I Know it's all but Meaningless
I'll shop at THIS store first before buying anything from Amazon
Photo credit - Remington Write / Somewhere in Brooklyn
I’m a real revolutionary.
After all, I’m the woman who pulled her money out of Chase Bank instead of sleeping in Zuccotti Park during Occupy Wall Street. The nice lady at the bank looked completely confused when I told her that I didn’t want Chase using my money to commit another financial meltdown.
I’m not an idiot here, just in case there was any doubt. I’m fully aware that Chase is not missing my money. They’re doing fine, thank you very much, and are right there at the trough sucking up as much government aid as their greedy little guts will hold.
Similarly, I don’t kid myself that my Quixotic decision to never buy or sell anything through Amazon is in any way hindering that behemoth’s rampage through retail/working America. Clearly, I’m in a privileged position to be able to do this. After all, I was not quarantined with a houseful of kids who needed stuff and needed it now, and how the hell else was I going to manage to keep the place in diapers, baby formula, baby wipes, crayons, and gin back at the beginning of our pandemic? I’m not counting out loose change, hoping to have enough to cover rent and keep the smartphone connected.
I need Amazon just about as much as it needs me. Zero.
And that zero need is grounded in my ability to pay the rent and eat more than once a day thanks to my wee part-time day job. The day hasn’t arrived yet when I need to rely on Grace to get me through.
Grace? Who TF is Grace?
Over the course of two years starting in 2015, I wrote a novella, “Graceless”. It’s a first-person, present-tense account of one woman’s battle to sleep indoors and keep enough cheap wine in her backpack for another day. These are more difficult to manage than you might think.
I floated the first chapter as a series here on Medium, but Grace isn’t an easy one to love.
That said, my beta readers really do love her. Love her so much that they are encouraging me to self-publish. Until our recent run-in with this virus turned us all into shut-ins, I was readying myself to at least print one-hard copy of “Graceless” at the Espresso Machine at Shakespeare & Company. Several of my beta readers and Neil have already put in their orders. Of course, that gratification got deferred.
Then inertia set in.
I don’t live completely under a rock here; I follow numerous independent authors on social media and see them (claim to) sell hundreds of copies of their magnum opuses through Amazon.
So, right. I get it. Without the powerhouse reach of Amazon to get Grace in every person’s face (her dream come true), “Graceless” is quite likely to sink without a ripple. Much as I think her story is strong and should be read by everyone, and I do, I’m still not going to sell her through Amazon. It doesn’t matter that my refusal to be part of that dance of death won’t slow the machine one iota any more than my never owning a car or having kids will slow our climate crisis.
I’m still not going to own a car and as for kids, honey, that ship sailed decades ago.
The crumbs that Amazon tosses its contributors and the even smaller crumbs it offers its actual workers mean it won’t get my support, futile though that is.
And, yes, I realize that writing, publishing, and promoting my writing across various social media platforms means that I’m still part of the machine. I’m not quite ready for the cabin without electricity, so I’ve drawn my line. It doesn’t matter to me that the Big Dogs will still eat everything in sight and shit on our heads regardless of what I choose to do or not do.
I still choose.
I choose to not support Amazon. Or Chase for that matter.
That said, there are amazing people who support me and here’s my golden opportunity to blow kissies to them because I know for sure at least a couple of them are reading this.
© Remington Write 2022. All Rights Reserved.
I must admit, I do by from Amazon, but that comes down to weighed decisions revolving around our rural location and ever mounting issues with ill health. Put it this way, there's not a great deal of things readily available/at a price we could afford locally. That said, I completely understand your reasoning and choices - and I do at least have the good grace to feel guilty about 'the Amazon thing'.
If you ever do publish 'Graceless', you can put me on the list for a copy. I will even pay for that! ;D
(which reminds me, the Burning Man art expo things arrived through my letterbox THANK YOU!!
Oh, I'm so glad those arrived ok! As to Amazon and all the "convenience" that people crave, absolutely there are exceptions such as yours. But living where I do there is zero reason to buy anything from Amazon. That's just laziness.
Thanks, Sadie, and I hope you enjoy the stories.