"The State has no business in the bedrooms of the Nation"
 

That line was once said by someone widely considered the wisest Canadian politician to ever set foot in Parliament, Pierre Elliot Trudeau*

Well, let me share with you a little incident which happened less then a week ago, and has done nothing to cement my belief that CANADA is the vilest, most fascist country in the democratic West.

On a tip from that ubiquitous capitalist, Xerxes, I went to the local bookstore to pick up a copy of F.A. Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. This bookstore, Chapters, happens to be the largest chain in the country. After the merger with Indigo Books, they have a virtual monopoly on the book retail industry. And just for clarity's sake, I will mention the importance of Hayek's work to all freethinking ideologies. The Road to Serfdom essentially argues the case that a free market is absolutely essential to maintain a free government. Fascism and command economies are inextricably linked.

On to the gruesome part. And yeah, considering the supposedly "free" country I live in, what happened is gruesome. I searched the economics section... couldn't find the book. Looked at History, couldn't find it. Then, I checked Political Science. Mass market book retailers are notorious for miscategorizing books. Not there. I wandered around the store a bit until a roving clerk asked me if I needed help. I said, "Yeah sure, I'm looking for Hayek's The Road to Serfdom", and he asked me if I checked the History section. Because I already had, he logged onto the computer database. He pulled up on item, and informed me that "This book has been flagged, we are not allowed to carry it on our shelves". I said what do you mean? Is it out of stock? He replied, "No, you won't be able to find it anywhere. Check The World's Biggest Bookstore [a bookstore downtown], Coles, or the UofT [University of Toronto] bookstore, and they won't have it either. You can order it online from Indigo/Chapters, however. It will arrive in 3 to 5 weeks." I left the store, stunned. Why would a book be "flagged" to be "not carried on shelves"? That sounded absurd. I decided to do a bit of research... had the Government decided that it was ok to invade my bedroom? Was the book actually censored? BANNED! Well, a quick (one day) search online provided no results particular to that book. I did find some delightful information, however, that it was usual practice for Canadian Customs to detain certain books from entering the country. Also, they seemed very interested in riffling and opening the mail of lesbigay bookstores, and feminine studies students. That, however, is another equally frightening story. Anyhow, because I could not find any direct evidence clearly stating that the Canadian Government has banned this book (note however, that Canadian Customs does not maintain an official banned list... it seems that their decision to detain certain imports is entirely arbitrary), I decided to meet up with censorship in the flesh again. I went to Coles Books. Yet again, I got the same reply. They are not allowed to stock their shelves with The Road to Serfdom, but suggested that I look for it online.

So that folks, provided more kindling for my burning rage about this awful authoritarian state.


*Incidentally, as every student of the Canadian school system knows, Trudeau was the first, and only Prime Minister to enact the War Measures Act. This is an Act which can be arbitrarily be brought into effect by the Prime Minister, and gives law enforcement officials the ability to arrest without warrant, detain indefinitely without trial, and a series of other nasty things. Surprisingly, Trudeau did not bring out his whacking stick during WWII, rather, during a period in the 70's when the independance movement in Quebec was at its highest.

did you order it online anywayz? if you think that is bad i FOUND a
copy of Jerome David Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" in my schools
library trash can! (in pretty good condition too) I asked them what it
was doing there and they said "we dont want it and you can have it".
Also one of my teachers said I couldnt bring my Drug Identifaction
Bible anymore.

I am truly offended that others in our society deem it 'unsafe' for the rest of us to read literature that expresses one's beliefs, views or ideals. This sounds like something Iran would pull but Canada? :eek:

Yeah... pretty shocking. But then I remind myself "This is Canada... where they have no scruples about stealing half your income, and then spending it on sex change surgery for a murderer". What's especially shocking is that this book lays down the fundementals of free society, and argues against fascism.

And Hobbes, I'm considering placing an order very shortly. I guess it's just a waiting game now, to see if Canada Customs and Immigration seizes it.

Check out this site for info on the American Library Association's Banned Book Week in September this year. This site deals specifically with the American library system, but there's lots of good information about censorship and tyranny in this modern age. As well as having a list of their top 100 challenged books of 1990 to 2000, this list is the top 10 challenged books in 2001, with reasons for the challenges...


[edit] found this great link as well.

It amazes me that we have to live in an age where books are banned. That was a mediaeval practice.

Thought control is always in vogue.

Banning literature is just wrong.

