Letter from Barnes and Noble
| Posted On: 06/08/08 01:59:10 PM |
Age 47, TN |
This is the reply I recieved after writing to Barnes and Noble.
Dear Customer,
Thank you for your e-mail.
As booksellers, we carry thousands of books whose subject matter some
may find offensive. Over the years, we have received countless requests
and demands to stop selling everything from The Merchant of Venice to
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Rise and Fall of the Third
Reich, even The Living Bible.
At Barnes & Noble, we take our mission very seriously - to be a valuable
resource to our customers, bringing books and ideas to the public. We
live in a diverse culture, and that diversity is reflected in the wide
range of interests, philosophies, and lifestyles of our customers.
The guiding principle we use is to offer every book in print and allow
our customers to decide what to buy and read. After all, freedom of
choice is at the very heart of our democratic society. It is
understandable that some people may strongly oppose the content of a
particular title and choose not to purchase it; we respect their
opinions. In return, we ask that our customers respect our
responsibility to offer a selection of reading materials as diverse as
the society in which we live - the very society that grants the freedom
for these materials to exist.
Sincerely,
Robin
Customer Service Representative
BarnesandNoble.com
http://www.bn.com/e. I will not shop there.
Click here to reply to this post
|
- Barnes & Noble Response
| Posted On: 06/10/08 11:11:40 AM | | Age 56, OH |
After reading the letter you received from Barnes & Noble trying to justify their position for making gay pornographic trash available to minors, I got the impression that Barnes & Noble were unresponsive to your complaint.
This is not even comprehensible. So making money is more important to Barnes & Noble than in protecting the innocence and even safety of children, which should be the responsibility of one and all, than in doing its' responsibility toward the people of the communities they are given the privilege of doing business in by doing what's right in protecting the children of these communities from loosing their innocence and even physical harm.
While it may be true that not everyone who sees a pornographic book is not going to go out and molest someone, it is true that those who do molest others are in some fashion, deeply involved in pornography.
Click here to reply to this post
- I have to agree (not w/ b&n)
| Posted On: 01/01/09 03:34:19 PM | | Age 23, TX |
First of all I do oppose even having that content in a store. However, the least they could do is move it somewhere out of reach of children and require someone to be at least 18 or older to purchase or view this material.
Click here to reply to this post
- "Righteous Indignation?"
| Posted On: 06/10/08 12:36:45 AM | | Age 57, AZ |
As a devout Christian with ties to youth ministries and teachings, I find it difficult to seem to take the awkward view; Freedom of Choice.
Parents should never allow their minor children to go anywhere like a bookstore or "smokeshop" unaccompanied by an adult in this society we live in. That's my viewpoint and I'm sticking to it.
Knowing the goals of the unsaved - to make money and to champion all sorts of freedoms, it doesn't take a genius to see that the world has become very evil - and we Christians must overcome it - not by Prohibition, but by Education for our youth using the very word of God for His conviction and Judgment!
Bannings and petitions are only a short-term solution and will be overcome in time.
Blessings and Peace,
D
Click here to reply to this post
- Give Me A Break!
| Posted On: 06/09/08 06:33:59 AM | | Age 51, GA |
Don't treat this like there's anything normal about it. You people need to be hauled out of that "store" in handcuffs as the pedophiles that you are. If my boss comes in this morning and tells me we will now be dealing in such evil, I'll give him my two second notice! Board the windows up and hope a daddy like myself doesn't take the situation in his own hands! Unreal! Do you really expect some kind of understanding with your lame letter?!
Click here to reply to this post
Barnes & Noble
| Posted On: 06/08/08 08:31:34 AM |
Age 61, TN |
Brannon -
I am furious, grieved, heartbroken over this incident and the potential long range impact it may have on your son.
I have contacted my daughter, also a regular B&N customer, about this situation. We did a search on their website & could NOT believe the filth that came up on our screens. Even in a politically correct society many of these books would still be pornography.
We will never shop this chain again, even if they decide to move their porn to an excluded area.
If they are going to be porn purveyors then they can't be the 'shop around the corner' for books to my family.
Thank you for standing up for Christ and protecting our children.
A Concerned Grandmother
Click here to reply to this post
|
This is absolutely insane....
| Posted On: 06/07/08 11:55:15 PM |
Age 20, TX |
I can't believe our country has come this far...I'm too young to remember a time where homosexuality wasn't in your face on a daily basis, but it still shocks me and appalls me nonetheless. It is so sad that we can't walk into a book store without being barraged with immorality. I have always loved Barnes and Noble, but there is something much bigger going on here than buying books. I'm praying for you and your child, and I hope that we Christians can take a stand against this gay agenda and win with God's help.
Click here to reply to this post
|
Barnes & Noble
| Posted On: 06/07/08 08:40:24 PM |
Age 36, GA |
Hello, I just wanted to share with you the experience we received at the Athens, GA store. I am a home school mom of 3 teens, and asked the sales person, which happened to be the manager, to help me find writing materials. He looked at me and asked "Why do you home school?" I wasn't going to lie, as we are proud of being Christians and want to teach our children instead of expose them to the fifth of the world and the school system. He asked, "What kind of fifth?"
I told him that the high school counselor, happen to come from California, and start a "Gay and Lesbian Alliance Group." He looked appaulled and told me to "Accept the the truth it is everyday life and we need to accept it!" He then turned and walked away fuming. This was a teacher appreciation Saturday and I guess I did not make his day.
I applaud your cause and hope we can get something done. Here in Athens, GA the whole city is very liberal and your dog can't be on a zip line but the whole gov't department gets the same sex benefits if they co-habitate and can prove they are lovers. Makes you ill. No wonder our insurance premiums are going up. Ford and Proctor & Gamble pay for sex changes. Does anyone have a history book anymore that talks about God being the center of our nation, anthem and money?
