Deaccession

The Orpheum Theatre screened the film on August 11, the same day of the white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville – and commenters weren’t shy about connecting the two. The president of the Orpheum Theatre Group says the decision was made before Charlottesville, but: “As an organization whose stated mission is to ‘entertain, educate and enlighten the communities it serves,’ the Orpheum cannot show a film that is insensitive to a large segment of its local population.”

Okay, almost no one argues that we should continue to permit trade in new ivory. Yet, argues John Frederick Walker, blocking all sales of older, already-sculpted ivory – and (as is happening now) burning or crushing existing pieces, even certified antiques – will simply increase scarcity and add glamor (and cash value) to the material.