Remember what happened in Berlin, with the burning of all the books by Jewish authors? Or more recently those who advocate desroying knowledge because of the way in which it had been gathered.

Books are words and ideas expressed by different people, or a way to share knowledge that belongs to everyone. There is absolutely no case for the banning or destruction of any literature.

Of Mice and Men is another example, as Sandman says. It is one of the best books I've read - it is well written and it depicts life in America at that time. We did evenutally study it at school, but I had read it long before that. Perhaps the language may be slightly offensive, although I can't recall - perhaps it uses the term 'nigger'; obviously it is not acceptable to use this word these days, but it should not be forgotton about the era the book was written about - should we view the past with rose tinted spectacles to protect modern sensitivities?

damned fascists. i heard about the harry potter thing. idiots.

...and don't forget James Joyce's Ulysses, another great book- banned.

For some reason I'm not really shocked by your stoy rm' as I have always had the suspicion that first world governments continually use their might to, if not ban art but force it to become modified as it meets their needs. I think if you do a more researched study you will find that there are a great many things in this world that are still manipulated because they breed the "wrong" message. And I perceive that just about anything, can be construed to be "harmful". For example; there are high schools all across the nation that continually ban Shakespeare from classrooms and as it turns out it is completely legal to do so...

Check out this site if you haven't already done so... PEN CANADA

http://lookinside-images.amazon.com/...VYUD6ptJZCPKY=
"This classic by one of the 20th century's leading libertarian thinkers has established itself beside the works of Orwell and others as a timeless meditation on the relationship between human freedom and government authority. Hayek argues that empowering government with increasing economic control leads not to utopia but to horrors such those seen in Nazi Germany." - Ingram (An official book review listed on amazon.com)

This is an outrage - this isn't just censorship of a children's story because of explicit sex or language. Do any of you understand how much of an utter outrage this is? I cannot believe the United States shares borders with Canada, a nation that censors books on political ideas that the ruling government does not share! :mad:

One thing free societies are inextricably linked to is the free press. A core, fundamental requirement of representitive government is a free, educated people, but people cannot be educated if books in favor of one political side are banned. :mad:

"the Road to Serfdom" by Hayek (Nobel Prize Winner) is banned in other countries, chief among them, the Former USSR and China. The Chinese government distributed the book among their elite officials with a label in the inside cover "This book is full of Poision" One *must* wonder if the current Canadian government thinks the same way, keeping canada their way or else; no matter if it is an insult to free thinking people everywhere. :mad:

:mad:

Re: "The State has no business in the bedrooms of the Nation"
 

So couldnt it be argued that te US is the same way if you use MS as an example?

I find that remark offensive, since it is not Chatpers/Indigo's fault that they cant sell the book. If you really want it, order online. Maybe it was being "flagged" for a different reason.

Doesn't that make the other countries facist governments as well?

Anywayws, this censorship doesnt surprise me in the least, as it's been happening for quite some time all through history. BUt it does offend me that certain material is being censored. :angry:

As Bop pointed out Ulysses was banned here for something like 20 years (it's the first book in the link I added in my edit above).

Also, the works of Wilhelm Reich were actually burned here in America in the 50's.

The Chocolate War was a great book! I was forced to read as summer
assigment and enjoyed it! What's next are they gonna start deeming
PG-13 movies being unsuited to age group? Oh wait they already do!
I hate R movies that are given the R rating because of violence only.

It's retartded how their banning a book. In America, technically, they can't do that. Banning a book would be an infringment of our freedom of speech. That's just really stupid.

I'm doing a history study on great leaders and conquerers throughout history. (for fun) However, This this looks like something to add to my poli sci / religion reading list. so let me get this straight this book is banned from shelves yet you can simply order it through the same store it's banned from, why???

Canada doesn't have freedom of speech, the "crazy" people are just locked up or in jail. (joke)

Freedom of thought though, no, wait freedom of thought transfers when it has reached the paper...ah nevermind

I know Canada doesn't have that... I was talking about the US.

sounds like China when they started to control thier online community :p

Re: Re: "The State has no business in the bedrooms of the Nation"
 

Umm... why was that offensive? Granted, I cannot with any significant degree of certainty claim that the Canadian government is solely to blame for this banning... but as I pointed out before, Canada Customs and Immigration does not keep an official banned list. Decisions seem to be completely arbitrary.

And "we are not allowed to carry this book on our shelves" sounds like "banned" to me. If you can provide another reasonable explanation, I am open to hear it. Until then, I'll remain of the opinion that Canada is an evil fascist state. This is akin to banning the works of J.S. Mills, or Rousseau.

