I’m Sparta…Dave Walker
Dave Walker, cartoonist for the Church Times and his own website cartoonchurch.com had been reporting the plight of the SPCK Christian bookshops for quite some time. He wrote and drew comments about the, quite obvious, mis-management taking place that eventually led to the closure of most of the shops. I used to work for the Christian bookshop chain Wesley Owen, and we often re-directed people to SPCK if they were looking for a more academic type of book.
Dave Walker was a big supporter of SPCK – He had a “Save the SPCK” banner on the front of his webpage. So it seems utterly bizarre to me that the people that took over the shops, SSG, should see his commentary as offensive and worthy of legal action. On July 22, that is what they did.
Hours later, the 75 posts about SPCK were taken down. This is not because Dave Walker saw the error of his ways, but because he couldn’t afford to go to court. Those posts are now lost in the mist of time – never to be seen again.
I am not a big fan of large corporations using their size, money, and knowledge to intimidate individuals. At the risk of sounding like a stroppy teenager, it isn’t fair. It pains me more when it is a Christian organisation that is doing the bullying. When did God ever send a “cease and desist” notice to anyone? There are plenty of people He could give one to. What’s wrong with having a nice chat, a cup of tea, and a biscuit to solve these things? At least then, if you lose, you know why, and you’ve had a nice cup of tea and a biscuit.
Nevertheless, it’s nice to see people standing up for what they believe. There are plenty of people writing about this – and it’s nice that someone has listed them here.
I’m not going to comment much more on this, I don’t live too far from Texas and I’m only 5′6″. So, I’ll end with a cryptic cartoon I drew, and the claim that I’m Dave Walker.
(P.S. You may use this cartoon anywhere you like. A little nod in my direction is always welcome)
August 4th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Great post Ben, any chance of us republishing that cartoon? It’s a cracker.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
The mind boggles at the way some Americans go beyond the cartoon caricatures of themselves. You can’t even take the mickey any more.
But it looks as though this guy is not merely an insensitive missionary and a high-handed bully, but a crook to boot.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:48 am
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:30 am
Ben,
I am surprised that an otherwise astute writer has jumped to the cliche of
American lawsuits, fat Americans, controlling Americans, etc. One man’s actions suggest that an entire country holds the same values? This is somehow an America vs. England issue? No, I believe the conclusion to be jumped to is that Mark Brewer represents not all Americans, but all Christians. Two faced, short sighted, and eager to conceal selfishness with martyrdom. Aren’t stereotypes fun?
October 7th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
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