It's not Friday but I'm so p*ssed off at Amazon
I got an email with a link to this site: https://community.hsus.org/campaign/US_2007_amazon_fighting3?rk=kdSKTZY1R8-dW
"Amazon.com Continues to Fight the Bad Fight
For at least two years, Amazon.com has been infamously—and incorrectly—touting its "right" to sell materials promoting illegal animal fighting, blatantly peddling dogfighting videos as well as cockfighting magazines like The Gamecock and The Feathered Warrior.
Amazon.com seems so determined to profit from illegal animal fighting that, rather than simply drop its sales of animal fighting materials, it has filed a motion against The HSUS in federal court, essentially asking that federal and state laws to protect animals be gutted to accommodate Amazon.com's sales of animal fighting paraphernalia.
Amazon.com's persistence is all the more disturbing because it comes just weeks after Congress passed legislation making it a felony offense to ship publications containing "commercial speech" for the purpose of promoting or "in any other manner furthering" animal fighting, in addition to the mailing of all other materials that promote animal fighting."
There's a form to send a protest to Jeffrey Bezos, CEO of Amazon.
I added the following to my protest:
"My husband and I spend hundreds of dollars a year buying books, DVD and CDs from Amazon. We will have to take our business to Barnes & Noble's on-line or some other retailer.
You can check out my wish list and see just a little bit of what you *will not* be selling to me: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/ref=yourlists_pop_1/############# (no peeking at my actual wishlist, except by Bezos)
I am going to urge my other vegetarian and animal rights supporter friends to do the same."
Consider yourself URGED!
Love and peas
T_in_Texas
Yep, I have written to Amazon before about this same thing. I basically got the "We appreciate your opinion but we are going to sell this stuff anyway" response. Luckily there is a Barnes and Noble in my area. >:(
:( How easy it is to profit off at the expense of another.
Since it is illegal to sell that "material" and ship it through the U.S. Postal Service, I hope they get caught and fined out the whazoo! It's probably also illegal to order it, so I won't be the one "setting them up." Investigators from the Postal Office could do it, but probably it's not a priority like stopping those who traffic in child porn. I am very, very serious about not doing business with Amazon! If they're working it from a freedom of speech or free enterprise angle, it's going to cost them money for their misguided principles!
Since it is illegal to sell that "material" and ship it through the U.S. Postal Service, I hope they get caught and fined out the whazoo! It's probably also illegal to order it, so I won't be the one "setting them up." Investigators from the Postal Office could do it, but probably it's not a priority like stopping those who traffic in child porn. I am very, very serious about not doing business with Amazon! If they're working it from a freedom of speech or free enterprise angle, it's going to cost them money for their misguided principles!
complain to peta about it
Since it is illegal to sell that "material" and ship it through the U.S. Postal Service, I hope they get caught and fined out the whazoo! It's probably also illegal to order it, so I won't be the one "setting them up." Investigators from the Postal Office could do it, but probably it's not a priority like stopping those who traffic in child porn. I am very, very serious about not doing business with Amazon! If they're working it from a freedom of speech or free enterprise angle, it's going to cost them money for their misguided principles!
complain to peta about it
Done, I just went to the PETA.org site and filled out the form where you suggest issues and problems for PETA to work on. If they decide to do a sit-in on Jeffrey Bezos front door, I wish I could be there!
Bezos is a bona fide D*CK. Someone very close to me works for Amazon (perhaps he will post his opinion on this...?). Bezos' policies are something to be desired. The way he runs his company and treats his employees is also absolute crap. I'm so not surprised that he allows these kinds of materials to be sold through Amazon. Rat bastard. (Uh oh, this is causing my alter ego to emerge...)
The only good I've seen him do is allow his employees to take their pets to work. That's about it.
Wow. I can't believe it -- I looked the stuff up on Amazon and there it was.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-5717377-1724416?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=gamecock&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
I sent the letter to Bezos, now I guess I'll have to shop somewhere else.
as much as i can't stand cockfighting and similar things, i really don't believe in censorship. if it is currently illegal for amazon to be selling these publications, that kind of bothers me.
humanity cannot acheive higher conciousness through censorship
cockfighters will fight cocks no matter what
the only solution is for humans to educate each other on the underlying issues surrounding this.
instead of protesting what is being sold, maybe some of us should start researching for material to write our own books based on...
just my 2 cents
Wow. I can't believe it -- I looked the stuff up on Amazon and there it was.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-5717377-1724416?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=gamecock&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
I sent the letter to Bezos, now I guess I'll have to shop somewhere else.
Pranabelly:
Fill your Amazon wish list with everything your little heart could desire to buy from them and then do the protest form like I did! If the SOB gets hit in the wallet enough times .. .
