But this week the activists of Antifa returned to one of their favourite targets: the journalist whose factual reporting seems to get under their skin so much. Learning of the imminent publication of Ngo’s book they began a campaign to try to force bookstores in America not to stock Ngo’s book.
Their targets included Powell’s bookstore in Portland, where a group of Antifa protested this week, screaming at management and causing the bookstore to close as a safety precaution. The shop pleaded for mercy, insisting in a published statement that “This book will not be placed on our shelves… We will not promote it. That said, it will remain in our online catalog. We carry a lot of books we find abhorrent, as well as those that we treasure.”
As a rule, I don’t agree with buying books, music, etc. for political reasons. At best, it’s a Pyrrhic victory which only contributes to the over-politicization of everything, which is already a societal cancer. And I can’t say I have any genuine interest in reading Ngo’s book, as I feel that I’m already au courant enough with Antifa to wish to see them all marooned on a desert island; I don’t see how any more specific details will change that. That said, after reading Powell’s ambivalent statement regarding free speech, I have to admit I’m sorely tempted to order the book from them online, just for the spiteful satisfaction of imagining the pain it would cause them to have to stain their pure indie souls with my filthy lucre.
January 19, 2021 @ 6:27 pm
I’ve considered the same thing. I stopped into Powell’s this past weekend and am glad to report the protesters had left.