Saturday, August 22, 2009

Correspondence - I sent this letter to my local Borders bookstore today

I sent this letter to the manager of my local Borders bookstore today:

Dear [redacted],

My family and I have been loyal Borders customers since your store opened a little more than seven years ago.

One of our most frequent (and enjoyable) activities as a family has been our regular trips to your store. Our young boys love to make their way to the children's section to look through the books and pick out a few favorites. Then, they sit on the floor and look through their selected books, before heading over to the cafe for a snack. Most visits we allow them each to pick out a book to purchase.

We are working diligently to raise our boys properly, a difficult task in today's culture which seems to seek out and celebrate the worst in human attitudes and behavior. Up until our most recent visits, we believed our trips to Borders were an ally in our efforts on this front.

You can imagine my dismay, as we were making our way across your main floor the other day, to see prominently displayed amidst your bestsellers a book titled, "Skinny Bitch." Lest the moment be viewed as an aberration, I note that a couple weeks ago, while en route to the elevator, we passed the discount shelves, where a book titled "Dictionary of Bullshit" was staring us in the face.

I am concerned about bringing my family to Borders if my children are going to be confronted with vulgarity as they walk through your store. How am I supposed to undo the damage of my young son seeing, in plain view on your shelves, words that are vulgar and disrespectful?

Certainly there is another way. Can such books be placed behind the front desk or in an out-of-the way corner (perhaps a section labeled "adult" or "over-18" or "parental warning")?"

In the meantime, I will need to consider whether continued trips to your store are in my family's best interest.

Respectfully,

[Mr. H]


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