Amazon Boycott

[Rhubarb]

For those who might have missed this on the parenting threads.

Amazon are stocking books that encourage child abuse and paedophilia and refuse to take these books off their shelves. One of the books is called 'No Greater Joy' by Michael Pearl and it advocates whipping babies and children, quote "Many people are using a section of ¼ inch plumber’s supply line as a spanking instrument. It will fit in your purse or hang around you neck. You can buy them for under $1.00 at Home Depot or any hardware store. They come cheaper by the dozen and can be widely distributed in every room and vehicle. Just the high profile of their accessibility keeps the kids in line." This is for babies as well as children! Their website \link{http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/index.php?id=59&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=247&tx_ttnews[backPID]=7\here} says it all.

The other two books promote paedophilia and they are called 'Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers' by David L Riegel and 'Pedophilia - The Radical Case' by Tom O'Carrol, both authors are members of the 'childlove' movement, a paedophilia sympathisers club.

I've emailed Amazon and got a standard computer generated reply in response blabbing on about censorship. Of course they would do, they don't want to lose money over this. Mumsnet have dropped Amazon as one of their sponsors and I've closed my account. I ask all of you to contact Amazon and do the same. I'm also contacting all the parenting sites I can think of, registering and posting all of the above on their forums, if you are member of another parenting site, please do the same.

Thanks everyone.

The fact that limits are hard to define doesn't mean we should have none.

Congratulations MNHQ for showing a bit of moral courage. I'm with you all the way.

Hmmm,
So those of you boycotting Amazon - are you also boycotting Waterstones, Borders and Wh Smiths too? Both waterstones and Borders are linked to Amazon and so you can order these books through their online sites, or in the stores. Also, WH Smiths can also order the book in for you as they have an ordering facility too.

Also, because of the inter library loan system, I hope you are all boycotting your local libraries too. It seems that I can order it through my university library on inter library loan.

Unless you do boycott all of these and all the other sources of the book, then your boycott is completely meaningless.

As someone else said, if you disagree with the book, then maybe you ought to challenge the real issue and that is the law that allows such books.

Incidentally, I'm a veggie and I find meat and the slaughter of animals offensive - so should I encourage these book sellers to avoid all cookery books that use recipies that contain meat? If not, why not? It is the same principle isn't it!?!

rhubarb

good on you

am an amazon seller. we do need the income but those books are bloody disgusting and I'm going to look into selling on ABE as a result.

Thanks

Oh and MN of course!

Am thinking of contacting Jeremy vine on Radio 2 about this issue.

What do you think?

Not about an Amazon boycott but the book.

Horrendous.

I really doubt you'll get the BBC at any level into this. Look at the soft ride they gave Ruth Kelly.
Did they mention which organisation she was a member of ? Did they mention the religion of the school involved ? Or that of the sex criminal she was caught calling a "loss to the teaching profession" ?

I see the point about this book, and as for the necessity of drawing lines, I wonder who you trust to do this ?
If you're going to ban Paedophile inspired works, stockists of the Torah, Bible and Koran are in deep trouble. Look up the ages of some of the heroes "wives".

rarrie have you tried ordering it from your university lbrary?

\link{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4190115.stm\Opus Dei on the BBC}.

Libraries a) don't make a profit, and b) do have a completely different public remit and function from commercial sellers.

Some journalists are taking an interest, as it happens, DC.

I only ever use Amazon at Christmas so if they stop selling this book by then will I be allowed to use them?

I'd just like to say that I am hugely impressed and heartened by MNHQ's speedy and decisive response to this.

Even if you don't agree with boycotting Amazon (and I can see both sides, here on my fence, but I'm not buying from them atm) MNHQ really have put their (lack of) money where their mouth is and I'd like to give Justine, Carrie, Rachel et al a big sloppy kiss for it

And while we're at it, I'd also like to point up franch's post about Amazon.com actively promoting these books by offering a discount if you buy both at the same time. This is the big deal for me. Freedom of speech might be a human right, freedom to price-promote in a bid to flog more copies is not, afaik...

If you say it is ok to ban one book, it is ok to ban any book.

Many books have been banned by different people including: The Bible, DH Lawrence, etc.
Who decides?
Society suffers from ignorance, and we need to know different POVs so we can combat them, IF we disagree.
What r u afraid of? Turning into a paedophile?

Thank you for letting us know about this. I don't know whether I agree with the boycott, but I think it's important that we have this information so we can decide for ourselves.

The Bible promotes child abuse - "Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. " (Prov 23:13-14).

Are you going to boycott all book sellers who sell the Bible?

erm a resurrected thread folks

Bugger! I saw the number of the date but failed to see the month - or the year!

Oops

Have talked about my feelings here glowstars.net/2010/11/when-free-speech-goes-too-far/