AussieiuszkoThe owner of Robinsons Bookshops
Something to keep in mind next time you’re thinking of supporting a local book seller. Luckily there’s other options around.
American here. This really makes me think twice before supporting a local business. Its not really something i have thought of or considered before. Independant book stores tend to be more liberal. But i see otherwise here. Wow.
Craziness comes in all shapes and forms, I’m surprised as well as you’re right that bookstores generally do seem more progressively minded.
I’d feel confident in saying many others are completely fine to shop at.
DessertStormsI don't disagree that this is infuriating, but bigotry isn't "craziness", it's a well established system of oppression that greatly benefits some over others. We can only tackle it once we acknowledge what it is.
I think the fact it’s viewed as craziness is good tbh.
When I was young this wasn’t really a thing to talk about. It was just how things were.
That people look at them and think what a stupid naxi is great.
The fact it’s viewed as "craziness" is ableist.
Conflating harmful actions with lack of intelligence does everyone a disservice. To suggest that “stupidity”* that is what makes people act badly undermines any real accountability. The causes of problematic behavior rarely have anything to do with mental acuity, and we can’t properly address harmful behavior while being so reductive about its causes. Carelessness, bias, hatred, greed, closed-mindedness, indifference – these are the traits that lead to oppression. Our intelligence* is not the issue so much as our sense of compassion and justice.
source
*or mental health
I would argue that intelligence plays a huge role in things like racism. You can see a clear divide when you take into account education levels.
You don’t have to be disabled to have low intelligence and id argue conflating those two is ableist.
And I would state for a fact that you're being an ableist (not only in your insistence of intelligence being related to racism, but also in your framing of disability as a negative thing which I should not be calling people), and also harming the fight against racism, which is not only perpetuated by people throughout society, but was created by those in power, who are almost never what you would call "stupid".
You could double down in defence of your own ego, or you could actually educate yourself:
https://disabledfeminists.com/2009/10/23/ableist-word-profile-intelligence/
https://web.archive.org/web/20230605065733/https://ollibean.com/intelligence-is-an-ableist-concept/
I’m also disabled and my disabilities are 100% negative. They fucking suck and make my life very difficult.