Should PUBLISHERS be Held RESPONSIBLE for CONTENT?

Dreams Matter.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/6562/pchan_stockton.html

I disagree. Sure it's in bad taste to publish a book like that and maybe even morally it's not right, but freedom of press states that it is a right.

I'm sure a lot of these books are sold that don't lead to murder-but that stat probably can't be found.

If we start censoring books, then soon it's music, magazines, movies etc.

I mean really this is almost the same argument as "my kid played hours of grand theft auto and then went out and killed people" which is crap.

I'm not saying that it's not possible for the book to have had an affect on these people, but if it did, most likely they were unstable before the book, thus the book shouldn't be blamed for it-leagally.

Morally is a different story. But this country isn't based on it's morals.

a lot of these books are sold that don't lead to murder-but that stat probably can't be found.

probably not directly, but it's relatively easy to measure the number of titles of such books, and their sales, and compare those figures with statistics on the numbers of crimes depicted in those books that are committed. in Japan, books depicting violence of all sorts are common (animé and manga are loaded with them) yet the incidence of the crimes depicted is low. In America, the situation is reversed. the Japanese have (or at least had) very strict moral codes that enforced "you may look but you may not do". Most Americans would react, ahem, violently to the imposition of such codes. Consequently, IMO, the boundaries between fantasy and reality are famously blurred among We the People.

Effective censorship (and all cultures practice censorship - differences are in degree only) only exists from the bottom up - a general sense that "X is not cricket". When such censorship is in place, books depicting bombs and poisons might be published - but they will not sell.

Besides, if such volumes are available on the open market, I know where to look for them if I need to, I can track people using them through open sales figures etc. if I need to. If these things are banned (without removing the market for them; top-down censorship), I merely drive the trade underground, making it that much harder to identify and locate perpetrators.

to have laws changed so that this trash is not permitted in your country?? We already have terribly violent people all around the world and I find it reprehensible that such publishing is permitted. It is astounding.

My full appreciation to you for the painstaking effort.

Censoring will not work because, the censoring officials tend to be corrupt. Proscribing will not work becasue it gives indirect publicity to the book. People will buy more in black market to see what the book contains out of curiosity and also to practise.

Teachers have a role in shaping children into responsible citizens. Teachers and parents should sit together and workout solutions.

I understand what everybody is saying about censorship. I'm not arguing for every swear word to be removed from rap songs or for Larry Flint to stop selling Hustler. I could really care less about those issues, BUT I think that publishing material that is a how to guide for building pipe bombs, making silencers and disposing of dead bodies is just wrong.
I agree somewhat with Drake Bobby, but theres a gigantic difference between GTA and a book telling people how to murder someone.
I have a great example to prove my point.
When I was 14 my friend Brett had this publication. I don't remember the name ot it but it was a book that taught you how to make mini bombs and other things. We learned how to make Tennis Ball bombs. They're not really a big deal. But after reading how to do it we spent hours in his basement creating these little bombs because the freaking book told us how and we wanted to see if it worked.

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