What Did She Say

*This is the post that lead to the unsavoury searches that lead to the birth of this website.

*In an attempt NOT to be associated with pedophile in google searches, I will be replacing the word with jackhole in this post.

WTF Amazon!?

(I hope there is some sort of explanation for this. I really, really do.)

You may or may not have heard by now, but in Amazon.com’s Kindle store they are selling The Jackhole’s Guide to Love and Pleasure. I hate to do anything that might promote this book in any way, but I here is the author’s description of his book.

The description states:

This is my attempt to make jackhole situations safer for those juveniles that find themselves involved in them, by establishing certian [sic] rules for these adults to follow. I hope to achieve this by appealing to the better nature of pedosexuals, with hope that their doing so will result in less hatred and perhaps liter [sic] sentences should they ever be caught.

“Safer for juveniles that find themselves involved in them”?!

“appealing to the better nature of pedosexuals”?!!?

“less hatred”?!!?!?!

And the last part “perhaps liter [sic] sentences should they ever be caught.” Right there it is an admission that this is a how-to guide for something that is ILLEGAL! If jackholia is illegal, how is a guide to it not? (And, actually, jackholia itself is not illegal. It is ACTING upon any urges that is the illegal part. Just as wanting to kill someone is not illegal, but acting on it sure the hell is.)

I appreciate the fact that anyone can self-publish now – and I love that. Amazon should have been all over this and removed it from its site immediately. Anything that promotes such sick and disgusting behaviour should be taken down as soon as they were aware. (And if you DON’T think jackholia is sick and disgusting, well, don’t bother continuing. Oh, and seek help. Please. And oh ya, stay the f@#& away from my kids. And anyone else’s kids.)

If ONE child is harmed in any way by this, I hope that Amazon and Kindle will be held accountable. Somehow. Some way.

Sigh…

So, if this ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘non-censorship’ logic holds. I can publish a how-to guide about the perfect ways to hunt, kill, maybe even torture another human. And then have chapters on what the best cuts are and how to best prepare humans to serve and eat – what spices are best, how long to cook each part. Would THAT hold up under ‘freedom of speech’?

Maybe it would. After today, that wouldn’t surprise me.

Amazon is hiding under the guise of ‘non-censorship’ and will not be pulling this book from their offerings.

This is Amazon’s jaw-dropping response to this situation. (Seriously. I’m flabbergasted):

Hello,

As a retailer, our goal is to provide customers with the broadest selection possible so they can find, discover, and buy any item they might be seeking. That selection includes some items which many people may find objectionable. Therefore, the items offered on our website represent a wide spectrum of opinions on a variety of topics.

Let me assure you that Amazon.com does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts; we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions.

Amazon.com believes it is censorship not to sell certain titles because we believe their message is objectionable. Therefore, we’ll continue to make controversial works available in the United States and everywhere else, except where they’re prohibited by law. We also allow readers, authors, and publishers to express their views freely about these titles and other products we offer on our website. However, Amazon.com doesn’t endorse opinions expressed by individual authors, musical artists, or filmmakers.

We value all feedback from our customers, and I thank you again for taking the time to send us your comments about this issue. Although we won’t be able to comment further on this topic, we hope you’ll allow us to continue to serve you.

Thank you for your recent inquiry. Did I solve your problem?

Best regards,

******* ****
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company.

“Let me assure you that Amazon.com does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts” … Well, Amazon, you certainly are here. You are absolutely promoting a criminal act. There’s no grey here. Jackholia is a crime. Promoting a guide on how to do it better is promoting a criminal act. Period. End of discussion.

I don’t throw around ‘boycott’ often – or ever, actually. I generally don’t think they’re very effective. But, in this case, there are millions of uber-pissed off and enraged people. We CAN make a difference. We’re coming into the holiday season. Choose another retailer. Not Amazon. Not Kindle. Even avoid Diapers.com, as Amazon just purchased them as well.

Another way to fight back? Contact the advertisers that show on that page. They will NOT be happy. For example, Johnson and Johnson’s baby shampoo is running alongside. Seriously. You can’t make this shit up. *update: there are no more ads showing on this page on amazon.com

When I searched the kobo.com site for jackhole, this is what I came up with:

“Sorry, we could not find results for “jackhole” in any category” as one would hope.

Amazon has been my book retailer of choice lately. No more. Chapters/Indigo? You have my business back. Even if Amazon does pull this book now, they’ve lost me. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.

*update: This is what you get when you search for the book now:

I would like to think it was ethics, but you know it was media pressure and the hit to their bottom line.

Photo credits:

http://frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/freedom_of_speech.jpg

http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/shame.jpg