premises to remain intact. It was a de facto required book in every household. Having it prominently on display in your household was required in order to appear normal. Not having it on display was more or less an open invitation for the gestapo to start sniffing around for other signs of un-germanic activity.
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Muse: That Book, The Ban That Isn't,…, in reply to BenWilson,
I think the works of Mark "Chopper" Reid are a better example, and they do perhaps hint at this being a little trickier as a rights issue. I browsed some of his work and thought a lot of it sounded like bullshit he was making up, but quite a lot was also highly credible, and it was an insight into his mind. That's not a bad purpose, even if what he did in the stories is, for the most part, reprehensible.*
I thought pretty much the same thing when I read Ralph Barger's autobiography (founder of the hells angels). He was, and is, by my standards, an unpleasant man. But the book was an interesting insight into his mindset.
Closer to home, Bruno Issac's 'True Red' (ex-mongrel mob) didn't cause all that much of a fuss when it was released, and that has some pretty nasty stuff in it.
There are literally dozens of books on the shelves of any UK bookstore which are supposedly the 'true life' memoirs of gangsters (mad frankie fraser et al), or football hooligans. They sell well. There isn't much fuss about them being there.
You can walk into any library in Auckland and reserve 'True Red', Sonny Barger's book, Chopper Reid's books, 'Inside the Crips', or any one of dozens of other true-life memoirs.
So It's hard not to think that Wishart knew he'd get this reaction, and he's feeding the fire with all he can give it. You can practically hear him guffawing up his sleeve as he tries to keep a straight face in this story.
If he was that concerned with the truth, he'd self-publish/distribute. Not hard.
So I'd prefer to dismiss the crazy, hypocritical old fartknocker, and pick apart what to me is the more interesting part: the public reaction.
Are we not allowed to read it because people think she's guilty? Or because it might warp our minds? Bit of both?
Personally, I'd prefer it to be published because there migth be something in there that inadvertently gives something away - a peek behind the wall of silence, a glimpse into the mindset, similar to that discussed above.
Give 'em enough rope and I'm intelligent enough to know when they've hung themselves - I haven't needed to be told what's in my own best interests for a few decades now.
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Up Front: Life on Mars, in reply to Bart Janssen,
you do know middle America is due a really big one soon
At least the ensuing nuclear winter will solve our global warming problem.
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Legal Beagle: Referendum Fact Check #1, in reply to Rob S,
OTOH, if it's all about the issues, why don't we just vote directly on the issues?
I like this idea in theory.................but, from what I've seen with the public ballots in the US it seems to wind up with people wanting mutually opposing situations where tax cuts win out over education and other fluffy social needs that are harder to sell. It would be a bit like rule by kiwiblog or Herald your views where nuanced discussion and considered policy gets left behind.
Yes. The one-word rejoinder to this suggestion is usually: 'California'.
(the state of California effectively being bankrupt, for all practical purposes, and fingers generally being pointed at a sucession of referenda over the years where the good citizens always voted to have their taxes lowered, crudely speaking).
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Hard News: That's Entertainment!, in reply to Jeremy Andrew,
But did you Whip Your Hair? Or even Bang Your Head?
Jeremy: I cannot. Get. That. Fucking. Earworm. Out of my head.
eyewhipmiharebakkanfoth
eyewhipmiharebakkanfoth
eyewhipmiharebakkanfoth
eyewhipmiharebakkanfothWho would have thought that bringing together greasy german metallers with a tweeny pop princess could be so good.
Wait, that didn't sound right....
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It's a perfect, if a bit chilly, day in Auckland.
I'm glad I spent it with you.
while we wait patiently (cough) for the next one,
He just keeps us hanging on. He just keeps us hanging on.
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Legal Beagle: Referendum Fact Check #1, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
someone who seems terminally ambiguous about everything nowadays.
Maybe you are. Maybe you're not.