Removal of all Amazon.com links

I was saving my return to the blog keyboard after the grueling midterm elections. I even had a title for my next blog, "A Simple Sigh."

But I am not posting that one here today. Today I am letting you, my loyal readers, know that I will no longer entertain links to Amazon.com on my blog site.

I am sure you are all aware of the pedophilia issue Amazon is dealing with right now. If not, let me just say that they have advertised (and pulled after much outrage) a book which is essentially a 'how to molest children' book.

My issue with Amazon is not that they had this one book out there. Nor that they quickly bowed to threat of boycott. It is not even with the fact that they have many more books of similar ilk which they promote and sell.

All of which I feel shows a serious lack of judgment on their part.

Before I explain further, I (reluctantly) defend Amazon's right to sell and promote. I defend the right of publishers to publish what I personally consider sick and a unique danger to children. I even defend the right of people to actually write this demented dreck in the first place.

But I also have rights as well.

I have the right not not associated myself with any entity that would use poor judgment and willing risk the well being of children. I have the right to tell people about this horrible lack of judgment on such an entity's part. I have the right to tell people about a danger to our children and our society. I have a right to completely and utterly disagree with everything these authors, publishers and resellers are doing by putting this demented information out there.

And I am thus exercising this right by no longer associating myself with Amazon or anyone else who would promote such trash. My daughter told me that I may as well distance myself with other booksellers such as Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million, because they too sell such books. If that is what I must do, then I will do so.

Go to the library. Order direct from authors. Borrow from a friend. But I will not do business with anyone who is so far afield from what I believe is right.

Agree, disagree, it does not matter. But if I have you thinking about what your priorities or beliefs are, then I have done my job. But, as always, this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.

Have a great and blessed day!