Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder6.news.weretis.net!usenet.blueworldhosting.com!diablo1.usenet.blueworldhosting.com!feeder.usenetexpress.com!tr3.iad1.usenetexpress.com!69.80.99.23.MISMATCH!local-2.nntp.ord.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2024 21:21:59 +0000 From: BTR1701 Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv,alt.censorship Subject: Re: "All-Inclusive" Bookstore Co-Founded By RuPaul Yanks Conservative Titles Following Backlash References: User-Agent: MT-NewsWatcher/3.5.3b3 (Intel Mac OS X) Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2024 14:28:40 -0700 Message-ID: Lines: 51 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com X-Trace: sv3-qRXtRhBj7QP2lT/uEnxeqtsRNKgz73kxNZXBDNoP98HyaPkY1inxBQse4hb75dV6pXMJnT16XBTacOF!xtRxpUwwW/WhnuQRfwW6ndQs68EmHBnBBj2fOQo6Y0PmN0I78UH8BgIyN+I0bg9If3yJLVgrk7Jc!L07yvcuHYnrtWzFT5oUWCRvZC0m4vEijRqtlUO99pWZ23w== X-Complaints-To: abuse@giganews.com X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.40 Bytes: 4156 In article , Ubiquitous wrote: > An online bookstore that advertised itself as being committed to sharing > ideas, even those which are deemed controversial, has removed titles from > conservative authors amid backlash. > > Television host and activist RuPaul is a co-founder of the "all-inclusive" > online bookstore Allstora, according to National Review. He started the > online store with LGBTQ advocate and author Eric Cervini and drag performer > Adam Powell. > > The site advertised that they would carry titles from authors of all points > of view, and books for sale on the site initially ranged from Adolf Hitler's > "Mein Kampf" to the graphic, controversial coming-of-age book "Gender Queer". > > "We're a marketplace for all books and all stories, with a focus on elevating > marginalized voices," the site originally touted, according to NR. "You may > find books you disagree with," a pop-up ad warned, while the FAQ page said, > "Allstora has made the decision to carry all books" and "censorship of any > book, perspective, or story is incompatible with the survival of democracy." > > "Banning books is never the answer," the site's messaging, which has since > been deleted, said, according to The Mary Sue. "We cannot fight the > ideologies of hate if we lack the ability to study, understand, and react to > them. We do that by reading books." > > However, left-wing activists were outraged that Allstora offered titles by > Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Matt Walsh, Riley Gaines, and Libs of TikTok founder > Chaya Raichik, among others. At first, the website's founders attempted to > diffuse tension by promising to create "a community-led flagging system for > titles that are contrary to our core values and donating all proceeds from > these titles to fight book bans," National Review noted. > > But that wasn't enough. After three days of critics railing against Allstora > for selling "homophobic", "transphobic", "anti-woke", and "Nazi" books, the > founders relented and removed all free speech messaging from the page. Many > works by conservative authors were removed from the page, while some other > titles remained available. > > The drama comes on the heels of RuPaul announcing a "Rainbow Book Bus" that > seeks to distribute "diverse books to communities facing book bans and > censorship, especially in LGBTQ+ communities". The bus will embark on a cross > country tour later this year, the DRAG RACE host told People during an > interview this month. Just goes to show you how downright hypocritical leftists are when the screech about "Republican book bans". They'll ban a book in the blink of an eye if it doesn't meet their ideological rigor.