Re: RE: Freedom to Read
TenPenny said:
This scary censorship of Mein Kampf that you speak of was simply the decision by the owner of a chain of bookstores to not sell that book. The book is available elsewhere.
I don't know why you people run around screaming censorship when you don't know the facts.
Check the censorship link on the url, TenPenny. I've followed Little Sister's case closely over the years. The government has stooped to the ridiculous in this case ...in their rabid attempt to ban anything homoerotic, they ended up banning a book called "Hot Hot Hot" that was actually about cooking with Jalepeno peppers! They obviously are not even checking what they are banning. It's become a free for all. Little Sisters has put up the good fight for many years and I've been a supporter.
It is a big deal. And I do know the facts.
Mein Kampf has a very interesting history. To refresh my memory, I checked on it before posting any comments:
After Hitler's rise to power, the book gained enormous popularity and virtually became the Bible of every Nazi. Every couple intending to get married was required to own a copy. Sales of Mein Kampf earned Hitler millions; however, many of those who purchased it barely read it, and many bought it simply to show their allegiance to Hitler, gain position in the NSDAP, or avoid the attentions of the Gestapo. By the end of the war, about 10 million copies of the book had been distributed in Germany.
Some historians have speculated that a wider reading prior to Hitler's rise to power (or at least prior to the outbreak of World War II) might have alerted the world to the dangers Hitler would pose to peace in Europe and to the Holocaust that he would pursue.
(Note: Bold is mine.)
Link
The idea that people SHOULD read this type of book sits well with me. The more we know, the better. If people educated themselves beyond their own narrow views I believe history would be less likely to repeat. As for banning Mein Kampf, yes, it is available, but there is considerable controversy over it.
Canada is a free nation. That means we should have the right to read any damn thing we please ... with the exception of common sense topics like child pornography or snuff films. To set the boundaries right out at the very edge allows people to gain a full knowledge rather than treating them like dim-witted morons that require protection from themselves. I get so tired of the government legislating what is "good for me" that I could rip every hair out of my head. Censorship is right up there at the top of my "bitch list".