Angry Kindles, protesting against publishers who have turned off the text-to-speech function on some Kindle books, staged a demonstration on the steps of the entrance to the main branch of the New York City Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street yesterday. Amazon's electronic readers, some of them wearing tiny muzzles over their mouths, carried huge signs, saying it was an outrage that they could no longer read aloud certain books to owners, because of the actions of a bunch of greedy publishers. Hundreds of library patrons quickly congregated to listen and loudly applaud the demonstrators.
The head Kindle addressed the crowd: "We just do our reading in a computerized voice, for Pete's sake." He continued, "We're not fancy audio books read by experienced actors. What are those publishers afraid of? How dare they try to shut us up."
The next speaker, a female Kindle wearing horn-rimmed glasses, said the rights of the Kindles were being violated. "This is America, the land of the free and the home of the brave," she proclaimed, adding, "the first amendment to the Constitution guarantees all of us free speech, but these publishers have tried to muzzle us. Wait and see. They won't get away with it."
Another Kindle stepped up to the microphone to say that greedy publishers were denying sight-impaired customers the right to read. He pointed out that these people may be unable to read with their eyes but they were quite capable of listening to their Kindle books. He said, "That's their right and we should be serving them; we won't give in; the publishers shouldn't have the right to silence us."
Before the demonstration broke up, the Kindles promised to continue and extend their campaign. Snail mail, email, television commercials, and personal visits to the offices of publishing executives are planned. The crowd went wild with encouraging cheers when the head Kindle looked to the left and then to the right at the two stone lions framing the library entrance. He then announced, "Remember their names are Patience and Fortitude; like them, we Kindles possess both those virtues and will NEVER give up our right to speak."
