Borders Update

As I checked things out at a local Borders Bookstore I discovered a few interesting things. First of all, any statements regarding Free Inquiry magazine must be made by the corporate PR department, which will not be available until for comment until tomorrow. Store employees, even managers are not allowed to comment on matters of this kind, apparently, from what I was told.

However, upon noticing that the Korans in the store were definitely all on the top shelf in their section, I decided to ask more about that issue, which the Manager on Duty was more than willing to speak about. In this particular store, the "Eastern Thought" section, in which the books on Islam are found, are stored on the smaller shelves in the middle of the section. The MOD of the store explained to me that they are stored in Borders stores, as per corporate policy, a certain height off of the ground which is apparently religiously mandated. On the smaller shelves, this means the top. On the larger shelves in certain stores, this can mean whatever this specified height off of the ground is. The copies of the Torah, she demonstrated, were also stored on the top shelf in that section. She explained that there was no religious mandate regarding the Bible, and that since the store stocks so many versions of the Bible they require entire large shelves, and cannot all be on the upper shelves.

Honestly, I had not really believed whole-heartedly in the idea that the Koran shelving was store policy, but I now have been assured that it is. I was told by both the MOD and other employees that it is corporate policy "to respect all religions and their believers" and to therefore never let the Korans be shelved low or ever touch the ground. The Torah is the only other religious text treated similarly. The belief that all religions and views are treated with the utmost respect by Borders as corporate policy, and always has been, was repeated to me several times.

I find this somewhat amusing, as obviously the respect for those of us who want to see Mohammad cartoons is being thrown out the window. I've also found it amusing in a company that proclaims this as policy the intense attention given to the works of Toni Morrison, who has made numerous racist statements regarding white people that I find offensive, yet her works are frequently featured on their own tables and displays at both Borders and Barnes & Noble. I intend to cross-check these policies with those of Barnes & Noble, as well as to hopefully get actual statements from the two PR representatives I was told to contact, who will return to work tomorrow. I'll get the full scoop on this issue, it just may take a day or two.