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Amazon Customers Sign Letter To Jeff Bezos To Dump Donald Trump (thestreet.com)
An anonymous reader writes: More than 13,000 Amazon customers (including upwards of 5,000 Amazon Prime subscribers), have signed a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos calling for the company to stop selling Trump's line of menswear. UltraViolet Action is the organization hosting the petition, which calls for Amazon to "stop profiting off of [Trump's] brand of hate." The letter reads: "Donald Trump has consistently lobbed racist, sexist, and xenophobic attacks against entire groups of people, encouraged violence and vitriol against his political enemies and perpetuated a culture of violence against women. Amazon.com should want to distance themselves from this hateful rhetoric, but instead, they're profiting off his brand," explained Karin Roland, Chief Campaigns Officer at UltraViolet, in a statement. "Jeff Bezos needs to listen to his customers and ensure that Amazon doesn't profit off of Trump hate, and take immediate steps to dump Trump." If Amazon does take action, they wouldn't be the first. Macy's stopped carrying Trump's products last summer, and Univision and NBC cut ties with Trump over his statements as well.
I'm firmly in the "I wouldn't vote for Trump as dogcatcher" camp, but why should Amazon take sides by denying the Donald a place to sell trinkets? Unless Amazon also stops selling all political junk. Just because he offends me to no end doesn't give me license to rid the world of Trump merchandise. Is political correctness invading the marketplace???
Don't step on the baby.
I normally vote third party but after seeing all the hyperbole about Trump being a racist because he (GASP!) wants the legal process of immigration to be followed is really just pissing me off. I'm sick of hearing this assholes who scream "racism" anytime you don't agree with the leftist agenda.
"Donald Trump is a fascist! I demand we silence him, burn all his books and ban all his merchandise. We must not allow him to speak or be heard!." The irony of the anti-trump people is beyond comprehension.
So you supported Proposition 8 then? That was a real petition that showed a sizable segment of California were opposed to gay marriage.
Oh I'm sorry... Are only certain shows of mass movement allowed?
Oh now you want to argue civil rights while you simultaneously support people being blocked from selling stuff openly?
Yeah fuck you!
I don't like Trump and I am scaird to think of him as president. However protesting Amazon for selling his goods that he was selling before he ran as president sound more like stereotypical liberal intolerance to contending ideas. Don't target the store selling the goods where there is a population that seems to demand it. Use the energy to boycott trump products not pressure the store to not offer it. If the stores stop selling then these products will just be more valuable.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
There is something dark in that request that resembles a thing that I was for blowing up later in my face.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
This sounds a lot like harassment and intolerance to me.
Can you image the uproar from leftists if some Christian fundamentalists had written to Amazon requesting that products associated with, say, transsexuals be pulled from sale?
Maybe the leftists don't realize this, but people in general are getting awfully fed up with their hypocrisy. That's why we see a candidate like Trump gaining so much support. People across the political spectrum, even including some moderates on the left, are getting fed up with how so many leftists say one thing, but do another.
Leftists say that bullying is wrong, yet they'll turn around and target certain individuals they dislike for some reason without showing any remorse.
Just look at the case of Brendan Eich for a good example of this. The way they savagely attacked him and his reputation is disgusting. Somebody shouldn't lose his job merely because of his stance on marriage! Leftists would throw a fit if somebody lost his job for supporting homosexual marriage, yet the moment somebody supports traditional marriage the leftists unleash on him with extreme fury and hatred.
Leftists really need to address their hypocrisy problem if they want to be taken seriously. To everyone else they're starting to look like total jokes.
I really didn't approve of the decision to drop the confederate flag from sale.
I feel this falls into the same box of stupid.
Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
I find the prospect of a Trump presidency to be kind of scary. At the same time he's obviously tapped into some genuine concerns of a substantial portion of the public. Attempting to silence him just marginalizes his supporters even more and further justifies the extreme positions he advocates. Rather than suppressing or ignoring him, we should be trying to understand his appeal and attempting to address some of the underlying issues that fuel his popularity. My guess is that there's a link between Trump supporters and Sanders supporters. The middle class is hurting and has been for decades.
It is the same box of stupid. Unfortunately, that box is getting too small for it's contents and they're spilling over. I'm not a fan of Trump, but I can't make the leap from disliking the guy to infringing on his ability to make money. If people want to buy his shit, let them. If people don't want to buy his shit, . . . wait for it . . . don't buy his shit.
Why must I be tolerant of intolerance? If Trump wants to ban Mexicans and Muslims, why am I not allowed to try to ban every trace of Trump?
Expressing the desire to do something (ban Mexicans and Muslims, in this example) is not the same as doing it.
The issue is not tolerance of intolerance. It is tolerance of other people's ideas and beliefs, whether or not you agree with them. Tolerance is, by definition, the willingness to allow (not necessarily accept) ideas which are contrary to your own. Acceptance of ideas which are similar to one's own is not tolerance; it is agreement.
