5 Sunday Jul 3, 2011
The publicity around Ian Wishart's book on Macsyna King has been a publisher's dream. Photo / NZ Herald
Those opposed to the book would have done more damage to its fortunes by saying nothing and not drawing attention to it. As it is, they have made Ian Wishart the beneficiary of the sort of publicity most small publishers can only dream of.
Wishart is a professional controversialist and fundamentalist Christian whose beliefs prey on our worst instincts. Big brother is watching us. Helen Clark had a secret agenda. The justice system favours criminals. Name a right-wing piece of lunacy and he is likely to be for it. Fortunately, we live in a society where he has every right to express his opinions, no matter how crazy.
Publishing is not a democracy. We don't get to vote on which books are printed. From Mein Kampf to the Bible we allow books to be published and sold that propagate ideas many of us find offensive.
But it is one of the fundamentals of our society that everyone is entitled to express their opinion, no matter how extreme.
Read Paul Little's full column at Herald on Sunday.
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