Traversing the 'Amazon Fail'

[crows]

So. Prior to someone I actually care about actually caring in a way that was visible (she expressed annoyance <3, so I figured I'd better at least go see what this thing was), I hadn't been paying attention to the trending '#amazonfail' topic on Twitter (and elsewhere? I'm not sure). And, by this point, I haven't dug particularly deep into it and, FRANKLY, I doubt I will. I'm not against political activism; but my hotbutton issues are reproductive rights and toy-industry stuff mostly. And yes, I do write and call and read my Planned Parenthood newsletters. I don't feel the need to attack everything in the country that I'm unsure about.

Anyway. So, it seems to be that Amazon may or may not have (they have not released an 'official statement' about the issue yet as I understand) made moves to sweep books with 'adult content', and books focusing on gay/lesbian themes (and/or by gay/lesbian authors) under the rug by keeping them from appearing on best seller lists and on the main search of the website.

Now, as a policy, I do -not- agree with this by any means. It's pretty crappy. I'm firmly and vocally of the belief that a man who likes men should be treated no differently than a man who has a penchant for red-heads or girls that like to waterski. Why should I give a shit who you're romantically and sexually invested in? The only way that possibly affects my life is if it's ME. (I am not a man, I don't waterski, and my hair is only red because I dye it). So, yea, if a business in my town decided this was kosher, I'd be disappointed.

On the other hand, they are a business. My family also owns a business (it's a toy store, for anyone who doesn't know). It is the nearest and dearest right for my mother to be able to choose what she does and does not carry, and why; that's a huge part of what she does with her life. For one thing, she chooses not to stock a lot of overtly religious material (of any faith - though, we do usually get in some dreidles at holiday time and I'm always amazed by how many people I have to explain what they are to... who doesn't know what a dreidle is?! I'm not a bit Jewish and I've always known what a dreidle is! Dreidle always sounded like a fun game to me... >.>...). So, whether or not I agree with the policies guiding Amazon to what they do and do not carry, I have a hard time saying that they don't have the right to make those choices. Just because I want to buy something, doesn't mean they HAVE to make it available to me (and yes, this is one thing I think American consumer culture does NOT have a good sense of - just because you want something does not make you entitled to have it).

Now, on the other OTHER hand (I have THREE!), I have to say I think it's stellar that people are taking notice. One of the things our economy (and society!) lacks and suffers for is consumer awareness of the businesses behind the products that they cant wait to get their grabby little hands on. This runs the gamut... if people were paying more attention to what kind of business decisions companies were making, large and small, from discrimination amongst staff of product selection, to production, to financial decisions, to how their taking part in the community, and subsequently making somewhat more judicious choices about what behaviors they were supporting, our economic situation and more would be very, very different. Less production would have been driven overseas. There would be more, better jobs and more quality control over shit, and the government wouldn't be spending billions of dollars on testing regulations and recalls (THAT ARE GOING TO DESTROY AN INDUSTRY! CPSIA, I'm looking at you right now!). Businesses and individuals would be more involved with their communities and, thusly, those communities would be stronger and safer.

As a rule, I'm a little turned-off by 'viral' or 'guerrilla' marketing, but it is pervasive, so I guess it shouldn't be surprising that activism endeavors would be the same. I can't say for sure how I feel about the whole thing method-wise; but with any movement like this there's just going to be that percentage of people who don't really know what they're talking about and get way, way more hot and bothered than is probably appropriate, given that fact. That always worries me. In the mean time, I'm going to keep a closer eye on the news and see what Amazon has to say about it, and how they respond to the outcry from this part of their customer base.

This is a capitalist nation. It matters where you put your money.

Comments

[canonical-tom.livejournal.com]

Technically, this isn't a capitalist nation, and where we spend our money as middle-class consumers makes very little difference in a global sense. I understand the sentiment, though, I hope your mom can continue to direct her own business as she sees fit. The difference here is that your mom's business is relatively small and affects relatively few people, and so the balance between autonomy and social responsibility can be entrusted exclusively to her.

The Amazon saga is still ongoing, one of the current theories is that it was some kind of very specific technical glitch, or hackers, but due to the specificity I find those very suspect. The fact that they're making excuses, rather than arguing for censorship as a matter of corporate policy, makes me think that it will work out well for everyone in the end.

[alaskanmermaid.livejournal.com]

*applause* Thank you for taking the time to post this - saves me the trouble ;) I'd also argue that this IS a capitalist nation, and a damn good example of one. Where we spend our money makes a TON of difference. Why do you think there's an oil crisis? Middle class American demand, baby Heh

[canonical-tom.livejournal.com]

There's no argument, economic theory provides a precise definition of capitalism, to make sure the word doesn't just mean whatever we want it to mean, and our nation's economy doesn't satisfy that definition.