The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is one of America's oldest still-operating trade associations. It's also been taken over by far leftists. As such, thanks to some self-flagellating tweets and a CEO's letter regarding its lapses from transgender support and Critical Race Theory, it has attained prominence as the perfect illustration of intellectual bankruptcy and personal hypocrisy that is the endpoint of American leftism (aka Wokus Americanus).

The ABA (which is not to be confused with the American Bar Association, which has also devolved into a leftist institution) was founded in 1900 to promote independent bookstores across the United States. The data on Wikipedia (which, while generally untrustworthy, can be useful for things like this) are poorly formatted but indicates that, as of 2019, there were around 2,500 or so member bookstores across America.

On Wednesday, the ABA issued what quickly became an infamous groveling apology.  Although the ABA has made its Twitter account private in response to the uproar, the internet is forever:

The book to which the tweets refer is Abigail Shrier's Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.  Shrier doesn't even challenge the idea of transgenderism, which she supports for adults.  She objects to its being pushed on young girls.

Kids once said, "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  No longer.  According to Wokus Americanus, merely exposing people to an idea with which they disagree — for example, that it's bad to push transgenderism, complete with mutilating surgery and dangerous hormones, onto little girls — constitutes an act of violence.

Traditionally, American culture punishes acts of violence with imprisonment.  Is that what's in store for Shrier and anyone who dares to suggest that there are limits to transgender madness?  (I've been so strident on the subject, I'm probably heading for the electric chair.)

But that public self-flagellation wasn't the end of the ABA's woke exhibitionism.  ABA CEO Allison Hill also issued a public statement to all ABA members.  The first three paragraphs could have emerged from a brutal Maoist struggle session — although the ABA apparently acted voluntarily:

This week we did horrific harm when we included an anti-trans book in ABA's July box mailing to members. Last week, we did terrible and racist harm when featuring the bestseller Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nie Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon with the wrong cover image, conflating it with an image of the cover of a book by a different Black author, a right-wing extremist.

We traumatized and endangered members of the trans community. We erased Black authors, conflated Black authors, and put the authors in danger through a forced association. We further marginalized communities we want to support.

There is nothing that I can say that will make this right. This should not have happened. I want to apologize for both of these harms and for the pain that ABA caused. But I know only action matters. These were egregious, harmful acts that caused violence and pain. One negligent, irresponsible, and racist; the other negligent, irresponsible, and transphobic. (The latter was not a free speech decision.)

If you're wondering what "racist" harm the ABA committed and who that evil "different Black author, a right-wing extremist" is — it appears that the ABA inadvertently ran a picture of Candace Owens.  To the ABA, all Black women look alike.  It's also noteworthy that, despite the ABA's loudly proclaimed commitment to "diversity" and "inclusion," as well as its claim to support free speech, none of that extends to diversity of thought, whether in defense of women or a Black woman who dares to deviate from the plantation mentality.

The ABA's wokism also exists on a solid platform of hypocrisy.  The Board of Directors consists of one Asian woman and a horde of White people.  Of the 27 members on its Advisory Council, some internet sleuthing revealed that four are Black, two are Asian, one is Hispanic, and the remaining 20 are White.  CEO Hill is White.

These people, to judge by Hill's letter, support Critical Race Theory.  (How else can one understand the groveling and the references to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?)  CRT says White people have used their toxic White privilege to create systemic racism that denies Blacks any opportunities in America.

What this means is that any White person who espouses CRT without instantly quitting his, her, or its job and handing it to a Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color (BIPOC) is nothing more than a bloviating, hypocritical, virtue-signaling windbag.  That person, therefore, needs to be named, shamed, and canceled.  Do not ever listen to or take seriously a White person who preaches CRT but who maintains his/her/its toxically acquired position.

We should all be grateful to the ABA for so perfectly exposing the vapidity, hysteria, and hypocrisy behind Critical Race Theory, transgenderism, and all other behaviors of the Wokus Americanus.

Image: Satirical, fair use, political lampooning of the ABA logo by Andrea Widburg.

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