# Donating racist books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 7, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931 "2010-09-07T16:08:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/1 "2010-09-07T16:08:41Z")
So we did a little clean-up of the home library over the weekend. Filled several boxes with books that we no longer wanted or would ever re-read, nor would they provide any value as a reference work. The first few sets were easy: - Accounting and finance books from business school. I will never be in that function. Anything I need cam be easily gleaned from the web. - Poorly written science fiction and fantasy that I won’t re-read. - Child rearing books that don’t apply to my boys anymore (if they ever did) - Cookbooks that I never go to, and never really liked. With Epicurious on my iPhone, I only kept some critical ones that I keep going back to. - Airport fiction. This is those books bought at the airport for cross-country flights that we don’t want or need (hello Clive Cussler and others). That brings me to the last set. The racist / conspiracy theory books given to us by our fathers. Yep, both my dad and my wife’s dad have their own brand of nuttery that often strays into blatant racism and anti-semitism, plus a strong strand of conspiracy theory. I had already boxed up the stack of “banned books”, but was not sure what to do with them (after tearing out pages where dad or FIL had inscribed them to us). I could not bring myself to throw a book away. So I dumped them with the rest of the donations going to Goodwill. Somewhere in Southern California, the local Goodwill sorter is opening up a box and finding a stack of books with a certain, ahem, theme. Ugh. I was feeling sordid no matter which direction I took, I admit. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/2 "2010-09-07T17:17:34Z")
Some museums and libraries will take these books, to show just how much racism was part of our past, and is still with us. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/3 "2010-09-07T17:37:53Z")
How about post some titles and authors. I don’t want them personally, but I’d be curious just to see what they were about. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/4 "2010-09-07T17:43:02Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > How about post some titles and authors. I don’t want them personally, but I’d be curious just to see what they were about. I thought about writing down the titles before I donated JUST to share with the Dope. However, once I decided to get rid of them, I did not even want to re-open the box. From memory: History of the White Race (made to look like a textbook) a signed and inscribed copy of one of David Duke’s recent tomes The ACLU’s War Against America Brainwashed - America and War (or something like that) Some 9/11 Truther bit as I recall The Turner Diaries Plus 15 or so more in the box. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/5 "2010-09-07T17:53:51Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > > [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > > > How about post some titles and authors. I don’t want them personally, but I’d be curious just to see what they were about. > > I thought about writing down the titles before I donated JUST to share with the Dope. However, once I decided to get rid of them, I did not even want to re-open the box. From memory: > > History of the White Race (made to look like a textbook) > a signed and inscribed copy of one of David Duke’s recent tomes > The ACLU’s War Against America > Brainwashed - America and War (or something like that) > Some 9/11 Truther bit as I recall > The Turner Diaries > > Plus 15 or so more in the box. Damn. If you were local, I would’ve gladly taken them off of your hands. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/6 "2010-09-07T17:53:52Z")
It’s not _totally_ impossible that a university might have some use for them. I read _The Turner Diaries_ for a class in college. Because the professor didn’t want us to actually have to buy the book and give the publisher money, she photocopied her copy for us to read. I can imagine that other academics might want some of that sort of thing without wanting to pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/7 "2010-09-07T17:56:34Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Some museums and libraries will take these books, to show just how much racism was part of our past, and is still with us. Yeah, I was going to suggest contacting [this place](http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/)about taking them. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/8 "2010-09-07T18:00:03Z")
> [@MegaBee](#): > > > [@Algher](#): > > > > I thought about writing down the titles before I donated JUST to share with the Dope. However, once I decided to get rid of them, I did not even want to re-open the box. From memory: > > > > History of the White Race (made to look like a textbook) > > a signed and inscribed copy of one of David Duke’s recent tomes > > The ACLU’s War Against America > > Brainwashed - America and War (or something like that) > > Some 9/11 Truther bit as I recall > > The Turner Diaries > > > > Plus 15 or so more in the box. > > Damn. If you were local, I would’ve gladly taken them off of your hands. Next time I amass a box full, I will post to the Dope. Should have done it this time I now realize! ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/9 "2010-09-07T18:18:58Z")
> [@MegaBee](#): > > > [@Algher](#): > > > > I thought about writing down the titles before I donated JUST to share with the Dope. However, once I decided to get rid of them, I did not even want to re-open the box. From memory: > > > > History of the White Race (made to look like a textbook) > > a signed and inscribed copy of one of David Duke’s recent tomes > > The ACLU’s War Against America > > Brainwashed - America and War (or something like that) > > Some 9/11 Truther bit as I recall > > The Turner Diaries > > > > Plus 15 or so more in the box. > > Damn. If you were local, I would’ve gladly taken them off of your hands. Same here. Especially The Turner Diaries! Like a Manson interview, when you ignore the Evilness, it’s hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/10 "2010-09-07T18:20:19Z")
Burn them. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/11 "2010-09-07T18:41:18Z")
[Awful Library Books](http://awfullibrarybooks.wordpress.com/). (SFW) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/12 "2010-09-07T18:55:55Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > It’s not _totally_ impossible that a university might have some use for them. I read _The Turner Diaries_ for a class in college. Because the professor didn’t want us to actually have to buy the book and give the publisher money, she photocopied her copy for us to read. I can imagine that other academics might want some of that sort of thing without wanting to pay for it. If anybody wants to read _The Turner Diaries_ without financially supporting National Vanguard Publishing, there’s an online copy [here](http://ia361309.us.archive.org/2/items/TheTurnerDiariesByAndrewMacdonald/turner-diaries-william-luther-pierce.pdf) (warning: huge .pdf). The book is oddly fascinating, like a grisly car accident you can’t look away from. ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/13 "2010-09-09T08:58:47Z")
Just wanted to say, this whole original post from title to last word struck me as hilarious for some reason. Thanks for making my night! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/14 "2010-09-09T12:27:03Z")
[QUOTE=Algher] **Next time I amass a box full** , I will post to the Dope. [/QUOTE] Uh, expecting another “inheritance”? ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/15 "2010-09-09T16:20:23Z")
And on the other end of things, I bought a copy of the Turner Diaries from a Goodwill because I wanted to pull it out of circulation. It’s on a back shelf now, collecting dust, as it should be. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/16 "2010-09-09T18:10:33Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Because the professor didn’t want us to actually have to buy the book and give the publisher money, she photocopied her copy for us to read. Slight hijack – I’m not entirely sure this was appropriate for a college professor to do. Copyright laws are there to protect everybody, even evil idiots. (Unless this book is in the public domain, in which case nevermind.) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/17 "2010-09-09T19:13:55Z")
_The Turner Diaries_ won’t enter the public domain until 2072, as I understand it - William Pierce died in 2002. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/18 "2010-09-09T19:36:06Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > > [@Kyla](#): > > > > Because the professor didn’t want us to actually have to buy the book and give the publisher money, she photocopied her copy for us to read. > > Slight hijack – I’m not entirely sure this was appropriate for a college professor to do. Copyright laws are there to protect everybody, even evil idiots. (Unless this book is in the public domain, in which case nevermind.) Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/19 "2010-09-09T19:39:16Z")
😃 ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donating-racist-books/552931/20 "2010-09-09T21:26:13Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > [QUOTE=Algher] > **Next time I amass a box full** , I will post to the Dope. Uh, expecting another “inheritance”? [/QUOTE] The mail comes regularly (OK - one book a quarter), whenever one of them finds another gem and feels the need to share it. This week I have a 9/11 truther bit, and I am expecting a _Pat Tillman was killed by the Jews because he was bad talking the Iraq war_ book as soon as someone publishes it.