Quote:
Originally Posted by jgaiser
Well... Except there are families that can't afford the $60/month (or whatever cable costs these days). There are families that can't afford the cost of Amazon Prime, much less the cost of purchasing books.
Are only the privileged allowed to read?
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That's a false dichotomy. Let's face it, most people don't want to read. We've just been through the Gutenberg Period, where reading assumed an ascendency it did not have before. We are returning to a non-reading, visual and aural age.
I spend every Christmas delivering presents to poor families here in Chicago. Inner city. They ALWAYS have cable. Somehow, no matter what they can't afford, they can get what they really want to have.
So yes, those of us who read are privileged. But anyone who wants that privilege can have it. The sad fact is that most people don't see reading as a privilege, and really don't care about it. Heck, even in my own family, where books were always around and I did whatever I could to encourage and subsidize reading, I really only have two out of five kids who regard reading as an essential activity. Each of them had books, sports, Harry Potter, etc. (All boys.)
So I have no use for the notion that people can't get books if they want them - with or without libraries. The thrift stores are full of them at 50 cents apiece, and if you can't buy them, you can read them in the store.