Limegreen: If you have time to research and write a book and then get it published, I'll buy it. But suggesting things that most of us don't have time to do and a few of us lack the talent, won't help. I just object to Amazon selling the items. Let the publishers who put out their filth continue to publish "The Gamecock" and "The Feathered Warrior" and sell it by subscription only. If I continue to buy stuff from Amazon, I'm condoning those magazines. It would be like buying vegetables from a Nazi concentration camp for me to buy from Amazon again.
as much as i can't stand cockfighting and similar things, i really don't believe in censorship. if it is currently illegal for amazon to be selling these publications, that kind of bothers me.
humanity cannot acheive higher conciousness through censorship
cockfighters will fight cocks no matter what
the only solution is for humans to educate each other on the underlying issues surrounding this.
instead of protesting what is being sold, maybe some of us should start researching for material to write our own books based on...
just my 2 cents
I get it. I do. But do you really think that Bezos is allowing this stuff to be filtered through because he doesn't believe in censorship? If you do, that's naive. It's about $$$. I never said he didn't have a right (or that it should be illegal). He has the right. But he also has a choice. Most bookstores have a right to sell whatever they want. They also have a choice. Some bookstores sell porn, others don't.
and yeah, my 2 cents are currently being transformed into a novel that takes on some issues regarding compassion toward animals. So some of us are currently trying to make an effort, to the best of our ability, to make a difference. But I guess some people are more interested in reading about cockfighting. Which is why maybe my novel will never be published if I ever finish it. ;) And if I do get it published, after I've called Bezos a bona fide D*ck, the real test (regarding censorship) is to see if he'll still sell my novel on Amazon ;).
Are we certain barnesandnoble.com and buy.com and overstock.com and all their ilk also don't sell this offensive material?
I am happy to stop patronizing Amazon, but I want to make certain that I'm not doing the same by shifting my business to another company that engages in the same business practices.
About the U.S. Post Office thing, Amazon doesn't ship via the post office--they use either FedEx, UPS, or DHL, so I don't think that there will be any legal action taken there. Perhaps they know this? :-\
They've already been "caught" by the Humane Society of the US. HSUS is suing them for selling these materials to people in places where it is against the law. Read the story at: http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/animal_fighting_the_final_round/recent_activities/amazon_com_cruelty.html
I haven't bought anything from Amazon since I got their B.S. response to the complaint I sent several months ago. The form letter basically said that some people are entertained by it; therefore if they didn't sell it, they'd be exercising censorship (it brought to mind some other illegal items by which some people are entertained; I'm pretty sure Amazon doesn't sell that...). Amazon.com is a retailer; their choice not to profit on acts of cruelty does not constitute censorship, IMHO. Also, before you assume that Amazon is some kind of bastion of free speech, please read list of materials Amazon has pulled or refuses to sell: http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/Amazon-pulling-printed-materials-examples.pdf
Actually I was going to see if those magazines "The Gamecock" and "The Feathered Warrior" are available from Barnes & Noble. They don't seem to have a section where they sell any magazines. But I did a search for "The Feathered Warrior" and found 4 items that had those words. The first one is about military clothing and two of the others are novels set in the Old West featuring Native Americans. The fourth is a children's non-fiction book about Native Americans.
Searching for the "The Gamecock" brings up lots of books about Teenage gangs. It seems to be a common nickname for gang members. It didn't find anything when I searched for "The Gamecock" + rooster. "The Gamecock" + chicken didn't find anything either. Barnes & Noble doesn't sell general merchandise like Amazon does so I'm not going to search for the blades and spurs.
I searched for training+dog+fighting. The books I looked at where about training pit bulls and similar dogs **not** to fight! There's one "Thirty Years with Fighting Dogs" that I think is a memoir and not a step to step instruction manual. I can accept that in the name of freedom of speech. There's one novel where the owners of dogs at an obedience class fight to the death while the dogs watch!
I don't do busines with buy.com and overstock.com and don't plan to so I'll leave those search to someone else.
Thanks for your research.
What is your issue with overstock.com and buy.com?
as much as i can't stand cockfighting and similar things, i really don't believe in censorship. if it is currently illegal for amazon to be selling these publications, that kind of bothers me.
humanity cannot acheive higher conciousness through censorship
cockfighters will fight cocks no matter what
the only solution is for humans to educate each other on the underlying issues surrounding this.
instead of protesting what is being sold, maybe some of us should start researching for material to write our own books based on...
just my 2 cents
I'm with you lime green. It's the same reasoning I use when people ask me if it bothers me if they eat meat while I'm around. I say just be sure you know exactly what you're eating, be educated. And that's all. Education is the key to change I believe :)
as much as i can't stand cockfighting and similar things, i really don't believe in censorship. if it is currently illegal for amazon to be selling these publications, that kind of bothers me.
humanity cannot acheive higher conciousness through censorship
cockfighters will fight cocks no matter what
the only solution is for humans to educate each other on the underlying issues surrounding this.
instead of protesting what is being sold, maybe some of us should start researching for material to write our own books based on...