There are books which are still banned in the U.S. Don't fool yourself. We have freedom of speech, but it is not absolute.

Because in the quest for the almighty (canadian) dollar, they probably somehow have a loophole that allows them to get away with it- my guess being that they accept the payment through the website and then have an American distributor (maybe or maybe not controlled by them) send the book through the mail.

This country works in weird ways. Like I said before, the government has no qualms about taxing over 50% of your income, and then spending it on a sex change for a prison inmate. If you were new to this country, you'd swear that this the land where up is down, and left is right. Another fun fact: the CRTC (Canadian Radio/Telecommunications Commission, or something like that) was established to ensure standards with the telecommunications industry. They are responsible for doling out broadcast licences, among other things (they've started a recent initiative to regulate the internet). Anyway, recently, they denied the creation of a new multicultural TV station because one already exists in my region. Incidentally, the one already in existence, CFMT, is owned by Rogers Communications, who happen to be the only cable TV/Broadband distributer in my area... another area of the industry which the CRTC regulates.

rm', i hate to break it to ya, but Eric Cartman figured out long before you that canada sucked.

book banning is really a wierd thing. it's usually done by the people that should be encouraging you to read. i remember back when i did mice and men, and we tackled all the issues head on, no pussyfooting around.

You're just asking to be slandered with that remark ... :p

all this country bashing going on them im gunna do sumthing!!

US SUCKS!!

lol...j/k....cant we all just agree that no country is perfect...

The line between "slightly imperfect" and "dictatorial fascist dark realm of Satan" is about as wide as Roseanne Barr's crack.

just because you cant find a book doesnt mean you should call the country you libe in dictatorial and fascist....you still have the option to order the book online...

It's not a matter of not being able to find a book, it's a matter of not being allowed to acquire the book. Sure, I could order it online, but what about the socially marginalized? They don't have access to the internet, yet they are the segment of society who are most susceptible to communism. Reading The Road to Serfdom has the potential to let them see the truth in their situation.

Besides, there are a hundred thousand other reasons why Canada is a fascist state, aside for the banning of books.

there is also thousand's of reasons why canada is a great country to live in...

Meh. I guess if you like playing "Follow the leader", or are a member of the Ovis family, sure, Canada is a great country.

rm, how about living in a country where you won't die on the streets if you don't have the money for medical care
how about a country where you won't be arrested for practicing your religion
how about a country which provides subsidies for post-secondary education, allowing many more ppl access to a university education who wouldn't be able to otherwise (as my english teacher calls it, the biggest free ride in history)
how about a country where you won't be arrested for reading this book, even though it is banned

(note: i'm not in favour of banning the book, but i'm pissed off that all of a sudden everyone is into the canada bashing, and i think i'm going to go try to find a copy and read it)

and, the war measures act was called in when several members of the government (i think) were kidnapped by a radical seperatist group, and one (or both, again, my history is sketchy) were found murdered

Just because it's in the constitution doesnt mean they have to follow
it. Shows what you know.

Good point

but I have to agree that Canada has some serious issues that affect us on a larger scale than just reading material.

This is hardly serious, but what's the deal with being allowed to BE stoned but you're not actually allowed to have any weed in possesion.....unless you have a liscense to grow??? :weird: Huh! :igor:

The sooner you move to the assumption that all governments are run by fuck-ups and liars, the easier you will understand that all their "promises" & "rights" are superficial. Not expecting anything from these men will prepare you for unjust experiences. And if for some reason they do carry out their word, well, consider it a pleasant surprise.

Good point Bop. Btw, the "From:" comment under your avatar is out of date as your sig is no longer a link to your home page.

And that my friends, is voter apathy...

Bop never said he voted. :p

One would assume he doesn't take the time to vote; why would you if it was simply choosing between the fuck-up and the liar. (Or the 3rd party "Fucked up liars")

...you can talk all day and all night about free speech, and the constitution, and blah, blah, blah- the fact of the matter is that written words are ideals, furthermore they are nearly impossible standards to live by when the people enforcing them are free thinkers... free to believe that certain speech is wrong, free to believe that those who think differently are diseased, god knows what else.

All I'm saying is this; ever since the beginning of time, those with power have found ways to manipulate, exploit, and condemn the people of their respective states- why do you think anything is different now?

btw: i did vote and i do care...

[edit=sand: thanks good man, i've changed it so it makes sense now]