# Why are Christian Bookstores Allowed to Ban Books? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 5, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271 "2021-03-05T15:24:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 41
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/804 "2021-04-02T18:19:57Z")
Are you finding it more difficult, more lengthy, and more costly to create your endless stream of straw men, what with the “woke left” banning old-fashioned straws in so many places ? Or do you think to yourself (it’s just an expression), “Hay. Maybe there’s an environmentally-friendly alternative” ? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/805 "2021-04-02T18:46:53Z")
…says the liar who makes shit up because he’s too fucking lazy to research and craft an actual argument. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/806 "2021-04-02T21:31:39Z")
Calm down. Your inner psycho is surfacing. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/807 "2021-04-02T21:48:36Z")
…says the troll who deliberately posts inflammatory lies to anger other posters so he can then smugly tell them to “calm down”. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/808 "2021-04-02T23:56:07Z")
First your post is just factually untrue. Secondly, the behavior of the vast majority of the folks who actually start pit threads to flame, snark, curry social favor with the hive, or insult other posters is orders of magnitude more pathological. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/809 "2021-04-02T23:59:44Z")
Mmmm, flambéed curry flavor hive mind with snark sauce! ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/810 "2021-04-03T01:25:15Z")
It would grieve me to have so low an opinion of your intelligence to be able to believe that you actually think all the inflammatory lies you post are true. > [@octopus](#): > > Secondly, the behavior of the vast majority of the folks who actually start pit threads to flame, snark, curry social favor with the hive, or insult other posters Flaming, snarking, shooting the shit and insulting other posters is largely what the BBQ Pit forum is for. In keeping with the basic ethos of the Straight Dope, though, most posters seem able to engage in that behavior without resorting to inflammatory lies. (Not counting obvious extreme hyperbole that’s self-evidently for rhetorical effect, that is. Even in the Pit, everybody understands, for example, that you don’t really put cucumbers and watermelons up your ass.) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/811 "2021-04-03T04:01:29Z")
Tearing down a statue is a criminal act when performed by a group of people, rather than the government and/or the institutions displaying those statues. But how is it violent? What person is having the violence directed at them? Do you honestly believe that a person can be violent to an inanimate object? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/812 "2021-04-03T13:33:26Z")
I didn’t think it was smart when the State did it: > **[Firdos Square statue destruction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firdos_Square_statue_destruction)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > On April 9, 2003, during the US invasion of Iraq, a large statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's Firdos Square was destroyed by Iraqi civilians and United States Marines. The event received global media coverage, wherein it came to symbolize the end of Hussein's rule in Iraq. > US government officials and journalists, citing footage of jubilant Iraqis jumping on and sledgehammering the statue, claimed the event symbolized a victory for the United St... Because I didn’t think _it was smart._ It had a great potential to inflame the passions and resistance of a people whose hearts and minds we believed it critical to win over. But there was a symbolism to the act that – it couldn’t be denied – also had meaning. People talk about removal of these Confederate statues (NB: I do not advocate for individuals with no authority to do this; that’s simply criminal) as “deleting our history.” I don’t **think** history was eliminated when we banned billboards advertising cigarettes. And I’m pretty sure cigarettes were still widely available. We just reined in one marketing channel. And – interesting though it is – this OP just has nearly nothing to do with any of that (I’m not knocking you, **Superdude** ). Wal-Mart stopped selling handguns. CVS pharmacy stopped selling cigarettes. Again: quotidian business decisions, driven largely by market forces, but – absent a **crystal clear bogeyman –** the hysterical RW can’t find a villain to castigate (ironic, isn’t it). ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/813 "2021-04-03T14:09:01Z")
I guess it might be difficult for someone with the brain capacity of a Republican to understand why tying a rope around the neck of a racist statue in order to bring it down is different from tying a rope around the neck of Mike Pence in order to bring him down, but it really is. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/814 "2021-04-03T14:10:01Z")
Okay. Sure. Point taken. But if the statue happened to be of alabaster, it _could_ be difficult to distinguish _from_ Mike Pence. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/815 "2021-04-03T15:25:35Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > But if the statue happened to be of alabaster, it _could_ be difficult to distinguish _from_ Mike Pence. Statues tend to be more life-like. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/816 "2021-04-03T15:30:51Z")
And have more of a personality. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/817 "2021-04-03T19:55:06Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > But if the statue happened to be of alabaster, it _could_ be difficult to distinguish _from_ Mike Pence. > [@Miller](#): > > Statues tend to be more life-like. > [@silenus](#): > > And have more of a personality. Ooh. Well played. looks at the cards he’s holding I guess I’ll have to go with … pigeon vs. housefly. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_McQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Steve\_McQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_McQwark)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/818 "2021-04-03T21:14:57Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > I guess I’ll have to go with … pigeon vs. housefly. What is worst Summer blockbuster ever? I’ll take movies for $300. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/819 "2021-04-05T23:07:25Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Can someone help me out here? How often has this happened? I get the impression from RW folks that is a very common occurrence and soon boys will get gender reassignment for the sole purpose of beating the girls at the track meet. There was a high school case in Texas last year where a transmale was forced to wrestle in the girls division. Totally unfair for a person on male hormones to fight in the girls division. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/820 "2021-04-06T16:14:40Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > otally unfair for a person on male hormones to fight in the girls division. I think the right wingers would agree. The real goal would be to prevent the trans person from competing at all, or from using a bathroom or, ideally, even existing. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/821 "2021-04-07T20:33:08Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > The folks who’ve had a stroke are the fools who adhere to the morally bankrupt ideology of wokeness where math, telling time, and writing in complete sentences is a sign of racist, white supremacy. Please quote where anyone has disparaged math, telling time, or writing in complete sentences. The problem is not that they are sentences, it is what the sentences say. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/822 "2021-04-09T02:06:50Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Progressives are more worried about Mr, Potato Head then they are about genocide in China. That’s funny, the people I seebringing up Mr.Potatohead are conservatives. And I don’t see any prominent conservatives concerned about actual genocide in China. They are too busy writing transgender bathroom bills and making it harder to vote. And whining about Biden “lies” when they didn’t give a shit or made excuses for everything Trump said. And you haven’t said dick about Myanmar, and the brutal slaughter of resisters to the Military coup there. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/823 "2021-04-10T16:53:44Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > That’s what I’m talking about. You see normal words like traditional, male, female, jungle and claim they are intrinsically problematic. What is problematic is you continually referring to a black man as “son”. There is a looong history of degrading and disrespecting black men by referring to them in dismissive and belittling terms like “son” and “boy”. I’m sure you know that, but I thought I would spell it out so everyone can see it. But that’s “traditional”, so I guess that makes it ok? > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > It’s just hysterical that the degree of hypocrisy is so deep that conservatives feel it’s wrong for the government to mandate that restaurant waiters wash their hands, but they feel the government should be able to mandate that a company sell a product or service that they find offensive. Preach it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271.md?page=42)