Laughing Librarian Yields to Objections,
Pulls Web Cartoon
Brian Smith, creator of the Laughing Librarian Web site, wasn’t laughing April 18 when he posted an explanation for why his facetious bookmark mocking the American Library Association’s “Rediscover America @ your library” National Library Week theme had been pulled from the Web.
Smith explained his response to the NLW theme: “That’s incredibly stupid, and we’d be really offended if we were Native American.” Posted April 6, the mock bookmark contained cartoonish clipart images of conquistadors shooting a bleeding Indian, with “Rediscover America at Your Library” written below. “Yes, it was offensive,” Smith said, “It was supposed to be, because it was intended as an exaggeration of ALA’s bizarre theme.”
The irony was lost on many, however, and word about the bookmark began to circulate on various electronic lists. On April 17–18, the Laughing Librarian received more than 150 complaints, mostly from Native Americans, about the bookmark, and Smith concluded that it was best to take it down. “It was a tough decision,” he told American Libraries, but “a couple of writers reminded us that there are still plenty of idiots in the U.S. of A. who think that killing folks of other races is a good thing,” and “we don’t want our work passed around for yuks” by those who do.
Smith said the whole incident took him by surprise, and he was disappointed that the protests were aimed at the parody rather than at the NLW theme. ALA’s Public Information Office maintains that Smith’s interpretation of the catch phrase is off-base.
Posted April 22, 2002.
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