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Solzhenitsyn's name has come up several times in various things I've read this month. I don't think it's a coincidence. I purchased his book off Amazon a few w

Solzhenitsyn's name has come up several times in various things I've read this month. I don't think it's a coincidence. I purchased his book off Amazon a few weeks ago, thinking it wouldn't be long until they started delisting books. Now all this nonsense with Dr. Seuss. One quote, loosely paraphrased from another book I'm struggling to finish -- an interview with survivors of post WW2 totalitarianism. One of them was incredibly disillusioned, and told the author not to bother with the interview, as no one would be ready to believe it was happening until it was too late. Edit: I am speaking very loosely here. Yes, I know the government isn't censoring Dr. Seuss. Yes, I know the estate has the right to cease publishing for any reason. Yes, I know Amazon did not delist Dr. Seuss, it was eBay. But I was not referring to any of these things, and I did not intend to. My statement was intended to be this: I expect Amazon to delist books, and am purchasing physical copies. What is happening now with Dr. Seuss is in the category of things that drove my worried purchases. Rarely will I say this, as I value being precise with what I'm saying. If your response is, "But @bjt2n3904, the government isn't censoring this" you are both technically correct, and missing the forest for the trees.

UncleOxidant 6y ago
> I purchased his book off Amazon a few weeks ago, thinking it wouldn't be long until they started delisting books. Now all this nonsense with Dr. Seuss. Except it was the copyright holder of the Dr. Seuss books that decided to withdraw these books. Not the government or sellers like Amazon. It's more of an argument for reducing the length of copyright in the US rather than some sort of ominous supression of free speech.
- ttt0 6y ago
  The copyright holder didn't delist the books, eBay did. From wsj: > Online marketplace eBay Inc. said it is working to prevent the resale of six Dr. Seuss books that were pulled earlier this week by the company in charge of the late author’s works because they contain offensive imagery.
  - Ma8ee 6y ago
    “pulled by the company in charge of the late authors work”. I’d say that is the copyright holder.
- throwawaysea 6y ago
  Personally I don't think the fact that it was a copyright holder makes this outcome much better. These publishers are also subject to the mob pressure that comes from the long march through the institutions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_long_march_through_the_institutions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_long_march_through_the_ins...). A few activist employees can force internal decision making, because everyone else might be afraid to speak against due to the threat of cancel culture - that is, they don't want to get fired because for speaking against the excesses of progressive left ideology. Just like with tech companies' internal political culture or newsroom revolts sweeping all the major journalism houses, publishers have themselves experienced both internal employee activism and external pressures. Consider for example, that employees in Penguin House were in literal tears (https://reason.com/2020/11/25/jordan-peterson-12-rules-for-life-sequel-penguin-random-house/ https://reason.com/2020/11/25/jordan-peterson-12-rules-for-l...) because they decided to publish Jordan Peterson's new book. Or observe how activists associated with Rose City Antifa in Portland, Oregon tried to stop a local landmark book store (Powell's) from selling Andy Ngo's book "Unmasked", which details the criminal activity of local antifa cells (https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-supports-powells-decision-to-continue-selling-controversial-book/ https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-supports-powells-d...). Book burning was once a far-fetched joke but it really is very much upon us. And it doesn't have to come in the literal form of a book burning. It's enough for the threat of "cancellation" to force the hand of authors, publishers, or retailers.
  - mushbino 6y ago
    Times change and sometimes things that were once acceptable are no longer. Can you comment on this image from one of the books the publisher stopped printing: https://i.insider.com/4f6c8135eab8eae014000062?width=1100&format=jpeg&auto=webp https://i.insider.com/4f6c8135eab8eae014000062?width=1100&fo... Why should a company still feel like this is appropriate to publish? Or this image: https://www.nepm.org/sites/wfcr/files/styles/medium/public/201710/mulberry2.jpg https://www.nepm.org/sites/wfcr/files/styles/medium/public/2... Should we still be publishing this: https://imgur.com/ykQpXON https://imgur.com/ykQpXON
  - ncmncm 6y ago
    There is no such thing as an antifa cell. An antifa cell would imply an antifa organization. But antifa is an activity, not an organization. Anyone can do antifa simply by opposing local fascist activity. It may be as simple as covering up fascist graffiti, or punching Richard Spencer. Some people do it with their friends, others alone. Every little bit helps, but more helps more. Try not to endanger yourself or non-fascists.
KirillPanov 6y ago
Donate to Library Genesis. It is cancelproof. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_Genesis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_Genesis It's also only 33TB on bittorrent. Humanity's literary heritage fits on $900 worth of hard drives. If Sci-Hub is the World Library's nonfiction section then LibGen is the fiction aisles.

