A message recently popped up in my Facebook feed urging me to "take action" to protest Tucker Max's upcoming reading at Powell's, scheduled for October.
GUESS WHAT PEOPLE?!?! RAPE IS NOT FUNNY AND POWELLS SHOULD NOT BE SUPPORTING THIS!!! TAKE ACTION PLEASE.
The posting includes a link to an article entitled "Does Tucker Max Think Rape is Funny?" Tucker Max is a blogger turned author—he wrote I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell and the soon-to-be-released Assholes Finish First, for which he's touring in September. If you've heard of him it's probably because he's an effective enough button-pusher that articles like this one occasionally get written.
The Facebook posting suggested calling Powells' events coordinator Michal Drannen to complain. I emailed him to ask if Powell's had any intention of canceling the event:
No, we've never cancelled an event due to protest or controversy, nor will this event be cancelled. I've received a few calls and emails about the book signing including members of the community in support of Tucker Max's visit.Controversial books inevitably alienate some people, including some of our customers. We do not wish to offend anyone, but we believe that it is in the best interest of any community for books and ideas of all kinds to be available to interested individuals, regardless of what our own opinions or tastes may be.
And Powell's blogger Chris Bolton chimed in on Powells' Facebook page:
Please consider the notion of a bookstore deciding what is and isn't appropriate for people to see. Is that diversity? I'm no fan of Tucker Max, but freedom of speech is an all-or-nothing proposition; once you start censoring one writer due to objectionable material, then it's no longer free, period.
So... Tucker Max makes the Cook to Bang guy look like a gentleman. (That link documents my email fight with Mr. Cook to Bang. He is actually not a gentleman.) But the problem here seems to be less that Tucker Max is reading in Portland, but that he's reading at Powells. Powell's is in the book selling business, but there is a sense that it's more than just a bookstore—that it has some obligation to the community it serves.
I can't hang with the "rape is never funny" crowd (Exhibit A: "Yeah, like anyone would want to 'R' her."), but I do agree that there is something distressing about the idea of fat women being referred to as "common-stock pigs" in the Pearl Room. Local writer Pollyanna Fish (it's a pseudonym) sent me an email that smartly articulates the position that this is about not just Max, but Powell's—I'll post the whole thing after the jump, but here's an excerpt:
I've heard that asking Powells to reconsider this dubious booking decision is anti-First Amendment, anti-free speech. Please. Crying First Amendment strawman/bogeyman/red herring bullshit is fine *if you are talking about the government censoring someone.* And guess what? We're not asking Sam Adams to cut Tucker Max's balls off and take away his megaphone. We're just asking a bookstore-cum-local-institution to consider the needs and feelings of its core community. Tucker Max is a summer tourist. Dear Powells, the rest of us make your business happen every day, from the thirtieth rainy day in November to the first sign of sun in July. Show a little respect.
That being said, I'm coming down on Powells' side here. I feel a little like Dr. Laura hiding behind the first amendment, but I just can't get behind the idea of protesting someone because his jokes aren't funny. Because sometimes rape jokes are funny, and if I decide he can't make them, that means I can't, either.