Good news at the bookstore
Feb. 15th, 2006 09:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blue_lotus13In the past couple of weeks, we've had some great customers come in. On the weekend, one of the staff was helping a guy find a philosophy book. A few minutes later, he came up to the counter where I was working.
Guy- "Hi, this tea is for the other girl who works here. She helped me find a book. If she doesn't want it, you can just throw it out."
Everyone working thought that was quite sweet.
In another instance, Jake had been helping a customer find a book, and they had a long, friendly discussion about C.S. Lewis. The customer ended up having buying a copy of Lewis' "Mere Christianity" and she left it at the front counter as a present for Jake.
Over Christmas, we had a visit from the Wicked Witch of the West, who attacked a sweet older woman who works in our store. Another customer was appalled by the Wicked Witch, and so she bought chocolates and a card for the bookselling victim.
You see, I had to put this on my blog to prove that there are in fact kind and gentle people in the world, and it's good to remember them on days when humankind disappoints.
***
I'm also quite happy by Chapters/Indigo's reaction to the magazine scandal. A magazine called "The Western Standard" ran the offensive anti-Islamic cartoon. Chapters/Indigo decided not to carry "The Western Standard." Yesterday the media came to the store to talk to us about the decision not to carry. The store has also received angry phone calls from customers who accused us of censorship. I agree with the Chapters/Indigo decision. In my mind, this is not a censorship issue. This is a taste issue, and a compassion issue. There are some things that should not be made fun of or treated in an offensive way. These include topics such as sexual assault, and genocide. I won't go further into this issue, but I do feel very strongly about it. It's really not a censorship issue.
ETA- [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] brought up the "Mein Kampf" issue. Chapters did not sell this book at one time. However, it is now available on-line and can be ordered, even though you might not find it on the shelves in the stores. The decision NOT to sell Mein Kampf was partially made because the money from sales of the book goes to a questionable fund. (Not sure how to discuss this further, but that's what I was told.)
Guy- "Hi, this tea is for the other girl who works here. She helped me find a book. If she doesn't want it, you can just throw it out."
Everyone working thought that was quite sweet.
In another instance, Jake had been helping a customer find a book, and they had a long, friendly discussion about C.S. Lewis. The customer ended up having buying a copy of Lewis' "Mere Christianity" and she left it at the front counter as a present for Jake.
Over Christmas, we had a visit from the Wicked Witch of the West, who attacked a sweet older woman who works in our store. Another customer was appalled by the Wicked Witch, and so she bought chocolates and a card for the bookselling victim.
You see, I had to put this on my blog to prove that there are in fact kind and gentle people in the world, and it's good to remember them on days when humankind disappoints.
***
I'm also quite happy by Chapters/Indigo's reaction to the magazine scandal. A magazine called "The Western Standard" ran the offensive anti-Islamic cartoon. Chapters/Indigo decided not to carry "The Western Standard." Yesterday the media came to the store to talk to us about the decision not to carry. The store has also received angry phone calls from customers who accused us of censorship. I agree with the Chapters/Indigo decision. In my mind, this is not a censorship issue. This is a taste issue, and a compassion issue. There are some things that should not be made fun of or treated in an offensive way. These include topics such as sexual assault, and genocide. I won't go further into this issue, but I do feel very strongly about it. It's really not a censorship issue.
ETA- [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] brought up the "Mein Kampf" issue. Chapters did not sell this book at one time. However, it is now available on-line and can be ordered, even though you might not find it on the shelves in the stores. The decision NOT to sell Mein Kampf was partially made because the money from sales of the book goes to a questionable fund. (Not sure how to discuss this further, but that's what I was told.)
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The store has also received angry phone calls from customers who accused us of censorship.
Date: 2006-02-15 06:56 pm (UTC)Re: The store has also received angry phone calls from customers who accused us of censorship.
Date: 2006-02-15 07:07 pm (UTC)The decision about "Mein Kampf" was influenced by who gets the money from sales of Mein Kampf, or so I've heard.