MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

Sydney's Mom · 01-11-2011, 01:24 PM

I think this is very interesting. We seem to be evenly devided between "no censorship", "reasonable censorship", and "I am sick of discussing it".

All the commentators who questioned censorship and 1st amendment references - you are correct. Yelling "Fire" in a crowded theatre is not protected speech, but a Nazi group marching in a community filled with Holocost survivors was. And Amazon cannot be guilty of censorship - only the government can do that. Amazon is merely making a business decision to appease the majority of its customers.

I'm sorry my poll questions were so inartfully drafted. I was trying to get away from the whole discussion of whether Amazon could do what it wants (of course it can) to how people thought about the extremes. Lawyers are trained to go down that slippery slope, and so I see the question as censorship/business vs. 1st amendment/no to big brother. I think the thousands! of posts on Amazon censorship and Amazon defends pedophile book are interesting. In the beginning, I was all for pulling the pedophile book. But taking that to its logical extreme, that might mean Amazon pulled a book I was interested in due to complaints (after all, who could defend The Greek Billionaire's Reluctant Mistress?) Those Nazis marching in Skokie made me ill, but I understood why they had to be allowed to do it. I understand why we have to allow Birthers to distract us from the important economic issues facing this country.

But, in case you can't tell, I am a knee-jerk liberal and a member of the ACLU. I grew up in a very conservative household (I remember getting in a huge argument with my aunt when I was 12, when I told her if I fell in love with a black man, I would marry him. I was too old to spank, but I was punished for disagreeing.) NOT THAT ALL CONSERVATIVES ARE RACIST.

Not that the law is always right, either - may I offer up Bush v. Gore, and the recent USSCt case overturning the City of Chicago ban on handguns.

I'm sorry, this has turned into a liberal rant. I respect the fact that there are just as many conservatives on this board (at least when it comes to the 1st Amendment). I am currently reading Going Rogue, trying to understand all viewpoints.

Thank you to all that participated.

01-11-2011, 01:24 PM	#25
Sydney's Mom Wizard Posts: 2,896 Karma: 6995721 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Idaho, on the side of a mountain Device: Kindle Oasis, Fire 3d Gen and 5th Gen and Samsung Tab S	I think this is very interesting. We seem to be evenly devided between "no censorship", "reasonable censorship", and "I am sick of discussing it". All the commentators who questioned censorship and 1st amendment references - you are correct. Yelling "Fire" in a crowded theatre is not protected speech, but a Nazi group marching in a community filled with Holocost survivors was. And Amazon cannot be guilty of censorship - only the government can do that. Amazon is merely making a business decision to appease the majority of its customers. I'm sorry my poll questions were so inartfully drafted. I was trying to get away from the whole discussion of whether Amazon could do what it wants (of course it can) to how people thought about the extremes. Lawyers are trained to go down that slippery slope, and so I see the question as censorship/business vs. 1st amendment/no to big brother. I think the thousands! of posts on Amazon censorship and Amazon defends pedophile book are interesting. In the beginning, I was all for pulling the pedophile book. But taking that to its logical extreme, that might mean Amazon pulled a book I was interested in due to complaints (after all, who could defend The Greek Billionaire's Reluctant Mistress?) Those Nazis marching in Skokie made me ill, but I understood why they had to be allowed to do it. I understand why we have to allow Birthers to distract us from the important economic issues facing this country. But, in case you can't tell, I am a knee-jerk liberal and a member of the ACLU. I grew up in a very conservative household (I remember getting in a huge argument with my aunt when I was 12, when I told her if I fell in love with a black man, I would marry him. I was too old to spank, but I was punished for disagreeing.) NOT THAT ALL CONSERVATIVES ARE RACIST. Not that the law is always right, either - may I offer up Bush v. Gore, and the recent USSCt case overturning the City of Chicago ban on handguns. I'm sorry, this has turned into a liberal rant. I respect the fact that there are just as many conservatives on this board (at least when it comes to the 1st Amendment). I am currently reading Going Rogue, trying to understand all viewpoints. Thank you to all that participated.