The Weird and The Wacky Meet |
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Where YouBetIAm comes to write…. |
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MCR 3: Books |
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'Mein Kampf' a Best Seller in Turkey By James C. Helicke Thursday, March 24, 2005 Associated Press by way of Yahoo! News
German diplomats, Turkish political analysts, and Jewish Community leaders are all concerned about a new trend in Turkey’s book buying habits. Mein Kampf, Hitler’s rant against Jews and German affairs after World War One has reached number two on the Turkish best seller’s list. This is disconcerting because no one can really give a solid reason why so many copies of the book have sold. Banned books are a very big issue when it comes to studying books as media. Mein Kampf has consistently made banned lists for very good reasons. Still, it’s hard as a proponent of free speech to condone banning books. On the one hand, the book is pure bigotry, on the other people have a right to read and believe what they want. My biggest concern is that allowing the book to be published could be seen as an endorsement. It’s hard to be an advocate for critical thinking, when you want to package a disclaimer with everything you find objectionable. As a media consumer, I found this article to be disturbing at the very least, because no one seems to have any ideas as to why this is a trend in Turkey. It’s vital that everyone be aware of the different social ramifications that a book like this can have. I know that there were other causes of World War Two, but propagandist literature with strong anti-Semitic overtones certainly didn’t help matters any. I’m torn about this entire issue because I really do believe in free speech. However, I really think it’s important to study this further. I would like to know why Mein Kampf is a best-seller. Not knowing why is almost as disturbing as the trend itself, and is the way it most affects all of us. How can we have a free exchange of ideas if we don’t know what’s going on? Copyright 2005 |
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by Amanda Evans |
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Date: 03/29/05 |
