My readers (both of you) may recall my post about Amazon's practice of selling dog-fighting information. I gave up buying from them when I learned of this.
More recently, I've learned that they're far from alone. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell's... in fact, every online bookseller I could find sells these materials. Apparently, no one wants to risk being accused of censorship.
I can hardly boycott every bookseller, so I guess I might as well abandon my Amazon boycott and just write a new round of protests. I'll just aim at a larger audience now (if I'm going to tweak Amazon, I might as well hit B&N, Powell's, etc.).
I still think it's wrong to sell such materials. There are limits to free speech--just as yelling fire in a crowded theater isn't protected speech, selling materials like this, the sole purpose of which is to teach readers how to conduct an illegal (and cruel) activity shouldn't be supported.
In any case, as I tilt at windmills, I suppose it's good to be able to buy from a major retailer again. I just wish they'd wake up and stop hiding behind their misplaced "we don't censor" nonsense. Every such retailer censors, for they can't possibly carry everything in print. It would be very nice if they gave this some actual thought and did the right thing!
2 comments:
It's difficult to "do the right thing". I say "I don't buy from Amazon." or "I don't shop at Walmart." Which is easy for me because..well, I'm basically unemployed and financially challenged (read; poor). But the truth is..I really don't shop Amazon, and I haven't since you brought that information to light. It will stay that way for me. I don't find it all that difficult. I learn from my blog family about such companies, and I find I stick to what I learn and I keep what little funds I have for shopping to those that deserve my business. So you keep tilting at windmills Jess Quixote. I'm happy to be your Sancho Panza (after Marc, of course).
Thanks for the support, Pua. The problem is that I'm addicted to books. "Hi, I'm Jess, and I'm a bookaholic." And while I get some from the library, I love having a nice, new book in my hands. Now that I've found that all of the book retailers sell that dog-fighting crap, I don't know what options I have. The local bookshops I used to buy from have been run out of business (long ago). What's a book-loving boy to do?
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