Strange and annoying emails....

Last week I got an email forwarded by a former student, demanding (!) that I NOT go see "The Golden Compass" starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, which is opening this week. The author, Philip Pullman, has been quoted discussing his religious beliefs, or lack of them, and the purpose behind his work. Now, I've been reading Philip Pullman for years! I first read Ruby in the Smoke in 1990, years before the trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Amber Spyglass and The Subtle Knife) which Pullman entitled His Dark Materials, was published.

My problem is that a COLLEGE graduate was not smart enough to decide as an individual whether or not something was worth reading,viewing or experiencing. Instead of thoughtfully evaluating the claims of this idiotic and hysterical document, my former student passed along the contents to all and sundry. Furthermore, there was an assumption that I would be moved to comply with such insistance, and an assumption that I shared the religious beliefs of the transmitter. I responded sadly but firmly that I was disappointed in this forward, and that I expected this former student to be more thoughtful.

I expect I'm off that email list, but my issue goes further. Any librarian worth his or her salt acquires on behalf of the library for which he or she works items that the librarian buying them may find offensive. I describe myself as an equal opportunity offender, because I fully believe it is important to present not only BOTH sides of an issue, but as many sides of an issue as I can.

End of rant.