just my 2 cents
I'm with you lime green. It's the same reasoning I use when people ask me if it bothers me if they eat meat while I'm around. I say just be sure you know exactly what you're eating, be educated. And that's all. Education is the key to change I believe :)
I too am very against any type of censorship. It unfortunately happens with private and publically held companies all around us. I certainly don't advocate going and spending any of your money in Walmart but lots of people do. While they do have tons and tons of religious themed books offered for sale, but you won't find any of Henry Miller's books for sale there, or the "greatest hits" from Robert Mapplethorpe there either. I won't be able to find them in Target and lots and lots of stores. (I do shop in target from time to time). Since they are private and/or public held corporations, they have the right to sell things that the majority of their costumers want, and to limit things that might offend the majority. I truly do not agree with that practice, but it is how the world we currently reside upon works. Amazon is not a public library, nor are they the library of Congress. They can sell, or not sell anything they choose to. I'm sure there are books written advocating bestiality, or books that are published by NAMBLA that you could not find on Amazon. I do not believe they sell everything under the sun. You have the right as a consumer to not purchase anything from them if they sell things that offend you. I spend a lot of time on the road. I would never walk into a McDonald's to even purchase a bottle of water no matter how thirsty I might be. To do so would just add pennies to their bottom line. I vote to spend my dollars elsewhere...same with Amazon.
-dave
I too am very against any type of censorship. It unfortunately happens with private and publically held companies all around us. I certainly don't advocate going and spending any of your money in Walmart but lots of people do. While they do have tons and tons of religious themed books offered for sale, but you won't find any of Henry Miller's books for sale there, or the "greatest hits" from Robert Mapplethorpe there either. I won't be able to find them in Target and lots and lots of stores. (I do shop in target from time to time). Since they are private and/or public held corporations, they have the right to sell things that the majority of their costumers want, and to limit things that might offend the majority. I truly do not agree with that practice, but it is how the world we currently reside upon works. Amazon is not a public library, nor are they the library of Congress. They can sell, or not sell anything they choose to. I'm sure there are books written advocating bestiality, or books that are published by NAMBLA that you could not find on Amazon. I do not believe they sell everything under the sun. You have the right as a consumer to not purchase anything from them if they sell things that offend you. I spend a lot of time on the road. I would never walk into a McDonald's to even purchase a bottle of water no matter how thirsty I might be. To do so would just add pennies to their bottom line. I vote to spend my dollars elsewhere...same with Amazon.
-dave
I agree with everything you wrote here. Well said.
Thanks for your research.
What is your issue with overstock.com and buy.com?
No issue, I just prefer to buy from physical stores things like clothes, shoes especially and other things. Since I can't really look at and examine an item on-line and I would have to go to San Antonio to really see what I would be getting due to a lack of anything but W*lm*art here, if I want it, I'll go ahead and buy it there. With the shipping costs and everything, I don't know that I'd be saving any money and I certainly wouldn't be saving any time!
as much as i can't stand cockfighting and similar things, i really don't believe in censorship. if it is currently illegal for amazon to be selling these publications, that kind of bothers me.
humanity cannot acheive higher conciousness through censorship
cockfighters will fight cocks no matter what
the only solution is for humans to educate each other on the underlying issues surrounding this.
instead of protesting what is being sold, maybe some of us should start researching for material to write our own books based on...
just my 2 cents
I'm with you lime green. It's the same reasoning I use when people ask me if it bothers me if they eat meat while I'm around. I say just be sure you know exactly what you're eating, be educated. And that's all. Education is the key to change I believe :)
I too am very against any type of censorship. It unfortunately happens with private and publically held companies all around us. I certainly don't advocate going and spending any of your money in Walmart but lots of people do. While they do have tons and tons of religious themed books offered for sale, but you won't find any of Henry Miller's books for sale there, or the "greatest hits" from Robert Mapplethorpe there either. I won't be able to find them in Target and lots and lots of stores. (I do shop in target from time to time). Since they are private and/or public held corporations, they have the right to sell things that the majority of their costumers want, and to limit things that might offend the majority. I truly do not agree with that practice, but it is how the world we currently reside upon works. Amazon is not a public library, nor are they the library of Congress. They can sell, or not sell anything they choose to. I'm sure there are books written advocating bestiality, or books that are published by NAMBLA that you could not find on Amazon. I do not believe they sell everything under the sun. You have the right as a consumer to not purchase anything from them if they sell things that offend you. I spend a lot of time on the road. I would never walk into a McDonald's to even purchase a bottle of water no matter how thirsty I might be. To do so would just add pennies to their bottom line. I vote to spend my dollars elsewhere...same with Amazon.
-dave
I was going to bring the NAMBLA angle into the discussion. If they published a magazine (which they can't legally and have any "useful" to the perverts content in it) that had pictures of men having sex with children and schedules of events where children would be provided to "party" with, wouldn't you be outraged?! What if your across the street neighbor subscribed and it accidentally ended up in your mailbox? I'd puke my guts out before I could get back in the house to call the police. Some censorship is agreed upon by the majority of the population. In the case of dog and cock fighting, the majority of the population stand with the animal rights advocates!
Pages