South Mountain Community College
Week 13 Journal Post - Amazon's Momentary Lapse of Reason
When Amazon stripped the rankings from over 50,000 alleged ‘adult content’ books, it seemed like something that should be happening in the 1970’s. It is a case of blatant censorship. Homophobia, at its best.
What did Amazon do with all those books? My first thought; an image of a good old-fashioned book burning, 1940’s hate-filled Hitler style. That is an image many people have when they think of censorship; book burning, hatred and anger against something the masses have been told is evil. How this is possible in today’s market is a mystery. How is this possible at Amazon?
Amazon is known for having a very thorough selection of LGBT literature. It was also known for celebrating diversity. Whether it is a romance, biography, film, young adult or childrens’ book, Amazon has it, for a good price, delivered to your door in hours. I am sure, when publishers, authors and bookworms alike searched for their favorite LGBT books and found the ‘Amazon new business model of censorship and homophobia’ had stripped their favorite or personal titles from the masses, it shocked and confused them. Books that certainly were not sexual at all were now being labeled ‘erotica’ so they could not be searched for or ranked.
After phone calls to Amazon, the quandary became even more confusing. Literature that used to be easily searched for and quickly found was truly 'missing in action'. It seemed like a sick joke but those who live in a world that rarely understands them and often hates them for reasons unknown, they knew. This was not an accident; this was blatant, outright, homophobic censorship. Amazon implied a childrens book that addresses an often-misunderstood family model of same sex parents is erotica, which is ridiculous. Just a ridiculous as Amazon saying this is all a computer glitch.
Perhaps I am less understanding of Amazon’s short lapse of ‘who buys their products anyways’ reasoning. Perhaps I am less sympathetic to Amazons bad case of blacklisting than some more conservative types might be but I can say I am happy Amazon came to its senses. How many phone calls from corporate lawyers did it take for Amazon to change their mind about their sudden homophobic business model? That too is a mystery.
What did Amazon do with all those books? My first thought; an image of a good old-fashioned book burning, 1940’s hate-filled Hitler style. That is an image many people have when they think of censorship; book burning, hatred and anger against something the masses have been told is evil. How this is possible in today’s market is a mystery. How is this possible at Amazon?
Amazon is known for having a very thorough selection of LGBT literature. It was also known for celebrating diversity. Whether it is a romance, biography, film, young adult or childrens’ book, Amazon has it, for a good price, delivered to your door in hours. I am sure, when publishers, authors and bookworms alike searched for their favorite LGBT books and found the ‘Amazon new business model of censorship and homophobia’ had stripped their favorite or personal titles from the masses, it shocked and confused them. Books that certainly were not sexual at all were now being labeled ‘erotica’ so they could not be searched for or ranked.
After phone calls to Amazon, the quandary became even more confusing. Literature that used to be easily searched for and quickly found was truly 'missing in action'. It seemed like a sick joke but those who live in a world that rarely understands them and often hates them for reasons unknown, they knew. This was not an accident; this was blatant, outright, homophobic censorship. Amazon implied a childrens book that addresses an often-misunderstood family model of same sex parents is erotica, which is ridiculous. Just a ridiculous as Amazon saying this is all a computer glitch.
Perhaps I am less understanding of Amazon’s short lapse of ‘who buys their products anyways’ reasoning. Perhaps I am less sympathetic to Amazons bad case of blacklisting than some more conservative types might be but I can say I am happy Amazon came to its senses. How many phone calls from corporate lawyers did it take for Amazon to change their mind about their sudden homophobic business model? That too is a mystery.
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