You may certainly "ban every trace of Trump" within spaces you own or control. Attempting to do the same anywhere else (especially in my space), is simply an attempt to exert control over others and -that- is an act of intolerance.
It's probably pretty safe to say that you will not vote for Trump, assuming you are a US citizen. That's fine. I cannot see myself voting for him either, however, for different reasons.
If you do not find that argument compelling, let me try another one. Let him talk. If you are right and his ideas are so repugnant, then those ideas will simply die in the open air. To quote a well-know political commentator, "Sunlight kills bacteria."
I think the position is a little bit more nuanced that your simple statement on banning Mexicans and Muslims.
On Mexicans, he is proposing that we remove Mexican's/Latinos that came into the country illegally.
On Muslims, he proposed a suspension of travel until we figured out what was going on with respect to terror and the religion of peace.
It seems as if you are painting with the same broad brush you are accusing Trump of painting with.
While I will not try to defend Mr. Trump, I will point out the our system of government has let a lot of questionable and illegal things deliberately slide for the benefit of the top 1%. This is has led to an erosion of our laws and standard of living for many who used to be known as middle class.
The derivative housing market collapse, H1-B abuse, the blind eye to undocumented works who entered the country illegally and use stolen identities are just the tip of the iceberg. Additionally, our government picks winners and loser and hampers the free market in so many areas including but not limited to insurance, health care, commodities/food, copyrighted works, and prescription drugs. Meanwhile we have perpetual cash-cow wars and unconstitutional search and seizures of cash with documented abuse of police power. Meanwhile the ware on drugs rolls along with the high school to prison pipeline creating a steady stream of felons who will never get jobs because one brush with the law resulting in a felony means you can never answer 'NO' to "Have you ever beed convicted of a felony?"
Someone eventually needs to drop the hammer and fix the scales so they are honest again. Is this Trump? Is the Bernie? I know it isn't Clinton.
In any case, Trump is the first person to stand on the national stage and call this stuff out in a big way. This resonates with all the people who have been crushed and hurt.
stereotypical liberal intolerance to contending ideas
Why must I be tolerant of intolerance? If Trump wants to ban Mexicans and Muslims, why am I not allowed to try to ban every trace of Trump?
Because it's morally "the ends justify the means".
It's going outside the process just because you don't like the results. That's not how we do things.
Effectively, the rule seems to be "it doesn't matter how we do it, we *have* to stop Trump. BY ANY MEANS!!!"
People shout at him during speeches. That didn't work, so they started being rowdy. That didn't work.
(Not letting him speak - how is this any different in principle to censorship?)
They dressed up in KKK robes and *that* didn't work either.
(I read about a 16yo protestor that falsely accused a rally goer of sexual assault. Willing to ruin a man's life for the cause - that's some dedication!)
I'm waiting for the assassination attempt, because "STOP TRUMP" is more important than how it gets done.
In the newspapers, they called him as clown. That didn't work, so they called him a sexist. That didn't work, so they called him a racist.
I remember reading analysis a couple of months ago, where pundits were astonished (!) that people were still supporting Trump, even after they called him a clown! (What are the Americans thinking?)
Then it was his supporters. We're all under-educated, unemployed, white, disempowered losers who are angry and want to take our country back. You don't want to be part of *that* group - do you?
That didn't work either.
Then they turned the crazy up to 11. Trump is Mussolini, Stalin, Satan, Hitler. The Washington Post said Cthulhu supports Trump.
That didn't work. Now it's backroom deals, delegate stealing, and rule changes.
Here on Slashdot, most of the political dialogue is name calling and unfounded drivel. We're the smart ones in the room, and even *we* have bought into the hatred. No one can put together a cogent political argument, simply because the other candidates don't have a clear position.
200 people control the election, and they do NOT want someone who will make the place better for the citizens.
It doesn't matter how many votes Trump gets, so long as he doesn't get 1237 on the first try. So long as we can prevent *that*, we can drop him from the race and pick someone we support.
It's as if voting doesn't matter.
The ends justify the means. Stop Trump using ANY MEANS POSSIBLE!
If you want freedom of speech, a free exchange of ideas, freedom of association, civic participation in government by the people... then we can do that.
Or if the progressive peasants are just too triggered by contrary opinions they can give up all that and the nobility will take care of them. No need for any more elections. Hereditary nobility for... ever. Hillary's daughter is already being groomed for high office. They very ready to simply accept your offer at ennoblement... right now.
You can all sit in communal buildings every Sunday and chant along from a book of dogma. And everyone can live by the strict new code of political correctness. We can have religious conformity inspectors... they'll probably be blue/pink haired hipsters wearing ceremonial trilby's that will scream in my face about how tolerant they are... You can see it now.
