The New Tolerance

Cathy Seipp: "A FRIEND of mine took his daughter to visit the famous City Lights in San Francisco, explaining that this store is important because years ago it sold books no other store would - even, perhaps especially, books whose ideas many people found offensive. So, though my friend is no Ward Churchill fan, he didn't really mind the prominent display of books by the guy who famously called 9/11 victims 'little Eichmanns.'

But it did occur to him that perhaps the long-delayed English translation of Oriana Fallaci's new book, 'The Force of Reason,' might finally be available, and that, because Fallaci's militant stance against Islamic militants offends so many people a store committed to selling banned books would be the perfect place to buy it. So he asked a clerk if the new Fallaci book was in yet.

'No,' snapped the clerk. 'We don't carry books by fascists.'"

For the times, they are a-changin'.