Freedom of speech should not protect teaching crimes against children.
This morning on the news I was listening to a story about a man who has published a book entitled “ The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lover’s Code of Conduct”. Apparently it is being sold on Amazon.com and there is a big uproar about it being sold on their site. People are boycotting Amazon and posting negative and angry reviews on their site about it.
I saw a short interview this morning on NBC with the man who said “I am not a pedophile but the people who are, are being portrayed by the media as monsters, rapists and murderers and they aren’t”. I’m not buying the part about him not being a pedophile either.
That being said I wonder if I could publish an eBook entitled “ The Terrorists guide to bomb making” or “The Entrepreneur’s cookbook, making Meth and Crack into Money”. Would something like that be freedom of speech too or would it be promoting and teaching people how to effectively break the law? And then trying to make money from that.
Amazon has issued a statement saying that it is a first amendment issue and to censor this mans work would be denying his freedom of speech.
To me that is an incorrect statement. They are not publishing his book, he did that himself as it is an eBook. They didn’t edit for content or anything like that which would be considered censorship. However they are advertising, distributing and selling his book which is a matter of commerce not censorship. They have the right as a business to sell or not sell the book without fearing the rules of the first amendment. They can stand on their right as a business to refuse service or products to and from anyone. So why would they take a stand on something as offensive as this book.
What is your opinion? Am I wrong?
Now this evening I have discovered that Amazon has removed that book from their catalog, and is no longer being sold on their site. Good for them for showing some sense of decency after a great deal of negative press. (he said sarcastically). They have also removed another book by the same man on the same subject (which also contains some of the exact same content) which has also been on their site for quite a while. Good for them.
However, now it appears that there are other books on the same subject written with the same purpose by other authors which remain on their site.
I don’t believe that censorship should exist. I truly believe that any information that advances our understanding and education must be protected. I believe that, just because an opinion or a thought is unpopular or offensive to one person, doesn’t mean it is to everyone. But, in my opinion this sort of material should not be anyplace that can be accessed by individuals who do not have the capacity to understand it’s intent or meaning. It is not sold behind an 18 or older membership type site where most adult content can be found. It is on their open website and can be purchased by anyone with a debit or credit card.
I’m not someone who normally takes a stand on something like this but being a parent to two great kids I also cannot support it.
Recently I have become an affiliate marketer with a page on my website dedicated to products that are sold through Amazon.com. However until they change their policies regarding this sort of material and the accessibility that anyone has to it I can no longer host a page that supports them. I know that to Amazon I’m just another affiliate who only makes a buck or two now and then so I can’t impact their bottom line, and that is true. But if more people like myself take a stand for the things they believe are right then slowly we can begin to change the policies of large companies that go against the core values of the public that they profit from.
As of now my Amazon store page is no longer available to promote their products.
Leave a comment below I’d love to hear what you have to say about this too.
