by syaffolee
Bibliophobes and Pigeon-Holers
Mo. man burns books as act of protest. (via Jessica Burkhart) Dang it, the book geek in me wants to cry. But the thing is, I mostly agree with the last quote. It’s really sad when general obliviousness to literary poverty forces someone to use shock tactics to shove people out of complacency.
Why it was right not to buy pink shoes for my son. Hm. A dilemma. Should a mother not buy her child certain things because other children might make fun of him? Children can be cruel, but is it also right to encase your child in a protective bubble so he can never be hurt? I guess in these modern times, parents are as conservative and gender traditionalist as ever. (Somewhat off topic: I’d mentally snicker if a woman was wearing pink, let alone a man. Let’s just say I don’t particularly fancy that color.)
Don't Shake the Flask 
Hi Sya, two thoughts. One, I don’t think that man’s shock tactics really shocked anyone except bibliophiles. In my line of work I work with print and e-text alike, and I cared just enough to be annoyed with him. Textual material does not equal print.Two, protecting kids isn’t an either/or matter. (On that note, few matters are black/white.) I liked several of the comments left on that mother’s blog that focus on communicatin with one’s kids. (I’m a colorphile, so I like pretty much all colors, including pink.)
Sure, there’s digital text. And I suppose if everything were digitized, people wouldn’t care if all books went up in flames. But not everyone has access to the equipment required to view digital texts. And print is still more convenient for most people.I don’t have kids so of course, my opinion would be too simplistic. While I was reading that post, I was thinking back to my own childhood when I had little freedom to choose my own clothing.