Silly Bookseller

Pathetic Paternalism

It's a sad day for lovers of free speech.  Whitcoull's, one of the last remaining bookshop chains in New Zealand, has reportedly removed from sale Jordan Peterson's book,  12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.  Apparently, Whitcoull's senior management has decided that it must treat its customers with extreme, stifling protection, lest they be provoked, woke, or otherwise discombobulated by a grown up book. 

Thanks, Whitcoull's for saving our souls.  We needed you to have our corner, our backs, and our minds.  We deeply appreciate your protection and paternalistic oversight.

Now, it is alleged that your motivation for this bizarre decision had something to do with public safety:

"Unfortunately 12 Rules for Life is currently unavailable, which is a decision that Whitcoulls has made in light of some extremely disturbing material being circulated prior, during and after the Christchurch attacks," Whitcoulls says in an email.

"As a business which takes our responsibilities to our communities very seriously, we believe it would be wrong to support the author at this time. Apologies that we're not able to sell it to you, but we appreciate your understanding."  [Newshub]

For our part, we reject your paternalistic "wokedness".   Last time we checked, 12 Rules has not been condemned by the Chief Censor.  That would be bad enough.  But to have you take the role of "mini-censor" over the public's self-responsibility, and self-governance is unconscionable.

As Jane Austen's  Mr. Knightley would have declaimed, "Badly done!"