The title of this article from a New Zealand news website is Banned book seized from Wellington shop.
The first line of the article reads, “[a]n ‘indecent’ book banned in 1971 has been seized from a Wellington bookstore by government officials.”
That should be enough to tickle the freethinking curiosity, but for good measure let me quote some other key phrases from this story, including a description of a government agency as “the now defunct Indecent Publications Tribunal;” reference to a government official known as “the Chief Censor;” this snip of a comment from a NZ bookseller, “just that concept of banning a book [it's the] state's invasion of the sharing of thoughts and ideas;” and in the closing of the article, that warning that an offender could be “sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison” for possessing a “banned book.”
What is chilling about this is that it occurred just three weeks ago, and in a supposed western, eurocentric democracy.
###
Posts
1 Comments:
This confirms my suspicions we seem to be slipping back into the Dark Ages of censorship and inequality. The Elks Lodge (of a MAJOR city) to which I belong is NOT equal when it comes to the treatment and inclusion of women. I've just written a letter to the Grand Lodge and the Exalted Ruler about the bullying.
What do you think is bringing on this change in attitudes towards our constitutional rights? I'd like your opinion for a Yahoo article I'm preparing in the event there are no positive changes at my local Elks Lodge.
Post a Comment