[CALIBK12] Dixie Chicks - Not Available for Rental in Waco, Texas

Sun Aug 19 21:57:01 PDT 2007

I agree that this is a censorship issue, regardless of where you stand
on the issue.

On 8/19/07, Heather Jansen <hhjansen at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> This is not a political issue, its a censorship issue.  The political bent
> of the material is not the issue, rather the issue is that commercial (and
> perhaps other entities) chose to make this material unavailable.  The public
> library performed its job by making the dvd available to anyone who wanted
> to see it.  This is a valid point for us as school librarians as it is for
> public librarians.
>
> Heather Hartman-Jansen, LMT
> Stockton, CA
>
> Heather McBride <merimac25 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> WHY IS THIS ON OUR LISTSERVE WHEN WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED
> TO BE POLITICAL WHEN IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH
> CALIB???
> I thought this was a No-No!
> Heather McBride
>
>
>
>
>
> --- RichardGuy at aol.com wrote:
>
> >
> > Fabulous!
> >
> > Richard K. Moore, InfoSherpa
> > Huntington Beach, CA
> >
> **********************************************************
> > To be educated in any true sense of the word, [ a
> > person] must use the
> > library, and master the experiences of mankind. --
> > William T. Harris, 1893
> >
> **********************************************************
> > SIGN THE PETITION: http://www.educatorroundtable.org
> >
> **********************************************************
> > JOIN CSLA: http://csla.net/pdf/memberform.pdf
> >
> **********************************************************
> >
> >
> >
> > **************************************
> > Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
> > http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
> > > To:
> > From: "GERALD BRACEY"
> > Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 23:34:35 -0400
> > Subject: [eddra] Fw: Dixie Chicks - Not Available
> > for Rental in Waco, Texas
> >
> > This is not specifically about dis-information about
> > schools, but censorship
> > of unpopular opinions.
> >
> > EDDRA member Richard Moore (a librarian) will be
> > especially pleased.
> >
> > Dixie Chicks rock!
> >
> > Jerry
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From:
> > To:
> > Sent: Friday, August 10, 2007 9:32 PM
> > Subject: Dixie Chicks - Not Available for Rental in
> > Waco, Texas
> >
> >
> > > Dixie Chicks - Not Available for Rental in Waco,
> > Texas
> > > Look who avails Chicks' controversial film in Waco
> > >
> > > By John Young
> > > Cox News Service
> > >
> > > Waco Tribune-Herald (Texas) -
> > > Tuesday, August 07, 2007
> > >
> >
>
> > >
> > > WACO, Texas - In the Bible, the vision of a
> > burning
> > > bush causes Moses to put down everything he's
> > doing and
> > > to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
> > >
> > > The charge of which I now speak is not so
> > consuming.
> > > Still ...
> > >
> > > Though I had earthly chores aplenty, I felt the
> > call to
> > > stop everything and open a video rental store in
> > Waco.
> > >
> > > The store wouldn't be big. In fact, it would have
> > only
> > > one section. Only one film, actually, and one copy
> > of
> > > it. Low overhead.
> > >
> > > That film: The Dixie Chicks' "Shut Up and Sing."
> > >
> > > I was ready to rent it to you and yours.
> > >
> > > Because, otherwise you wouldn't be able to rent it
> > in
> > > Waco.
> > >
> > > I'm not a big Dixie Chicks fan. Never purchased
> > one of
> > > their CDs. But on PBS I saw the Chicks perform
> > pieces
> > > from their latest album, "Taking the Long Way,"
> > and
> > > knew why the CD won five Grammy awards. I also
> > knew why
> > > it won zero Country Music Association Awards.
> > >
> > > We all know what this is about: The Chicks'
> > > unapologetic opposition to the invasion of Iraq.
> > The
> > > tempest that ensued, including radio station
> > boycotts
> > > and death threats.
> > >
