Publishing Pedophilia?!
I'm curious as to why someone would write a book to help pedophiles and why on earth would a store sell the book? I doubt I'm the only one who sees this as disturbing. What is the matter with people? - Katie, Gardner
Katie is talking about Amazon's decision to sell a self published book for the Kindle called "The Pedophile's Guide To Love and Pleasure." At first Amazon defended its' decision saying dropping the book would be "censorship" and that the company "support(s) the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions." But after stories like ours, and many, many complaints, Amazon changed its' corporate mind and stopped selling the book.
Free speech arguments were also made in support of making the book available. Other things people might find objectionable are protected speech like burning an American flag. Is this the same? Marylou Sudders, the president and CEO of the Mass. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children makes a distincition, arguing, "I want to be really clear. Pedophilia is nothing more than sexual crimes agains children." And free speech is not absolute. The Supreme Court famously ruled that yelling fire in a crowded movie theatre was not protected speech.
What do you think? Did Amazon make the right decision? Should people be able to make their own decisions about whether to buy it or not? Where do you draw the line?
