Someone in the mainstream media has finally noticed the confrontation (noted earlier here and here) between writer Andrei Codrescu and the leadership of the American Library Association: Jonathan Gurwitz in San Antonio.
Michael Gorman, the president of the American Library Association, was mugged recently in San Antonio. Gorman was in town for the ALA's annual midwinter meeting.Ordinarily, I would be horrified to hear that a visitor to this fair city had been the victim of such a misdeed. But in this case, it's the ALA that's committing the crime and the truth that fittingly mugged Gorman.
Gorman demonstrates his qualities as a spokesman for intellectual freedom this way, in response to correspondence from Robert Kent, organizer of Friends of Cuban Libraries:
I have not chosen to answer your fulminations but, then, I would have no time for my many other duties if I were to engage in correspondence with every half-wit and crackpot who communicates with me.Mr. Codrescu seems to share your curious delusion that everyone who lends another person a book is a "librarian." Few others do.
Congratulations on your tawdry little coup.
Big man, that, with "many duties." No doubt very, very important.
Sidenote: observe the continuing obsession among the ALA crowd with the proper definition of "librarian." So, they would support the Cubans if they had MLS degrees?
Read Andrei Codrescu's remarks in full, thanks to Henry at Cuban-American Pundits, particularly lest you think the Cuba issue was the only subject of Codrescu's provocative speech. There was much more.
Posted by Alan at February 1, 2006 08:36 PM