On Fri, 24 Oct 1997, Geoffrey D. Sperl wrote:
> Michael Marc Levy wrote:
> >
> > The point is that the illiterate putting the
> > book in the rack at the grocery store will be able to tell which two book-wide
> > column it goes into and the reader at the mall store where most of the books
> > are shelved spine out will be able to tell whether s/he wants to pull it off
> > the shelf for a look see.
>
> Mike-
>
> Isn't that just *slightly* off-base? I don't see the justification of
> slamming a worker just because they work at a grocery store or the
> mall...perhaps you should say it's because the publishers don't think that the
> American public can't figure it out. The publishers are catering to the same
> mentality that the newspapers cater to: the myth of the average sixth grade
> reading level in this country. The publishers could care less about the
> workers - they (for the most part) aren't the consumers.
>
> - Geoffrey
>
You know, I didn't actually say anything about the people who work at
grocery stores or the mall for that matter, not one word. I was speaking
of the people hired by the distributors to put books on the racks in the
grocery stores, not the same people at all in most cases.
And Geoffrey, dear, it's really better if I say what I mean, not what you'd
like me to mean, don't you think? ;^) It's the people who work for the
distributors, many of whom are in fact very poorly educated (because the
job doesn't pay very well), who often know nothing or next to nothing
about the books they are racking and thus need help getting them in the
right spots. You're quite right though, calling them "illiterate" was an
overstatement. Marginally literate would be more accurate. Thanks for once
again keeping me on the straight and narrow.
Mike
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