The Friends of the Macon County Public Library will hold a store-wide, half-price sale 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1, at the used bookstore located in the Shops at Riverwalk, 115 Highlands Rd. in Franklin.
Friends of the Library members have early access each day of the sale beginning at 9 a.m. Non-members can sign-up on the spot for the benefit. Various membership levels are available.
In addition to books, the store sells magazines, LPs, CDs, audio books, puzzles, games and DVDs. The store is operated completely by volunteers. Materials are donated by the public.
Established in 1971, the Friends of the Macon County Public Library seek to develop and maintain citizen interest and participation in the growth and development of the Macon County Public Library and to stimulate the use of the library’s resources and services. The Friends raise money to support library programs and the purchase of equipment and technology through memberships, donations and bookstore sales.
Dear Southern Scoop,
Did you or did you not choose the title “Books in the Library are Illegal” for the recent letter to the editor in order to radicalize readers? The writer did not say “books in the library are illegal.” The writer said child pornography is illegal. If you had bias to create her title, you are spreading misinformation. Unless you are confirming the library contains child porn unrestricted to minors?? It was interesting that as soon as my comment was made about your bias, immediately the Southern Scoop turned off comments to that particular thread and deleted my comment without an answer even though Southern Scoop had commented earlier. Even though that article had comments turned on up until that moment. I will conclude that my assumptions about your bias are correct and that you do not desire honesty in journalism. I am posting here in order to get an answer. if you delete this comment, you are censoring after you have been bias.
Your comments weren’t deleted, as they were never approved. I attempted to send this via the email you used to leave the comment, however it appears it was a fake email. And comments were turned off after you brought it to my attention that people were commenting on the website since the Facebook Page was turned off. As I made clear, The Southern Scoop, the website or the Facebook page, will no longer serve as a battleground for debate on the library topic.
As to your question regarding the letter title, no the author did not write that title, as it is standard practice for publications, all news publications, to give Letters to the Editor a title based on the contents of the letter. Publications reserve that right, and if someone disagrees with that editorial practice, they are welcome to not submit Letters for consideration.
You are entitled to your opinion about my journalism, how you perceive my bias, or how I operate my business. I have not, and will not censor or hinder your ability to share those thoughts and opinions whenever you like.
Lastly, since you referred to my understanding of grammar and structure as to why you take issue with the title, let me explain why you are mistaken.
Based on the sentence structure and the use of the phrase “which is illegal, by the way” immediately following the clause “Many are literally depicting child pornography” indicates that the illegality being referred to is related to the books that contain the depictions.
If the author intended to convey that the act of depicting child pornography is illegal, they could have written the sentence as: “Many are literally depicting child pornography, an act that is illegal by the way.”
However, by specifically stating that the depictions themselves are illegal, the author is suggesting that the books in question contain illegal content, thus making books (identified using the pronoun many in the sentence) the subject of the adjective “illegal”
Thus, it is the syntax and phrasing used in the sentence that implies that the books are illegal, rather than the act of depicting child pornography in general.
I have no bias. If I publish letters to the editors, I am wrong. If I don’t publish them, I am wrong. If I report on what happens, I am wrong. If I don’t report on what happens, I am wrong. I have absolutely nothing to gain one way or the other, and actually have everything to lose.
I would argue your bias, whether it be conscious or unconscious, is affecting how you perceive or interpret what I wrote.
Have a great evening.