Some things should bother us
I took a walk down to my local Haggens grocery store tonight. Haggens is essentially a Safeway type store with a slightly nicer image. You pay more for at Haggens for the presentation, a fact that intrinsically annoys me but that I stomach because the store is close to my apartment. To draw an analogy, Haggens is like the fat chick in highschool who wore tight, expensive clothes and thought she was a lot more attractive than she really was.
When I entered the store tonight I was greeted by a rather large display, clearly visible from the front doors. On the display was a number of books, all of which were of one particular bent, one worldview. The oft esteemed C.S. Lewis, the nauseating Joel Olsteen, and Francis Collins (who I reviewed a while back), and others. Why I thought, would there be such a display in a grocery store? To cool my nerves I walked to the magazine section to read the latest issue of Skeptical Inquirer, a beacon of reason I've long enjoyed and often credited Haggens for carrying. However, to my astonishment Skeptical Inquirer was nowhere to be found. Coincidence? Maybe, but I doubt it.
As I continued to browse, shopping through the midst of slightly overpriced goods I wondered to myself. Maybe the display of books was because of Easter. No I thought, they don't carry other books by other religious huckster's on their holy days. I've yet to see Muslim apologists, or inspirational devotions based on the Bhagavad Gita carried within Haggens' shelfs. Certainly a chain of this magnitude would not be so blatantly transparent in their actions as to show supernatural convictions on their shirt sleeves. Or would they?
Haggens often carries best selling books in their store. I've seen religious and devotional books prominently displayed on their shelves before, but never once have I seen Richard Dawkins run-away best seller "The God Delusion", or Christopher Hitchen's best seller "God is Not Great". Both these books spent numerous weeks on the top of the New York Times best selling list, yet they never graced Haggens. Why can a book of saccharine emptiness like Joel Olsteen's "Your Best Life Now" hold a front-store position yet Dawkins or Hitchens never enters the store? Who exactly is Haggens catering to? By the looks of it I would guess individuals who like their worldview unchallenged and conveniently packaged one isle from the tampons. Perhaps they are afraid of offending the sensitive types who don't like their beliefs questioned, even by the mere presence of a book. If so I would say the administration at the store is showing extreme cowardice. Since when did we start considering the narcissistic, self serving statement "I'm offended!" a valid argument? Remember, if you will, how deeply offended the Muslims were at the Danish cartoons of their beloved prophet, remember that people were murdered in the wake of that retarded alamo. Remember how the liberal and conservative media caved completely to the demands of those idiots and pulled all print off the shelves which carried the cartoons, and remember please that one of the only magazines to carry images of the beloved prophet was Skeptical Inquirer.
When we elevate certain beliefs beyond the scope of criticism and question we violate not just our right to free speech and free thought, but we metaphorically stab ourselves in the back by removing the still, small voice of dissent. If the opposition is silenced completely how can we know what we believe, and why? If we allow no challenge to the status quo then in the end there is no difference between us and the offended Muslims.
Some things should bother us.
When I entered the store tonight I was greeted by a rather large display, clearly visible from the front doors. On the display was a number of books, all of which were of one particular bent, one worldview. The oft esteemed C.S. Lewis, the nauseating Joel Olsteen, and Francis Collins (who I reviewed a while back), and others. Why I thought, would there be such a display in a grocery store? To cool my nerves I walked to the magazine section to read the latest issue of Skeptical Inquirer, a beacon of reason I've long enjoyed and often credited Haggens for carrying. However, to my astonishment Skeptical Inquirer was nowhere to be found. Coincidence? Maybe, but I doubt it.
As I continued to browse, shopping through the midst of slightly overpriced goods I wondered to myself. Maybe the display of books was because of Easter. No I thought, they don't carry other books by other religious huckster's on their holy days. I've yet to see Muslim apologists, or inspirational devotions based on the Bhagavad Gita carried within Haggens' shelfs. Certainly a chain of this magnitude would not be so blatantly transparent in their actions as to show supernatural convictions on their shirt sleeves. Or would they?
Haggens often carries best selling books in their store. I've seen religious and devotional books prominently displayed on their shelves before, but never once have I seen Richard Dawkins run-away best seller "The God Delusion", or Christopher Hitchen's best seller "God is Not Great". Both these books spent numerous weeks on the top of the New York Times best selling list, yet they never graced Haggens. Why can a book of saccharine emptiness like Joel Olsteen's "Your Best Life Now" hold a front-store position yet Dawkins or Hitchens never enters the store? Who exactly is Haggens catering to? By the looks of it I would guess individuals who like their worldview unchallenged and conveniently packaged one isle from the tampons. Perhaps they are afraid of offending the sensitive types who don't like their beliefs questioned, even by the mere presence of a book. If so I would say the administration at the store is showing extreme cowardice. Since when did we start considering the narcissistic, self serving statement "I'm offended!" a valid argument? Remember, if you will, how deeply offended the Muslims were at the Danish cartoons of their beloved prophet, remember that people were murdered in the wake of that retarded alamo. Remember how the liberal and conservative media caved completely to the demands of those idiots and pulled all print off the shelves which carried the cartoons, and remember please that one of the only magazines to carry images of the beloved prophet was Skeptical Inquirer.
When we elevate certain beliefs beyond the scope of criticism and question we violate not just our right to free speech and free thought, but we metaphorically stab ourselves in the back by removing the still, small voice of dissent. If the opposition is silenced completely how can we know what we believe, and why? If we allow no challenge to the status quo then in the end there is no difference between us and the offended Muslims.
Some things should bother us.
Labels: anti-reason, Haggens
posted by doeman at
11:24 PM
2 Comments
