Monday, April 13, 2009

Dear Amazon: Homophobia Is So Fucking Reagan-Era...

Dear Mr Bezos.

Speaking as someone who's dropped a bundle on your Internet store of All Things Mediasque, I'm pissed off with your recent decision regarding Amazon's handling of books by gay authors, or books with gay characters. I'm not gonna repeat your chunder-headed blunderings at length: your cock-up (or is that expression too gay for you?) is all over the 'Net over the last 36 hours or so. But if anybody really needs to know what you've done, this article records the matter nicely.

Conservatively, I'd guess I've spent between $400 and $500 through Amazon in the last twelve months. It's been nice. I've been able to source all kinds of great books and movies that would otherwise never have reached this part of the world, and I've been able to send really interesting presents to a number of friends and relatives courtesy of your service.

Too bad you're behaving like a clueless dickwad, Mr Bezos. Because as of today, my customer relationship with Amazon just crashed and burned. I'm done with your store, you pathetic hick, and that will remain the case until I see a turnaround in your Victorian-era policy towards material created by, or featuring, people of alternative sexual persuasions. I may be straight, Mr Bezos, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of the gay crowd -- and I note that some of 'em can write with the best of us.

Enough with that Bezos cretin. As to the rest of you: those who may be in my sorry position -- stuck out in Outer Arseburp, a long way away from anything resembling a comprehensive bookstore -- I'm gonna copy here a post from my buddy Dr Jon, a righteous dude in his own way. Dr Jon has a Livejournal account, and he called this post: "Amazon Alternatives"


Looking for something and don't want to Amazon Rank?

Number One:
  • Bookfinder.com
    http://www.bookfinder.com/
    Metasearch for new and secondhand books (includes Amazon results -- ignore them). First place I turn when looking for something.
Other places I use and recommend: Here's some more large regional stores...

There you have it, folks. Do the right thing, eh? Oh, and Jeff Bezos?

Screw you.

Yours very goddam sincerely indeed,

Ex-customer Dirk Flinthart.
Posted by at

20 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 13, 2009 at 2:06 AM

    Well I guess I'm joining you, though until I get rid of the leech I'm still broke.

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  2. Big Bad AlApril 13, 2009 at 3:00 AM

    Thanks for the List.

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  3. Michael barnesApril 13, 2009 at 3:28 AM

    I'd use the book depository site but I'd worry about snipers.

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  4. FlinthartApril 13, 2009 at 3:40 AM

    Yeah. You wouldn't want to get in their way if they were shooting somebody we don't much like...

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  5. AnonymousApril 13, 2009 at 3:52 AM

    Foucault is considered "adult" material? While I found his political philosophy stuff boring to the point of tears (we had to spend two weeks studying him in my political theory course), that is beyond absurd. Foucault's work is academic...that's just freaking stupid.

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  6. AnonymousApril 13, 2009 at 6:02 AM

    WTF? I mean really WTF?

    Where do these bloody Seppos get off with this puritan crap (my apols to Paul, Murph , Jenn and the rest..but).

    Then again I bet old St Kev would have then burnt as well...

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  7. FlinthartApril 13, 2009 at 3:15 PM

    Yeah... I'm really getting tired of this sort of crap. Every time you start to think that okay, maybe some little progress has been made, some goddam Froot Loop jumps up and goes all turban-brained at you.

    I don't think St Kevin the Pure would burn those books on account of somebody being gay. But if he could find words relating to Certain Body Parts in them, or maybe even Accounts Of Particular Behaviours -- yeah, he'd blow a foo-foo valve in his efforts to have them buried forever.

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  8. beesoApril 13, 2009 at 3:15 PM

    Well at least i now know where all the neo-cons went after the election, they joined the board of Amazon!

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  9. Jocelyn PlumsApril 13, 2009 at 3:36 PM

    I'll bet that's not the only way they manipulate their searches.

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  10. hughesyApril 13, 2009 at 4:04 PM

    I'm rather proud of the fact that I've never purchased anything from the Evil empire.

    Pricks.

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  11. DamianApril 13, 2009 at 4:17 PM

    Amazon lost me years ago when they tried to insist an "online shopping system involving a 'cart' and a 'checkout'" was their IP.

    There've been further developments in this case, but not ones that exonerate Amazon methinks.

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  12. JennickiApril 13, 2009 at 4:55 PM

    Homophobic secret cocksuckers.

    ReplyDelete
  13. FlinthartApril 13, 2009 at 8:14 PM

    They're claiming it's a "glitch" in their new system. Apparently, they wanted to Ruddify their search system, keeping 'adult' material from the eyes of those who didn't specifically ask about it. But by some bizarre coincidence, all these gay-related books got zapped as well... because of course, perfectly mainstream works by gay authors are automatically going to be 'adult'.

    Another 'development' is a claim by a well-known Internet troll that he/she wrote a 'script' to game the Amazon search/vote system, and designed it to read GLBT tags, and vote them out. Nobody's giving that one much credence.

    Frankly, from what I can tell it looks as though they were trying to pacify the Rudds of the world, but went the extra mile in a completely stupid direction. It'll be interesting to hear what they have to say when the dust settles.

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  14. AnonymousApril 13, 2009 at 8:42 PM

    Dirk, yes sorry wasn't clear on that i meant any mention of naughtiness rather than the author actually being gay or whatever..

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  15. TherbsApril 13, 2009 at 9:35 PM

    I haven'tused Amazon, mainly because I can walk around many different bookshops and look at the things. Obviously not everyone has that luxury. I certainly won't be going anywhere these tossers now. Who are they anyway, the Fijian Military?

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  16. KimmywooApril 14, 2009 at 2:39 AM

    Another one to add to your list Flint - Abe Books in the US does a great line in first editions. www.abebooks.com.

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  17. hughesyApril 14, 2009 at 4:26 AM

    Yes Kimmywoo - I found an impossible to find out of print sound theory book at Abe books. Brilliant.

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  18. MickHApril 14, 2009 at 3:50 PM

    I followed your links Dirk
    Looks like a bit of a storm in a tea cup

    ReplyDelete
  19. FlinthartApril 14, 2009 at 4:21 PM

    Follow it further, Mick. Amazon's playing the "stupidity trumps malice" card in their defense. I'll buy it because Hanlon's Razor is accurate more often than not. But it's a big stretch. A really big stretch.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/technology/internet/14amazon.html?hpw

    Anyway, it's clear they want business more than they want to be Guardians of Moral Righteousness... at least for the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  20. songs_for_janeApril 15, 2009 at 8:08 PM

    They can't hide every work of a GLBT or hide every work containing a GLBT. The liberal arts remain a haven for those on the margins. Sanctuary...

    J.

    ReplyDelete

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