Most people have heard this by now but Chapters/Indigo has pulled this month’s issue of Harper’s off its shelves. It seems that Art Spiegelman’s critique of the Danish Muhammad cartoons that angered many in the Muslim world is also too hot for the delicate sensibilities of management at Chapters.
DB Scott over at the Canadian Magazines blog looks at Reisman and Co.’s spotty track record on censorship. The chain banned Mein Kampf and the Western Standard, who also published the Danish cartoons.
What worries me is that you have Canada’s largest bookstore acting almost as a censor. Harper’s is easy enough to get, especially in larger cities with many independent bookstores and magazines stands but what about in smaller towns, suburbs or bedroom communities, where the local Chapters/Indigo at the mall is the local bookstore?
You have libraries and you can order books and mags online so is Chapters/Indigo’s censorship even a problem?