It's high time to quit Amazon Prime

In case you somehow missed it: The billionaire owners of two major award-winning newspapers decided to spike their endorsements of Kamala Harris before they got published. Why? You know why.

There is a long and ugly history of the uber-moneyed class capitulating to, and collaborating with, autocratic governments. But it usually happens after the fascists have gained total power, not before. So... give them points for being proactive?

The world's third richest man, Jeff Bezos, and South African biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, went against the recommendations of their editors and vetoed the endorsements after they had already been written, then made up some bullshit excuses as to why. [1]

No amount of self-righteous platitudes about how this is really a 'principled decision to restore the appearance of impartiality' (an argument that makes zero sense to begin with) will take the stink off of it. This is billionaires bending the knee to the new fascist regime, signaling their future acquiescence, obeying in advance.

As I write this, at least 250,000 people have cancelled the Post, around 10 percent of its digital subscribers, representing up to $20 million in lost revenue. At least 7,000 of the LA Time's 400K subs have bailed in protest. These numbers continue to grow. Multiple staffers at both papers have either resigned or published letters of protest. 

Does Jeff Bezos care? Well, he cared enough to issue a personal editorial statement that just poured more gasoline onto this dumpster fire. Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall argues that, as with many billionaires who own not one but two massive superyachts [2], the idea of losing even a little money irks him. 

Meanwhile, Soon-Shiong's daughter, who has exactly zero journalistic experience or responsibilities, weighed in with his rationale: Gaza Gaza Gaza. 

Will canceling subscriptions hurt actual journalists doing actual reporting more than it hurts Bezos or Soon-Shiong? Yes, sadly, it will. 

Should you do it anyway? Yes. [3] Because how else can you send the message that this level of cowardice and submission is unacceptable and will not stand?

And the same argument applies to quitting Amazon Prime. [4]

No longer ready for Prime time

Here's the deal. 

Let's say you've run out of cat food and Miss Princess is starting to look at you like you're on the menu. The store you usually go to is a 5-minute drive and charges $14.99 a bag. The other option charges $18.50 and it's a 20-minute haul across town. Even better: If you agree to buy it on the regular, the first store will deliver it to your house for free. This is not a difficult decision. Convenience wins, every time. 

Then, one day, that super convenient store with the cheap cat food hangs a big sign on its front door: "Nazis Welcome Here." Or maybe the owner is given an opportunity to openly condemn Nazis but declines, saying that everyone is entitled to their own genocidal opinions, and after all, Nazi money spends just as well as anyone else's. (Also: Such sharp-looking uniforms! So well tailored! [5]) 

Do you still shop there? 

I'm sure your cat won't care. But I don't think you'd feel very good about it.

You probably don't know the political leanings of the people who own the places where you shop, eat, or attend events. And that's probably for the best. But once you do know, you can't unknow it. That's the situation we are now in with Amazon and its addictive subscription service, Amazon Prime. If you shop at Amazon, you are now supporting the store that wants to turn that fascist frown upside down.

This is an actual Amazon logo from 2021, which the company changed after it raised a Führer — err, I mean, a furor. 

By the way, while most people think of Amazon as the world's largest store, it's mostly a computer rental company. Amazon Web Services accounts for 17 percent of Amazon's $600 billion annual haul, but 62 percent of its $30 billion in profits. Until corporate America decides to give up its addiction to the Amazon Cloud, no number of consumers canceling their cat food subscriptions in protest will have any impact on the future of the company. It is purely symbolic.

But symbols are important. Do it anyway.

Ain’t it high time you left?

I've spent a lot of the last two years quitting stuff. I dumped Twitter last year after it changed its name to X and went full MAGA dumpster-fire, and I dumped Substack after it refused to stop promoting white nationalists on its platform. [6]

And you know what? It hurt. I had 10K followers on Twitter, and not all of them were porn bots. On Threads, which is the methadon to my previous Twitter addiction, I have a little more than 500 (at least half of whom are porn bots). Leaving Substack killed the growth of this blogletternewspost before it really had the chance to take off. (Beehiiv, my substitute newsletter delivery service, is almost completely invisible to Google — it is truly stunning how nonexistent its digital footprint is.) 

I'm not gonna lie: I've struggled over whether to shed my Amazon Prime addiction. It's just too damned easy to say 'Crap, I'm out of that hand moisturizer I like so much,' tap three times on my phone, and have it magically appear on my doorstep. This finally sent me over the edge.

But I sure am going to miss the hell out of free two-day shipping. 

And, oh, by the way, I'm also endorsing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for President and Vice President. Because while I may not be a billionaire who owns multiple superyachts, I am also not a coward. 

 How are you holding up? Share your angst in the comments or email me: [email protected].

[1] USA Today also announced it would not endorse a candidate this year, despite doing so in 2020. (Because Trump is suddenly better now?) As Casey Newton quipped, "Now how will hotel lobbies know who to vote for?"

[2] Jeff Bezos has a $500 million 417-foot superyacht with a 246-foot-long "support ship." In other words, his yacht has a yacht. Fuck the rich.

[3] May I suggest you direct your journalism dollars to a more worthy, not-for-profit news organizations, such as The Guardian, ProPublica, or 404 Media?

[4] Soon-Shiong made his billions from anti-tumor drugs. So maybe you fight back by letting the cancer win? Ideas welcome.

[5] Thank you, Hugo Boss, Hitler's favorite fashion icon.

[6] I am an experienced quitter. Back in 2018, I deleted my personal Facebook account after the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed how the company's data may have helped elect Trump. I also recently quit Netflix and Hulu, after they jacked up their prices by almost 50 percent. But I'll never quit you, dear reader.