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Cancelers canceled at Simon & Schuster: A small sign that cancel culture may have peaked, at least in book publishing, is worth noting
American Thinker ^ | 05/07/2021 | Thomas Lifson

Posted on 05/07/2021 8:17:37 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

A small sign that cancel culture may have peaked, at least in book publishing, is worth noting.  The president of Simon & Schuster, Jonathan Karp, has announced that his firm will ignore a petition from its staff (reportedly, 216 employees and thousands of sympathizers) demanding that plans to publish an autobiographical memoir by former V.P. Mike Pence be canceled.

Thomas Lipscomb, a publishing industry veteran, takes note and celebrates the act of courage in the Asia Times:

[T]he internal petition being circulated by Simon & Schuster employees is far more extensive. It is demanding categorical censorship irrespective of any underlying editorial merit. It wants to employ a heckler's veto to override the judgment of some of the finest editors in publishing in multiple imprints, even extending it to canceling totally independent distribution clients.

Simon & Schuster's president, Jonathan Karp, announced that his firm would go forward and publish Mike Pence's memoir. In the same letter he reminded his employees "… we come to work to publish, not cancel, which is the most extreme decision a publisher can make, and one that runs counter to the very core of our mission to publish a diversity of voices and perspectives."

Simon & Schuster's petitioners have now reached outside their own community looking for "solidarity" throughout publishing for their position.

President Karp's assertion of the importance of publishing a diversity of voices is welcome, particularly since such thinking was lacking just four months ago:


(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cancelculture; publishing; simonschuster
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1 posted on 05/07/2021 8:17:37 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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They’re fascists.


2 posted on 05/07/2021 8:19:59 AM PDT by TakebackGOP
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Warning about what? That peace may break out, and their defense contractor pals will lose billions?


3 posted on 05/07/2021 8:21:54 AM PDT by dsrtsage (Complexity is merely simplicity lacking imagination)
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To: SeekAndFind
Yawn. Even so, it won't be long before stupid liberals come up with another cause du jour.

It's all about the appearance. Attention whores. They don't care if the issue is legitimate. They crave the attention.

4 posted on 05/07/2021 8:22:24 AM PDT by LouAvul (Lying headlines from fake news articles written by pimps masquerading as journalists.)
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To: SeekAndFind

A real company would sever the employment of each and every person who signed the petition.


5 posted on 05/07/2021 8:25:48 AM PDT by rigelkentaurus
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To: SeekAndFind

bookmark


6 posted on 05/07/2021 8:28:16 AM PDT by GOP Poet (Super cool you can change your tag line EVERYTIME you post!! :D. (Small things make me happy))
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To: SeekAndFind

Should’ve fired all their asses.


7 posted on 05/07/2021 8:29:48 AM PDT by Sans-Culotte (11/3-11/4/2020 - The USA became a banana republic.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Don’t see anything about Pence’s advance.


8 posted on 05/07/2021 8:31:08 AM PDT by Little Ray (Corporations don't pay taxes. They collect them.)
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To: SeekAndFind

This is bottom up tyranny ... and it is why Coinbase and Basecamp said no, they won’t go along with it. At Coinbase, 10% left. At Basecamp, 33% left.


9 posted on 05/07/2021 8:35:21 AM PDT by tbw2
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To: SeekAndFind

Holy crap, theres hope! Well good, I will be buying that book


10 posted on 05/07/2021 8:41:39 AM PDT by BlackAdderess (The way to deal with bad ideas is to go through via critical thought, not around)
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To: SeekAndFind

Every person going “outside the company for support” should be fired for insubordination.

That isn’t just disobeying a boss, trying to force them to do something. They’re organizing external groups to force company leaders to do what they want to do.


11 posted on 05/07/2021 8:41:58 AM PDT by tbw2
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To: rigelkentaurus
A real company would sever the employment of each and every person who signed the petition.

That might put Simon and Schuster in an unpleasant legal situation that could cost them a lot of money, which would be a victory for the leftists. They'd likely characterize their action as a concerted activity protected by federal labor laws, which would make their termination illegal.

While S&S could credibly argue that the petition doesn't concern terms and conditions of employment, and so isn't protected, that's an argument that would have to go through a Biden Department of Labor and NLRB. Public rejection of the petition makes a strong statement without legal risk.

12 posted on 05/07/2021 8:46:11 AM PDT by Bruce Campbells Chin
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To: rigelkentaurus

Agreed. That is insubordination. Reaching “outside of the organization to pressure management” is a whole new level, though I’m not sure what the word for it is.


13 posted on 05/07/2021 8:46:38 AM PDT by tbw2
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"The president of Simon & Schuster, Jonathan Karp, has announced that his firm will ignore a petition from its staff (reportedly, 216 employees and thousands of sympathizers) demanding that plans to publish an autobiographical memoir by former V.P. Mike Pence be canceled."

And thus Karp is fishing for Trump's memoirs as well...

14 posted on 05/07/2021 8:50:31 AM PDT by StAnDeliver (Eric Coomer of Dominion Voting Systems Is The Blue Dress)
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To: SeekAndFind

Don’t count on it. The big ones (amazon, fb and google) are still doing their part to destroy this country by suppressing correct ideas.


15 posted on 05/07/2021 8:56:10 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Non-binary transnormativity is a construct of intersectionality. Leftist gobbledegook stinks.)
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To: SeekAndFind; TakebackGOP; GOP Poet; tbw2

Here’s how to contact them and support their decision. Courageous companies like this don’t get enough support from us on the right. Let’s let them know that there are many of us who appreciate their stand.

https://www.simonandschuster.net/about/contact_us


16 posted on 05/07/2021 10:01:56 AM PDT by aquila48 (o not let them make you care! Guilting you is how they control you. )
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To: SeekAndFind
Simon & Schuster's petitioners have now reached outside their own community looking for "solidarity" throughout publishing for their position.

"Who'll buy us a rent-a-mob? Come on, we need a rent-a-mob!"

17 posted on 05/07/2021 10:04:53 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: TakebackGOP

Yes, they are fascists. It’s the fascists that want to silence others and then claim they are for diversity. They’re for diversity only if you are in 100% lockstep agreement with them. They’re not for any type of diversity of thoughts, experience, background - just as long as you agree with them the diversity they are looking for is in a crayon box.


18 posted on 05/07/2021 1:01:46 PM PDT by ro_dreaming ("XX = female; XY = male. Who's the science deniers now?" - Me)
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To: SeekAndFind

Big whoop.

I’ll know things are improving when they ditch the sensitivity readers.


19 posted on 05/07/2021 1:03:03 PM PDT by mewzilla (Those aren't masks. They're muzzles. )
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To: mewzilla

For anyone unfamiliar...

https://quillette.com/2019/10/01/the-problem-with-sensitivity-readers/


20 posted on 05/07/2021 1:04:01 PM PDT by mewzilla (Those aren't masks. They're muzzles. )
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