Man calls on library to pull âoffensive' magazine
By Ian Elliot
Monday, May 17, 2004 - 07:00
Local News - The Kingston Frontenac Public Library wonât stop carrying a controversial Canadian magazine even though the chief librarian calls a recent opinion piece in it ârepugnant.â
The magazine is Vancouver-based Adbusters, an often-subversive left-wing publication that made its name by opposing consumerism and advertising while supporting activism and anti-globalization efforts.
In its March-April issue, it carried a piece by editor Kalle Lasn entitled âWhy Wonât Anyone Say They Are Jewish?â in which he published a list of people he considers the 50 most influential neoconservatives in America and identified the Jews by putting an asterisk next to their names.
Those people identified as Jewish include deputy U.S. Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and writers Norman Podhoretz, Irving Kristol, Jonah Goldberg and Lawrence Kaplan.
Others on the list include U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney and media baron Rupert Murdoch. Their religions arenât listed.
Lasn compiled the list, he explained, to draw a link between pro-Israel policies in Washington and the people influencing public and political debate.
The list and Lasnâs way of presenting it sparked a storm of criticism.
The article is being characterized as hate literature by a Kingston man, who failed to persuade the library to withdraw that particular issue and cancel its subscription to Adbusters.
Irving Freilich found the article revolting in its suggestion that Jews are shadowy figures who control international affairs, a portrayal he likened to that of the Nazis.
âSince when has it been all right to debate whether Jews are the puppet masters controlling the leaders of the worldâs most powerful nation?â he asked.
âIn Malaysia, maybe in Iran or Nazi Germany perhaps, but not in Canada, not in Kingston and certainly not in our public library.â
He said he supports Lasnâs right to hold an anti-Israel editorial position, but said although the law allows people to rock the boat of intellectual discourse, singling out a group of people in such a manner goes beyond the boundaries of debate.
âThis is not somebody knocking over gravestones in a cemetery,â he said of the magazineâs influence.
âThis is a media outlet that has millions of subscribers.â
He sent a letter expressing his concerns to Barbara Defoe, the chief librarian and CEO of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library.
Defoe wasnât available comment, but in a letter to Freilich dated April 20 she explained that the library doesnât endorse the magazine or any other publication it holds.
She noted Adbusters has the largest U.S. circulation of any Canadian magazine and is collected by most large public and university libraries in Ontario.
âThere is little question that the opinions expressed are repugnant and that many readers would be outraged by the sentiments expressed,â she wrote.
âHowever, in our tempered concern for intellectual freedom, we feel we must provide our patrons with print and electronic access to the editorial, as well to the extensive discussion that the article has generated.â
Lasn is unbowed by the controversy, which resulted in several U.S. bookstores being boycotted by customers, urging the stores to stop selling the periodical.
In an interview with The Whig last week, Lasn denied charges of anti-Semitism and said he was just trying to start an open debate on a topic often considered taboo. He argued Freilich and the library were trying to stifle that debate.
âI resent people like this guy trying to quash the debate and librarians calling [the article] repugnant without looking at whatâs going on,â he said.
The magazine received a few dozen subscription cancellations immediately after the piece but made that up in new subscribers, he said. The next issue will carry about 50 letters, most supportive.
In a followup piece published on the magazineâs Web site, Lasn defended the original article and his intentions.
âIf it were a list of dentists or firefighters or stockbrokers, then that would indeed be very offensive,â he wrote.
âHowever, the neocons are no ordinary group â they are the most influential political/intellectual force in the world right now. They have the power to start wars and to stop them. They are the prime architects of Americaâs foreign policy since 9/11 â a policy that is heavily weighed in favour of Israel and a key source of anti-Americanism around the world.â
Freilich has written the library again, expressing disappointment with its decision and urging it to reconsider.
He said he hasnât decided if he will file a human rights complaint or pursue the matter through another channel.
In a letter, he wrote that he hoped that intelligent people would dismiss the Adbusters position as âdrivelâ and think about the worldâs troubles in a more sophisticated way than simply blaming the Jews.
âBut then again, thatâs probably what my grandparents were hoping in 1936 Poland.â
The issue is similar to one several years ago when parents wanted a book entitled Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts removed from the childrenâs section of the library. The book, which looked at childrenâs nonsense rhymes through the ages, contained several graphic and racially derogatory rhymes.
The library refused to withdraw the book, saying it opposes censorship of legitimate writing that some people happen to find offensive, but the ultimate fate of both publications might be the same.
The copy of the Gopher Guts book at the central branch of the library is listed as âmissing.â
Likewise, the portion of the magazine stacks set aside for current and back issues of Adbusters is empty.
www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
