American Booksellers Association and Abigail Shrier

[lionheart]

Sorry if there is already a thread--I couldn't find it.

(1/3) An anti-trans book was included in our July mailing to members. This is a serious, violent incident that goes against ABA’s ends policies, values, and everything we believe and support. It is inexcusable.

(2/3) We apologize to our trans members and to the trans community for this terrible incident and the pain we caused them. We also apologize to the LGBTQIA+ community at large, and to our bookselling community.

(3/3) Apologies are not enough. We’ve begun addressing this today and are committed to engaging in the critical dialogue needed to inform concrete steps to address the harm we caused. Those steps will be shared in the next three weeks.

My God. Where to even begin? A serious, violent incident. Words mean absolutely nothing anymore.

God only know what “steps” they have in mind. A public book burning?

This is extraordinary (and yet not).

I don't know enough about the history of this outfit but it would be interesting to see whether there has ever been another retraction like this ...

Violent indeed

It's a ducking book, if that is a serious and violent incident then how do any of these people manage to get through the day. I don't think they would be so gushing about Christians / Muslims complaining about the inclusion of a Islamic / Christian book (delete as appropriate)

It's a book, don't want to buy it, don't.

These are book sellers, so I guess they are prone to be dramatic. But a serious, violent incident?

When will the world stop infantilising people? Oh yes, that is right. If you can’t over dramatist the situation, it simply sounds like what it is. A bookseller giving a vocal group the right to decide what everyone else reads because feelings.

I guess people no longer read a book and then critically analyse it and make statements about where the author was wrong? That would be too much to expect.

Violent?

Telling some people about a book they might want to buy is violent?

Crikey. Have a cuppa and a sit down mate, probably best steer clear of books entirely until you can get your hyperbole attacks under control.

What about the recipe books that include meat? Fatally wounded vegans EVERYWHERE!!!

One of the totally proportionate responses on twatter, that edifice of reasonable eloquence...

@AnneOgborn
Replace every single person on your selection committee with a trans person. Commit to sending a pro trans book with every order for the next 5 years and drop the book's publisher, and any other publisher who publishes hate. Publish a complete account of how this happened, including names of all employees involved. Fire all involved in the decision and their managers, transitively up to the CEO.

@Olderbadger1

One of the totally proportionate responses on twatter, that edifice of reasonable eloquence...

@AnneOgborn
Replace every single person on your selection committee with a trans person. Commit to sending a pro trans book with every order for the next 5 years and drop the book's publisher, and any other publisher who publishes hate. Publish a complete account of how this happened, including names of all employees involved. Fire all involved in the decision and their managers, transitively up to the CEO.

Honestly, they sound like 5 years olds!

Well, that is what happens if you start to even give them a millimetre, nothing you do will ever be enough. On to a total loser the second you try to placate them.

The overblown wording of some of the public statements, released by organisations and individuals accused of insufficient wokeness, in recent years often put me in mind of confessions made during struggle sessions in the Chinese Cultural Revolution. I don’t think this frenetic finger-pointing can be sustainable and may well provoke a backlash when society has had enough. There are better, more consensual ways to effect change in liberal democracies.

Bloody hell. That’s… strong.

''Serious, violent incident''.

Bunch of fucking clowns 🤣

Snigger.

Idiots

They sound like a bunch of craven tools.

Honestly a book sends them privileged melts into a spiral of fear and disgust

Don’t they just sell books ?

Ffs booksellers that’s it

Do your jobs sell books

America is a litigious society. I would love to see Abigail Shrier take them to court for the suggestion that (a) her book is anti trans and (b) making it available to people constitutes an act of violence.

crazyneighbour Sadly it looks as though the Anne Ogden twitter account is not parody...

TBF this is amazing free publicity for the paperback. Every hate tweet, every facebook post, every speck of outrage should be met with "If you're curious about this debate you should buy the book".
That's it. Just buy the book.

@StandUpStraight

America is a litigious society. I would love to see Abigail Shrier take them to court for the suggestion that (a) her book is anti trans and (b) making it available to people constitutes an act of violence.

I would like to see that too.

To be honest, I can't think of a better way to get people to read the book than to react like this.

Like toddlers who’s piece of toast has been cut up wrong

If toddlers could go on Twitter they would have said the same

We are dealing with toddlers pretending to be adults