note: this is not intended to address just Bob C (who i usually find very
smart, helpful and informative) but to address everyone who's got their
back up one way or another about Modern Ferret.
 
>I have been watching the Modern Ferret Halloween photo debate with interest
>and I am forced to say that I am quite ashamed to be associated with some
>of you.  It is one thing to express an opinion about a like or dislike, but
>it is another thing entirely to purposely go out and attempt to distroy
>someone's livelihood.  The decision to pull Modern Ferret off the PetCo
>shelves has angered me to a degree that few things have angered me before.
>To know the decison was precipitated by a few vocal humorless people,
>including fellow FML people, has angered me even more.  People have said
>they are afraid the pictures in Modern Ferret could hurt the ferret
>movement, but thier actions have far worse implications.
>
>I *KNOW* Mary and Eric, and I can tell you that if you think they are
>making a living off publishing Modern Ferret, you are dumber than a mule
>in tights.  If both of them started working for McDonalds, their combined
>income would probably exceed what they pay themselves.  PetCo's action will
>cost them thousands of dollars, and could force them into default on their
>bills.  If you don't understand what this means, I'll tell you.  There is
>a very real possibiity that this could mean Modern Ferret has to cease
>publication.  No more Modern Ferret.
 
so, Bob C., why did they decide that they wanted to publish some photos
that anyone with an ounce of sense would know would offend people?  it
was a simple gamble.  if they won, the publicity stunt got them more
readership, if they lost, people got offended and stopped buying and
started complaining.
 
unfortunately, they may have lost.  i don't know how many issues they sold
or didn't sell, but you seem to think they lost.  it's a pity, because they
published a lot of great information and didn't often make mistake.  i
often reccommend Modern Ferret to new owners, even though i don't buy it
anymore.
 
but Mary and Eric are adults and they can take care of themselves.  people
have the right to complain about a publication to a pet shop (you've often
encouraged people to complain about Fancy publications), and the pet shop
will respond according to the response from their customers.  Modern Ferret
#24 offended quite a few people of the type who make effective complaints.
Probably they were mostly conservative, well off, middle class people who
shop at petco regularly.  most likely most of the complaints were not from
people on this mailing list, or any other ferret mailing list, but from
all the other ferret owners.  Mary and Eric knew that it was possible that
these people would get offended, and they decided to take that chance.
 
i think that it's really admirable that you are defending your friends, and
that you are being a loyal friend to Mary and Eric, but other people are
entitled to their opinions, and it's not fair to try to blame the people
on this list who didn't like the issue for a possible failure of Modern
Ferret.  if Mary and Eric are having trouble, it is as a result of a
decision they made about the content of their magazine, and not the result
of some kind of personal vendetta against them.  people didn't complain
because they hate Mary and Eric, or even because they love Fancy
publications, they just really disliked those photos, rightly or wrongly.
i really doubt that it was the complaints of the one or two people on this
list who didn't like the issue (i didn't buy it, so i really do have no
opinion at all, either pro or con- but i suspect i would have found it
funny) that got the issue pulled from Petco shelves.  it takes a lot of
much stronger complaints than that to get a magazine pulled.
 
and when it happens, it's not called censorship, it's called capitalism.
Petco doesn't pull the magazine to impose a moral standard of some kind,
it pulls it because it's losing them money.  that's the way North American
society works.
 
and freedom of speech works both ways.  Modern Ferret is free to publish
those photos and people who see them are free to complain.  just think what
a scary place the world could be if we couldn't complain about publications
we didn't like!  imagine what lies about ferrets would go unchallenged!!
all of you crying censorship at the anonymous people who din't like the
issue should think twice about who is telling who that they can't speak.
jeez, talk about pots and kettles!
 
so everyone, the moral of the story is to use your power as a consumer.
Bob C, get out there and tell Petco that you love stopping in to buy Modern
ferret, and that you often leave with other stuff when you do, and then ask
what happened to the latest issue.  then go and buy the issue from another
pet store (or a book shop) and buy some stuff there.  tell them how much
you like Modern Ferret.  write them a letter telling them how glad you were
that they still had Modern Ferret when Petco didn't.  whoever didn't like
it- don't buy it!  tell Mary and Eric, and the pet shop, why you don't like
it.  don't expect that no-one should ever see it just because you don't
like it, but feel free to buy another ferret magazine if there's one you
like.  if more people dislike the magazine than like it, it will go away,
and no-one will ever need to push anyone around to make it happen.
 
siani  (who only buys magazines about scooters)
(now if there was a magazine about scooters AND ferrets...  :)
[Posted in FML issue 2790]