Posted on 09/15/2004 5:04:36 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Conservatives like to tell war stories-and refute them, a la the Swift Boat Vets-and some of those stories concern bookstores. And the people who work in them. Who tend to be….well, not exactly the most conservative-friendly people in the world. The bookstore leftist is more standard than the bookstore cat. And conservatives have often found these stores to be hostile territory.
In recent weeks, reports have circulated that customers-or would-be customers-are having a hard time finding Unfit for Command, John O'Neill's anti-Kerry book. Conservatives have suspected that stores are keeping it from them, or that clerks are deep-sixing them, or that something untoward is happening. Paranoia is in the air.
But sometimes paranoids can be on to something. I don't scoff at these suspicions, mainly because of my own experience-most of it in Ann Arbor, Mich., my hometown. (Ann Arbor is a bookseller's paradise, and, in some ways, a conservative's hell.) I worked at a store called The Little Professor. The manager there-a nice guy, actually-wouldn't put out conservative magazines and gun magazines. He flat refused to bring them to the floor, acting as censor. My brilliant (and conservative) friend Eddie Krause came up with a new name for the store: The Little Suppressor.
It may be hard to believe, but it took something like an act of courage to buy a conservative magazine in an Ann Arbor bookstore. I used to dread it-the clerk was almost invariably cold, and he often bristled, and sometimes you got snotty remarks. It was a relief just to get through a purchase without incident. And I know many who could give the same testimony.
In truth, it could be dicey to ask for a bag-yes a bag. That made you a despoiler of the environment, you see.
I know a journalist who lived in the Ann Arbor of the West, Berkeley. Purchasing his National Reviews and American Spectators at Moe's, he would say to the clerk, "Well, just keeping an eye on what the enemy is doing"-anything to get by. These tactics may not be brave, but, gosh, are they human.
As the Swift controversy heated up, the two bookselling giants, Borders and Barnes & Noble, were besieged by callers angry that they could not find Unfit for Command. Conservative hollered, "J'accuse!" Both companies pleaded that it was the fault of the publisher, our beloved Regnery-the supplier had not printed enough copies to meet demand. Liberals, for their part, also besieged the companies, demanding that they pull the book from their shelves.
Come with me now, to BorderUnion.org, "The Borders Books Employee Union Web Site." Herein lie some revelations-or confirmations. In notes to one another, Borders clerks have been griping about having to sell Unfit for Command, to the troglodytes who seek it. Although not every seeker is a trog: According to one clerk, "We did have a college professor come in looking for [the book]. She teaches a writing class and wanted to use it as an example of a 'false book.'" Or maybe she just wanted to read it and wanted to avoid grief from the clerk?
But let's get to the nitty-gritty. Writes a Borders Books beauty,
"We're "finding" [note those quotations marks] that most of the few copies we're getting are damaged and need to be sent back. So sad. Too bad. Bushies! Regnery needs to be more careful. I'm hearing from people at two other stores that this seems to be common. Why should we help destroy what is left of our country?"
Back for a second crack, our man exhorts,
"You guys don't actually HAVE to sell the thing! Just "carelessly" hide the boxes, "accidentally" drop them off pallets, "forget" to stock the ones you have, and then suggest a nice Al Franken or Michael Moore book as a substitute. Borders wants those recommends (sic), remember?
I don't care if these Neanderthals in fancy suits get mad at me [fancy suits?]. They aren't regular customers anyway. Other than "Left Behind" books, they don't read. Anything you can do to make them feel unwelcome is only fair."
Another Borders beauty writes, "I wish [conservative customers] really knew how little respect I have for them." Oh, we know, babe-we know.
Not long ago, readers of National Review Online sent in to me their experiences of trying to buy Unfit, and of dealing with bookstore clerks in general. Care for a (very) small sampling of their observations?..........[Continued]
Bump!
This article does not even cover the Airport Book sellers.
They have every democrat or bush bashing book but hardly a Pro conservative book anywhere.
I am having fun too. I was out food shopping last night and I got in a conversation with a guy at the deli who has pro-Bush and some bystander was squirming as we were talking about Lantern face's political misfortunes. It is so fun to watch these vermin squirm in their helplessness.
Good job. Most of the time I just get sugar sweet and ask innocent questions like "Do you have plans to carry it soon?"
That pisses them off even worse.
That is a creative way of sticking the knife in. Good job.
Tell them this smacks of Stalin era Communisism and what are they doing to rectify (should be rectalfy) the damage it's doing to the companies bottomline?
Not to mention CNN piped in everywhere.
HOWEVER, I must say at Hobby Airport in south Houston, Fox News was on in both book/mag stores. I almost fell to the floor.
Money talks and bull $h!t walks.
"I bought myself a new bookcase last year for Christmas and it's already full."
LOL...I'm going to buy one more small bookcase just for the books on Reagan I've bought recently. I've collected Reagan books/items for years but I'm out of room for those now, too. I anticipate more good books on that good man, God willing.
Time changes things.
Thanks for the information.
Excellent! ;-D
I went to another thread...
Check this out!!
"We don't need your type here Rinkydink, and you're not welcome. You and not-really-President NaziKillerChimp are what's wrong with this country. I hope someone here on this board knows who this fascist is and outs him.
He's obviously only on this board to help bust organizing.
I won't sell the liars' book, I won't stop giving my true opinion on the floor, and I won't knuckle under to BINC. This is too important! Bush is worse than Hitler, worse than our wildest nightmares, and is the greatest threat to mankind in history. He must be stopped, so I won't sell the propaganda he's shoving down the country's throat.
I know I speak for most Borders people when I say Kerry is our only hope and we've got to be soldiers in his army."
hehe if i lived in that kind of political climate i would go into a bookstore and buy a stack of gun magazines and conservative mags, conservative books, etc. And would march up to the counter singing "i wish i was in dixie".
I can be more obnoxious about standing up for freedom tahn any liberal can be about taking freedom away.
"....and bakeries no longer exist in middle america."
Yes, they do! You're just not looking hard enough....from a die-hard sweet lover..
I said: "Oh,....no that's the Olde York Times Jason Blair addition....I'm looking for the taxpayer funded version." You could have heard a pin drop and you should have seen her face flood up all red. But the best part was the guy behind the girl at the counter snickered at my comment......which made her even more mad.
I always like to remind myself at such events that Revenge is best served cold!!!!!
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
They make small bookcases? :-)
ping
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