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From what I’ve heard, Amazon’s internal politics and culture has become as influenced by far left activism as the other big tech companies. This particular book
by throwawaysea 6y ago
From what I’ve heard, Amazon’s internal politics and culture has become as influenced by far left activism as the other big tech companies. This particular book ban is just the latest visible symptom of their bias. Like all other powerful institutions that have been taken over by ideologues, they cannot be trusted with the power they have. Moderate leftists, centrists, and conservatives should be highly cautious of the power wielded by big tech, as their viewpoints and culture will be the ones suppressed by these institutions’ authoritarian actions.
It is abominable that Amazom will not permit open discussions and diverse perspectives on controversial and highly debated issues like gender identity. The author of this now-banned book shared his perspective on the ban at https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2021/02/when-amazon-erased-my-book https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2021/02/when-amaz.... It‘s not just this book either. Experts like Debra Soh have seen repeated bans and reinstatements of her book “The End of Gender” (https://mobile.twitter.com/DrDebraSoh/status/1364646879305293827 https://mobile.twitter.com/DrDebraSoh/status/136464687930529...). Abigail Shrier, whose book “Irreversible” has also been subject to bans, wrote about the dangerous rise of corporate censorship recently, highlighting Amazon’s use of a vague “hate speech” policy (https://abigailshrier.substack.com/p/book-banning-in-an-age-of-amazon https://abigailshrier.substack.com/p/book-banning-in-an-age-...). Ironically, for a company that claims to be customer focused, these bans are not the right thing for customers either since these books have been Amazon best sellers (https://notthebee.com/article/amazon-and-target-have-been-quietly-disappearing-books-that-are-critical-transgender-ideology https://notthebee.com/article/amazon-and-target-have-been-qu...).
It’s a sad change for a company that once had a strong stance against censoring books, as is tradition among bookshops, but this change of heart isn’t limited to books. Amazon has been increasingly and silently curating content from everything they own - whether it is AWS (which deplatformed Parler) or Prime Video (blocking documentaries that go against BLM narrative), or other things (see https://www.foxnews.com/media/amazon-cancel-censor-content-clarence-thomas-michael-brown-gender-books https://www.foxnews.com/media/amazon-cancel-censor-content-c...).
- heterodoxxed 6y ago| influenced by far left activism If that were even remotely true, they would be supporting unions.
- nudpiedo 6y agoFar left activism abandoned in the practice most worker issues long ago to invest themselves in the minority silos as a way to farm votes strategically.
- heterodoxxed 6y ago| Far left activism abandoned in the practice most worker issues No it didn't. The people you're talking about are not far left. | farm votes strategically. If you think the far left would construct their entire strategy around electoralism, you are miseducated.
- nudpiedo 6y agoThe same process is happening in Europe, it is sort of neomarxism. Anyway, if you think I am misseducated, you should at least try to prove your point. It’s been long since the worker’s unions aren’t truly in the actual agenda of the political elections. Perhaps sometimes job creation, minimum wage and some punctual regulations but workers themselves aren’t the main dish since long long time ago.
- heterodoxxed 6y ago| neomarxism Well at least you dropped the laughably contradictory post-modern part.
- mam2 6y agothere "economic left" and "values left". only one will ever be promoted by a compagny...