UncleOxidant 6y ago

> I purchased his book off Amazon a few weeks ago, thinking it wouldn't be long until they started delisting books. Now all this nonsense with Dr. Seuss. Except it was the copyright holder of the Dr. Seuss books that decided to withdraw these books. Not the government or sellers like Amazon. It's more of an argument for reducing the length of copyright in the US rather than some sort of ominous supression of free speech.

ttt0 6y ago
The copyright holder didn't delist the books, eBay did. From wsj: > Online marketplace eBay Inc. said it is working to prevent the resale of six Dr. Seuss books that were pulled earlier this week by the company in charge of the late author’s works because they contain offensive imagery.
- Ma8ee 6y ago
  “pulled by the company in charge of the late authors work”. I’d say that is the copyright holder.
throwawaysea 6y ago
Personally I don't think the fact that it was a copyright holder makes this outcome much better. These publishers are also subject to the mob pressure that comes from the long march through the institutions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_long_march_through_the_institutions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_long_march_through_the_ins...). A few activist employees can force internal decision making, because everyone else might be afraid to speak against due to the threat of cancel culture - that is, they don't want to get fired because for speaking against the excesses of progressive left ideology. Just like with tech companies' internal political culture or newsroom revolts sweeping all the major journalism houses, publishers have themselves experienced both internal employee activism and external pressures. Consider for example, that employees in Penguin House were in literal tears (https://reason.com/2020/11/25/jordan-peterson-12-rules-for-life-sequel-penguin-random-house/ https://reason.com/2020/11/25/jordan-peterson-12-rules-for-l...) because they decided to publish Jordan Peterson's new book. Or observe how activists associated with Rose City Antifa in Portland, Oregon tried to stop a local landmark book store (Powell's) from selling Andy Ngo's book "Unmasked", which details the criminal activity of local antifa cells (https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-supports-powells-decision-to-continue-selling-controversial-book/ https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-supports-powells-d...). Book burning was once a far-fetched joke but it really is very much upon us. And it doesn't have to come in the literal form of a book burning. It's enough for the threat of "cancellation" to force the hand of authors, publishers, or retailers.
- mushbino 6y ago
  Times change and sometimes things that were once acceptable are no longer. Can you comment on this image from one of the books the publisher stopped printing: https://i.insider.com/4f6c8135eab8eae014000062?width=1100&format=jpeg&auto=webp https://i.insider.com/4f6c8135eab8eae014000062?width=1100&fo... Why should a company still feel like this is appropriate to publish? Or this image: https://www.nepm.org/sites/wfcr/files/styles/medium/public/201710/mulberry2.jpg https://www.nepm.org/sites/wfcr/files/styles/medium/public/2... Should we still be publishing this: https://imgur.com/ykQpXON https://imgur.com/ykQpXON
- ncmncm 6y ago
  There is no such thing as an antifa cell. An antifa cell would imply an antifa organization. But antifa is an activity, not an organization. Anyone can do antifa simply by opposing local fascist activity. It may be as simple as covering up fascist graffiti, or punching Richard Spencer. Some people do it with their friends, others alone. Every little bit helps, but more helps more. Try not to endanger yourself or non-fascists.

KirillPanov 6y ago

Donate to Library Genesis. It is cancelproof. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_Genesis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_Genesis It's also only 33TB on bittorrent. Humanity's literary heritage fits on $900 worth of hard drives. If Sci-Hub is the World Library's nonfiction section then LibGen is the fiction aisles.