Friday, December 19, 2014

Let's Not Be Intimidated

From the April 6, 2006 issue of The New York Times:

The Borders and Waldenbooks stores will not stock the April-May issue of the magazine Free Inquiry because it includes four of the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad printed last year in a Danish newspaper, The Associated Press reported. The cartoons have prompted condemnation and sometimes violent demonstrations by Muslims around the world. "For us, the safety and security of our customers and employees is a top priority, and we believe that carrying this issue could challenge that priority," said Beth Bingham, a spokeswoman for the Borders Group, which operates both chains.

Sound familiar? 

At the time, I joined many bloggers in calling for a boycott of the Borders chain as a protest of their craven decision. Shortly afterward, a newspaper reporter interviewed me on the matter. It was easy to tell that the reporter was sympathetic to the position of the Borders Group. I've often wondered what his position would have been had the Ku Klux Klan threatened violence unless the chain removed books about Martin Luther King, Jr.

This is not a place for nuance. Either you let the gangsters and fanatics control what you read and watch or you don't. Is there risk? Absolutely. But freedom always comes with risk.

I'm also reminded of a basic rule in negotiations. When the other side acts poorly, they don't get a better offer. They get a worse one.

It's time to re-read some Kipling.

4 comments:

Dan in Philly said...

Failure of virtue. people who love their things too much are always at the mercy of those who don't. As wonderful as it is to have things, loving them too much will lead to enslavement.

Michael Wade said...

Daniel,

Well put.

Michael

LA Grant said...

In the life of a civilization, there always seems to be a point where people change. Before that point, most of the populace will fight to stay out of the cattle cars. Afterward, most will meekly comply with orders to board the cars to the death camps.

I can't figure out exactly where we are, but I think we're close to the tipping point.

(Michael, every time I try to close the comment page, I get an alert asking if I want to leave the page? Bug or feature?)

Michael Wade said...

Larry,

I believe the average American is pretty tough but that many in leadership positions have less courage.

As for the comment page, I'll check on it but that is probably a Blogger issue which is out of my control. Unfortunately, if I lift the controls entirely, we get scads of robot-driven spam.

Michael