Seems I am not the only one

[conuly]

Originally posted by vexed_wench at Seems I Am Not The Only One....

Originally posted by morgandawn at Seems I Am Not The Only One....

......who feels the need to take a break from an increasingly dysfunctional relationship.

Well, that's what the link says, anyway. I rarely buy ANY of those things with the exception of books, and most of the books I buy are used, not new. Cheaper, and when it comes to books by certain authors I like knowing I can read the books without supporting the authors themselves.

So for me, it's a bit moot. But I guess I can write to... people... anyway and pretend I *am* boycotting more substantively. Not like they'll know the difference. (Wait, are we still doing this with recent news still?)

Anyway, also here's this entirely-too-long video on the MegaUpload raid.

Comments

[kyrielle]

Of course, as a number of my acquaintance have pointed out, this hurts the indie artists, bookstores, etc., more than it does the big giants you're trying to hurt. The giants can afford to wait until April. The indies ... not all of them can.

And for authors whose book comes out in March, it may be the difference between their series being renewed and not - if you love reading the series and you tank their numbers, you may be voting for the series ending, even if that wasn't your intent. I know first-month sales are stated as the bench mark for the new series of one of my favorite authors. Lower her sales by enough and, besides sticking it to a publishing house that DIDN'T SUPPORT SOPA AND PIPA, you've also potentially killed her series.

I flatly refuse to support this boycott. It is destructive of the wrong things.

[rainbow-goddess.livejournal.com]

What if I'm buying from Canadian retailers who have nothing to do with SOPA, since they're not in the USA?

[conuly]

Then you're an absolute spoilsport and are forgetting that America (and, specifically NYC, not that anybody outside the city really believes that, ignorant fools that they are) is the center of the universe.

[erisiansaint]

I want to be for this boycott, but there's a problem with it: the first people it's going to hurt won't be the CEOs of the major corporations. It's going to be the small business owners and the independent artists who manage to sell their goods in larger shops.

I have friends who have recently gotten published or are trying to. I have friends who work, retailing movies and books. They'll be the first ones out of a job.

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

This is what we would be concerned about. How can we be sure we're hitting the fat cats in the pocketbook?

[conuly]

Short of full-scale armed uprising, what do you suggest? (This isn't sarcasm, I really am interested.)

[erisiansaint]

Possibly keep buying books from your favorite small businesses, or buy indie films. Write letters to the major coporations, letting them know that you're not buying their products for this month and why. Support small businesses that sell handmade products, support online businesses that do the same?

Oh, and mail your congresscritters about not bowing to that kind of pressure if they want to stay in office.

I understand that this is a valid boycott, and my first thought is that I really like it. But my next thought is how many of my friends this could put out of work.

[beezelbubbles.livejournal.com]

This! We need Indie March.

[erisiansaint]

We can't. The CEOs are going to get their bonuses, no matter what we do. It'd likely take a much longer-term boycott than one month.