And then we can have government enforced gender equality... but only in jobs women want to do... or often as not... just get the pay and status of doing the job. Because after all, a lot of those jobs are hard, boring, lonely, and really only a bunch of nerds would do them anyway. But its unfair that there aren't equal numbers of women in those fields. Maybe we should just figure out how many women want to do a given job, then say that equal number of men can also do that job. But no more than that even if there is a need for more than that. After all, that would be sexist.
The whole political scene in the US has been fucking retard inception for the last 10 years at least. You want to cite a longer duration... sure. Cite your favorite flavor of ice cream and we'll go with that. But its just so stupid.
Listening to code pink go on and on and on about how bad war is and how we should just bring everyone home... and then when the people they campaigned for start blowing up Libya or whatever... fucking crickets.
Endlessly being told that there's too much money in politics... except when that money happens to be used by progressives... then its fine. Use tax dollars to bribe people to vote for you? No problem. Use tax money to run partisan propaganda campaigns for your faction? No problem. Use billionaire slush funds to advance your position... No problem. But anyone else does even a shadow of the shit that they get away with on a daily fucking basis... clearly the second coming of literal Hitler.
The sophistry on display is so astounding that I can't take anyone seriously anymore on these issues. Too many people are full of shit. No one can claim they're serious with any sincerity because its been outed at bullshit too many times.
Gents, just express yourselves... actually be tolerant... as in... actually... not just tolerant of YOUR OWN stupid opinions whilst naturally being utterly intolerant of any view that contrasts with your own. Because, that's not tolerance.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
I disagree with your comment - so I see no reason why I shouldn't figure out who your employer is and petition for them to fire you. Live by the liberal intolerance shield and die by it.
The most intolerant are those who demand others respect their own tolerance. And follow their rules about tolerance.
In other words, modern SJWs.
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Attempting to do the same anywhere else (especially in my space), is simply an attempt to exert control over others and -that- is an act of intolerance.
Ridiculous. To express my disapproval is not the same as silencing your voice. To petition a private company as a means to express your viewpoint is no different. As Amazon is free to carry whatever products they want, to consider that carrying those products is equivalent to supporting to those ideas is perfectly reasonable. It's the basic idea behind every boycott. (Would you have us dispense with those entirely? Wouldn't that be a terrifying suppression of free speech?)
To say "I won't buy your products as long as you support x" is not intolerance as you're under no obligation to underwrite speech with which you disagree by supporting the company that enables said speech to further disseminate. Tolerance does not mean "you must pay to support my ideas, regardless of your beliefs". You'd have us believe that by not funding your message, we're being intolerant.
Amazon's customers are saying "we don't want to pay you to provide a platform for these ideas". That's not intolerance. That's not saying "I want to prevent Trump from sharing his ideas" (he's free to do so on whatever platforms he controls) it's saying "I don't want to pay you to promote ideas I dislike." Amazon is free to continue to carry those products and their message if they're willing to accept the natural social and potential financial cost the comes from supporting those ideas. Speech is never free from social consequences, nor should it ever be. How else would ideas compete?
If you are right and his ideas are so repugnant, then those ideas will simply die in the open air. To quote a well-know political commentator, "Sunlight kills bacteria."
This is all part of that process. People aren't perfectly rational actors, after all. Ideas die when they become socially unacceptable, not because they're shown to be objectively wrong, harmful, or whatever. Alternative ideas and dissent constitute the "sunlight" in your metaphor.
Required reading for internet skeptics
Second, the ban on Muslims is a temporary measure and what actual right should someone have to actually immigrate in USA? Once you are an American citizen you are protected by the USA Constitution, but until you are, what the fuck?
Third, what's the point of protesters to invest Trump's rallies and try to prevent him to address his supporters? This is a bullying attitude in very first place from the protesters. I would like to see Bernie and Hillary being treat the same way just to see their very reaction and the reaction of their own supporters for fun.
Achille Talon
Hop!
Maybe you don't understand how bankruptcies work. Trump didn't declare bankruptcy personally. Every project/endeavor/venture he runs is it's own company. So of the many successful projects he's launched, 4 have failed. Incidentally, all 4 of those were from his Trump Entertainment Resorts. Following the second bankruptcy, he reduced his share of the company from 56% to 27%, meaning he was no longer a controlling interest in the company. So, in summary, Trump has had a single project fail multiple times, and several of those failures occurred when he wasn't even the controlling owner.
As for what Trump owns, you clearly need to do your research. His real estate holdings alone are worth $3.5Billion.
No, the invisible hand would be Amazon not stocking these items because they don't sell.
The fact that a bunch of whiny crybabies want to deprive some manufacturer of his rights has nothing to do with the "invisible hand". The invisible hand doesn't need petitions. It just sweeps players aside on it's own.
This is a bunch of people that can't handle the fact that the market isn't conforming to their pet political agenda. That is why they want a particular person shunned as if the US were some sort of cult (or Europe).
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.