Sincerely,
Amy McKenzie
Click here to reply to this post
|
Where Have You Been?
| Posted On: 06/07/08 06:58:50 PM |
Age 53, IL |
Apparently you haven't been to book stores lately. Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc. have a section (denoted with a sign, like every other section) for gay and lesbian books. I believe this has been going on for years - do you feel all books on sexuality should be in an 18 and over area or just the gay books? (I'm sure there are explicit heterosexual books in these stores). Were you not aware of this? As for the explicit book being open, well that was obviously done by a customer, not book store staff. It is upsetting to think small children could come upon any explicit sexual images, but other than staff doing constant sweeps of the store, I don't know what can be done.
Click here to reply to this post
|
- WHAT IF THIS HAD BEEN A GUN
| Posted On: 06/08/08 04:53:14 AM | | Age 64, OH |
If this book had been a gun and a child shot another child, there would be an outcry to shut down the store, sue the gun manufacturer, and hang the manager. If this was a gun the store would be responsible for the incident would they not. They are responsible to see to it that the things they sell do not harm others. leaving this book out where some pervert could do what they did is irresponsible in the least. Lou
Click here to reply to this post
- You really want to play that card?
| Posted On: 10/18/09 12:54:57 PM | | Age 21, MO |
Under the same logic, what if it had been a nuclear bomb? The point is that parents should be responsible for their children. What parent was letting their kid run around a store as big as B&N anyway. If they are old enough to run around on there own and not have their parents worry that they might walk into the adult section, which is marked, then obviously the parent doesn't really care what they see or do.
Click here to reply to this post
Indecent Exposure
| Posted On: 06/07/08 01:11:52 PM |
Age 61, MO |
The public display of nudity and sexual activity, whether homosexual or heterosexual, should be as illegal as lying (perjury), stealing, or murder. Indecent exposure is exposure whether it is live or on Memorex. Forget "R" and "X" ratings. Publication and distribution of indecent images should be illegal accross the board. Even graphic description of such images on the written page is indecent exposure. As far as I know, almost every state in the union has indecent exposure laws. Any civilized society would insist on such laws. By the way, I didn't always have this mindset, but I grew up. Maybe it is time for our government officials to grow up. George Cancilla
Click here to reply to this post
|
- Indecent exposure
| Posted On: 06/09/08 10:09:46 AM | | Age 35, TX |
I agree that books regarding sexual activity, whether homo or hetero, should be out of reach of children, but not illegal alltogether. After all, there are many good books by Christian authors in Christian bookstores dealing with intimacy for the married couple. Even the Bible mentions sexual activities. Your suggestion would make these books, even the Bible, illegal.
Also, a clear distinction should be made between simple nudity and sexuality. The two are NOT automatically intermixed. I think it very important for books such as the ones dealing with the haulocaust to show graphic detail of all the horrible things that were done to the Jews by Hitler's regime. To deny these images being printed in books would be to deny these things ever happened. Also, it would be impossible for medical books to ever be printed without some nude images. Surely you would not want a proctologist, or gynocologist, or urologist to operate on you if they had never even seen these parts of they body before.
Click here to reply to this post
- Here's my stand
| Posted On: 06/09/08 02:00:29 PM | | Age 27, LA |
I heard the discussion over the B&N incident on the radio this afternoon, and I was almost amused by the indignation I heard. First of all, it is a parent's job, not mine as a member of society, to protect their children from whatever they may deem inappropriate. I am tired of so many laws and regulations being passed to protect children, which in turn infringes upon my rights, when the parents should be doing their job. B&N does not advertise itself as a children's store, and therefore has limited (or no) responsibility regarding what a child may see on it's shelves. It's obvious that the book in question was left open by a customer and was not placed there intentionally by the store, so I don't see how B&N can be at fault for this. As far as the books they carry, I don't think a book tucked into it's proper place on the shelf is going to be noticeable by a child. If a parent is concerned about their 13 year old or 5 year old finding something on the shelf, be a parent and walk with them through the store to make sure they aren't looking at something they shouldn't be. Accompany them to the restroom as well. Discuss with them what is appropriate reading/ viewing material and what is not. Do this instead of taking away the rights of everyone else. It seems to me that a lot of Christians say they are proud of our nation's freedom, but they don't actually want to live in a free country. They want to live in a country governed by Christian values only. As previous posters pointed out, if you ban all sexuality and nudity(including written)you ban the Bible as well. You can't have it both ways. I won't be signing this petition. I may even write B&N and support them.
Click here to reply to this post
- Censorship
| Posted On: 06/09/08 05:47:13 PM | | Age 61, MO |
People who would make censorship decisions should be able to draw the line between pornography and biology or anatomy textbooks; between a Penthouse type magazine and the Bible. You are correct in saying that parents must be vigilant, but it surely helps when society supports values that keep all of us from having to be constantly on guard. The only freedoms and rights we have are given to us by Jesus Christ, and those don't include the lust of the eyes or lust of the flesh, or homosexual relations; no matter whether child or adult. George Cancilla
Click here to reply to this post
- Censorship never works
| Posted On: 06/10/08 09:36:22 AM | | Age 35, TX |
I am totally against censorship, but I am in favor of keeping such material either behind the counter or in some restricted access area of the store, much like most stores keep cigarettes behind the counter and they check ID before selling. The problem with censorship is who is going to the the censor, and how do you know their descisions are correct? There are many who WOULD say medical books are porn simply because certain parts of the anatomy are seen. If they are offended by it, it's their descision to not look at it, but it is not their right to insist it be illegal for everyone.
Click here to reply to this post
|
|
|
