And what about leading by example ? Are customers and authors to be subject to the idle whims and capriciousness of Amazons self-appointed censors, or moral guardians, or whatever it is you want to call them ?
What about professionalism - the ability to do ones job fairly, equitably, non-judgementally and keep ones personal feelings out of it ? If I were running a bookshop I could specialize in certain genres, or I could sell everything. But I wouldn't be so much a hypocrite as to say I love books, but since I don't like this particular one I'm not going to sell it.
To be honest I don't see much difference between this sort of carry-on and, for example, hotel owners refusing to allow gay guests and the like. They may be at different levels of importance, but at the end of the day it's the same thing, personal opinion being judged to be greater and more important than others rights.
What about respect ? Would you respect a music shop that picked out certain albums and refused to sell them to you on the grounds that they thought they were crap or that some lyrics might be offensive ?
Respect goes two ways, where is their respect of the fact that you are a grown adult and don't need a big brother to hold your hand.
If Amazon can do this so lightly and others follow in their footsteps, then what hope freedom, the freedom to write and disseminate books, and read them readily without being silently suppressed by a moral zeitgeist. Is mob rule ok ?
People can hide behind the veneer of saying Amazon can do as they want, and to a certain extent that is true, but I suspect many are saying this because they are not personally being affected. Someone has already provided the quote about 'First they came for..', and I see it as being entirely apt.
Sure Amazon have the right to do what they want, but I'll call them unprofessional, despicable, hypocritical, unethical and cowardly - and deserving of no business from no true book or freedom lover.
I'll even equate them to being the equivalent of modern day book-burners, because by suppressing works that is in essence what they are doing.
I trust I've my feelings and contempt for them clear
