I Cancelled Amazon to Vote for Freedom

Yesterday, with Election Day a mere 11 days out, Jeff Bezos - owner of the Washington Post, among others* - directed the Editorial Page to break with a 36-year tradition of endorsing a presidential candidate just as their endorsement of Kamala Harris was set to publish. 

Bezos instead issued a directive to publish the paper's intention to not endorse a candidate at all. I wouldn't consider Bezos' sudden about-face exactly shrouded in mystery; it's probably safe to assume it's a reaction to some sort of implicit (or not) threat from Donald Trump.

What it is about Trump (nee Donald Drumpf) that engenders this sort of "how-high-sir" reaction from men like Bezos and Elon Musk is just a mystery to me, however his ability to baffle with bullshit (as opposed to dazzling with brilliance) is truly a gift.

Nevertheless...

...I've considered cancelling Amazon at least three or four times over the years for what I consider to be shitty business practices (weasling its way out of paying its fair share of income taxes, for example) but in the end I've capitulated to the convenience factor as well as all of the perks that Amazon offers: Audible, Alexa, Amazon Music, Prime Video, Alexa Emergency Assist, Kindle Unlimited, Wondery+, plus myriad other tempting subscriptions. 

Today I feel differently. People only have the power that we give them. Today, by cancelling all of my Amazon services as well as every other service from a Bezos-owned company, I'm using my voice because as Vice President Harris quite rightly proclaims, "your voice is your power". As such, I'm taking my power back from a man who is too afraid of someone as nihilistic, despotic, divisive, anti-semitic and narcissistic as Donald Trump to honor the first amendment.

There is nothing I could ever purchase from Amazon that would be as important as my own freedom.

*the complete list of jeff bezos companies