Dear Safranim, Perhaps you've heard in the news that Simon and Schuster has offered Milo Yiannopoulos a book deal through their conservative imprint, Threshold. He is an anti-Semitic, misogynist, bigoted, neo-Nazi "troll" whose goal in life is to harass people. He was the one who abused black Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones so badly that Twitter actually banned him.
While he has a right to free speech, that does not include book deals. In my opinion, this book deal legitimizes his message of hate and gives him a wider platform for it. I feel that S&S should be aware that some of its customers are disgusted by their poor decision, so I emailed them. If you agree, I encourage you to email, write, or call to tell them so. Threshold Editions General phone 212-698-7006 General fax 212-698-2858 Jennifer Robinson, VP, Director of Publicity gallerypublic...@simonandschuster.com<mailto:gallerypublic...@simonandschuster.com> Or Corporate Communications General phone 212-698-7033 General fax 212-698-7035 Adam Rothberg, VP, Director of Corporate Communications corporate.communicati...@simonandschuster.com<mailto:corporate.communicati...@simonandschuster.com> Or Carolyn Kroll Reidy, CEO and President, Simon and Schuster 212-698-7000 carolyn.re...@simonandschuster.com<mailto:carolyn.re...@simonandschuster.com> Here's what I sent to Jennifer Robinson, Dir of Publicity at S&S, gallerypublic...@simonandschuster.com<mailto:gallerypublic...@simonandschuster.com> Dear Ms. Robinson, As a librarian for 20 years and an advocate of free speech, I must nevertheless protest your rewarding Milo Yiannopoulos's hateful, bigoted, abusive behavior with a book deal. The public needs to hear less from this horrible man, not more. I am ashamed of S&S for helping him to spread his messages of hate. I certainly will not be purchasing this book, and I'm sure many of my colleagues feel the same way. I urge you to cancel this book deal. In America's current atmosphere of divisiveness and emboldened hate speech, it is time to cultivate an atmosphere of tolerance and kindness rather than fan the flames by amplifying the voices of the so-called alt right. I hope you will seriously consider the consequences to our society of giving hate speech a legitimate platform. Thank you for your attention, Heidi Rabinowitz Librarian, Boca Raton, Florida
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