> > > That's what "Shut Up and Sing" is about. The
> > subtitle
> > > says, "Freedom of speech is fine, as long as you
> > don't
> > > do it in public."
> > >
> > > The firestorm started when, with the group
> > performing
> > > in London on the eve of the invasion, lead singer
> > > Natalie Maines said, "We're ashamed that the
> > president
> > > of the United States is from Texas."
> > >
> > > You all argue among yourselves about that 'un.
> > >
> > > My concern was seeing what all the fuss was about,
> > and
> > > without plunking down $19.95 for a DVD.
> > >
> > > I kept waiting for "Shut Up and Sing" to pop up on
> > the
> > > "new releases" marquee at the video rental I
> > patronize.
> > > When I asked, an employee told me that the store
> > had
> > > abstained because of the film's controversial
> > theme.
> > >
> > > I tried to confirm this assertion with a regional
> > > manager. I found that getting ahold of someone who
> > > would confirm or deny this assertion was like
> > asking to
> > > interview Dick Cheney without Fox News
> > credentials.
> > >
> > > So, I started calling a succession of Waco's video
> > > stores, mostly chains. No "Shut Up" for rental.
> > Hmmm. I
> > > did find two copies for purchase at separate
> > retailers.
> > > That's the $19.95 I had no intention of
> > surrendering.
> > > What to do?
> > >
> > > One problem is that I no longer knew how to
> > contact my
> > > friend Jerry. He's the one-time convenience-store
> > > employee who supplied for me a copy of Martin
> > > Scorcese's "Last Temptation of Christ," in a brown
> > > envelope, back in 1988.
> > >
> > > That controversial film was stopped at every port
> > in
> > > our landlocked city -- not shown in theaters;
> > couldn't
> > > rent it; couldn't buy it; the cable company
> > blocked it
> > > on Showtime.
> > >
> > > Three summers ago when Waco theaters weren't
> > showing
> > > "Fahrenheit 9/11," I tried to hook Michael Moore
> > up
> > > with Jerry so that we in Waco could see what all
> > the
> > > fuss was about. Moore liked my idea but took my
> > middle
> > > man out of the equation. Sorry, Jerry. He sent the
> > film
> > > to peace groups who cued it up in the Crawford
> > High
> > > School football stadium parking lot before some
> > 3,000
> > > people.
> > >
> > > Now here we are in 2007 with a similar problem,
> > and no
> > > Jerry to facilitate. So deeply did I feel about
> > the
> > > right of people in our community to decide for
> > > themselves on matters like "Shut Up and Sing" that
> > I
> > > said to myself, "OK. I'm going into video rental."
> > >
> > > I would buy the video for $19.95, and then would
> > rent
> > > it to you and yours to recoup my investment.
> > >
> > > I'm so happy to tell you I didn't have to do that.
> > I
> > > didn't because I made one more call. I should have
> > > thought about it first:
> > >
> > > The public library.
> > >
> > > The Waco-McLennan County Library has a copy of
> > "Shut Up
> > > and Sing." It will loan you that copy for free if
> > you
> > > have a library card. This means I won't have to
> > rent it
> > > to you. That's a relief. I already had enough on
> > my
> > > hands leading various tribes out of the
> > wilderness.
> > >
> > > I told reference librarian Sean Sutcliffe about my
> > > problems renting the video. We speculated that
> > this
> > > might be a problem elsewhere in America's
> > heartland.
> > > Then he did a computer search for the title in
> > other
> > > libraries in the country. Publicly supported
> > beacons of
> > > free inquiry popped up on his screen by the
> > hundreds.
> > >
> > > What a country.
> > >
> > > [John Young is Opinion Page editor of the Waco
> > (Texas)
> > > Tribune-Herald.]
> > >
> >
> === message truncated ===>
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>
>
> Heather McBride
> Library Media Teacher
> La Cumbre Junior High School
> Santa Barbara School District
>
>
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-- 
Sarah Bosler, LMT
Montclair High School
Chaffey Joint Union High School District
http://mohigh.com