What do the city of Xiamen, China and the Regressive Librarians have in common? They both hate anonymous online postings! The NYT says one city is considering banning anonymous online postings.
"The southeastern port city of Xiamen is considering a ban on anonymous Web postings after residents mounted a successful Internet campaign last month to suspend construction of a $1.4 billion chemical plant because of its potential environmental risk, The Beijing Youth Daily reported."
And now some of those Chinese officials want to make sure that if anyone tries to effect any change, they have to use their real names, probably so the government can quell dissent and track down any people who disagree with them. They want to do bad things and can't meet any rational arguments, so they just want to shut people up. Sounds a lot like the regressive librarians to me. In fact, I think Cranky Marxist Dude is in China now, so maybe the Xiamen officials are taking advice from him.
Remember, Regressives and totalitarians of all stripes don't have any good arguments and they don't like criticism. They have no interest in dissent or debate. They just want obedience and submission. Intellectual freedom means the freedom to think like them.
About Me
- AL
- The Annoyed Librarian is possibly the most successful, respected, and desirable librarian of her generation. She has no other interest than to bring her wit and wisdom to the huddled librarian masses yearning to breathe free. The Annoyed Librarian is a free spirit and you are lucky to have her.
6 comments:
"A Hipper Crowd of Shushers"
NYT on today's librarians: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/
fashion/08librarian.html?_r=
1&pagewanted=all
Aren’t they supposed to be bespectacled women with a love of classic books and a perpetual annoyance with talkative patrons — the ultimate humorless shushers? Not any more.
Then there's this:
Michelle Campbell, 26, a librarian in Washington, said that librarianship is a haven for left-wing social engagement, which is particularly appealing to the young librarians she knows. “Especially those of us who graduated around the same time as the Patriot Act,” Ms. Campbell said. “We see what happens when information is restricted.”
Please, AL, please comment on the comment re the shushers.
The dreaded Patriot Act. Give me a break. I wish I could find a job in librarianship so that I could actually 'complain' about such travesties as the Patriot Act.
"Left-wing" librarians, eh. Perhaps me being a moderate is hurting my job prospects.
“Especially those of us who graduated around the same time as the Patriot Act,” Ms. Campbell said. “We see what happens when information is restricted.”
I think that it is usually people much higher up in the library (who might even have grey hair and cover their tattoos) who are on the frontlines of Patriot Act challenges. Not the new librarians. Some of the older librarians probably even remember the McCarthy era.
Even so, that was about the most substantive quote in the article.
For god's sake! It is the STYLE section and Kara was attempting to promote librarians! Most of us involved with the Desk Set are activists and give a lot back to the community. Why judge us when you don't even know us and what we do? If you want to see an article about lefty radical librarians then please, go ahead and write an article. Don't just sit around and make fun of people.
Um, I think you've commented on the wrong post, but I'm certainly glad you give back to the community.
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