While I understand that LGBT books were delisted it really bothers me that few even bother to mention that feminist books were delisted as well. This is not just about reducing the voices of LGBT peoples this is about silencing progressive voices that seek to challenge our systemic inequality.

HOWEVER, if Amazon does not change course and correct things promptly, then we do have a problem. In that case I will be the loudest advocate for boycotting Amazon until their policies change. A company that invokes such a anti-gay policy must be prepared to pay the price.

Instead of boycotting, compete with them! Delivering books off the Internet isn't exactly rocket science! It is too easy to set up a mega-LGBT-book-portal of our own! Several such contenders already exist, I expect. Plus I know of several brick-and-mortar LGBT bookstores on the block, including OUT-ward Bound Books here in Indianapolis, that could be used as a business foundation for transformation into a thriving Internet business.

If Amazon wants to shoot themselves in the foot, and drive profitable customers and their transactions elsewhere, then let them! Some enterprising LGBT entrepreneur will show up without delay, ready to pick up all the cash they leave lying on the table.

I don't know, it feels like it was appropriate to fly off the handle. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, even if it was a glitch they were defending it as appropriate censorship of adult material. More likely, mid-level executive managed to move the company in an extremely discriminatory manner. Both seem egregiously protest worthy. Even of a friend. Frankly, I'd prefer them signing right-wing representatives and keeping their policies the same rather than keeping their left leaning representatives and creating ultra-conservative policies.

Now that they've promised to fix it, we can calm down a bit. But let's not forget that it's quite likely that the internet response is what got their attention and elicited a decision to fix the glitch / reverse the mid-level executive's decision even on a sunday of a holiday weekend. That's exactly how direct action responses are supposed to work.

Now someone's claiming he hacked the Amazon site to cause the LGBT delisting. I'm not technical enough to evaluate the claim--but I think it just goes to show that we still don't know exactly what happened. To Scott's point, we should wait before condemning.

I do think that Amazon should make a nice gesture to the LGBT community, even if the error came from a hack. Say, donating a bunch of books to each of the LGBT community centers across the country.

Addendum: Others may read the above and point out that both Oscar Wilde Books in Greenwich Village NYC, plus A Different Light Bookstore in Los Angeles, both recently went out of business. (Bilerico's Matt Comer wrote about Oscar Wilde Books here.)

Although I will not say either deserved to go out of business, I will say that neither one showed that they knew how to take advantage of the power of the Internet. Both had small websites that merely advertised the existence of their brick-and-mortar store. Neither one put their inventory catalogs online so that customers could order books from them online nationally or internationally.

What a failure of vision when it comes to establishing an online presence! Check them out:

A Different Light Bookstore

Oscar Wilde Bookshop

A Different Light Bookstore even had separate websites, with unrelated URLs, for their San Francisco and West Hollywood locations. (I don't know, maybe they even managed separately, or were effectively separate businesses.)

I don't mean to criticize --- instead, my intent is to point out the opportunity just waiting there for someone to pick up and pursue. Let B&N and Amazon kiss the Religious Right's rear-end if that is the business they want to go after ... but again, once they abandon or suppress a whole market, there's plenty left for someone else to make a thriving business out of.

Scott,

Thanks for your sanity especially here:
"The thing about this that bothers me the most is how many people seemed to fly off the handle about this. Instead of taking a calm, measured approach, we as a community instantly played victim. People all across the Internet were treating Amazon as if they just signed Anita Bryant as spokesperson and appointed Dr. James Dobson to their Board of Directors."

I've had similar thoughts, and a few more; the issue is hugely complicated and neither Amazon nor the queer community has come off too well here - I'll be writing more on that.

http://www.indiebound.org/

YES! Boycott Amazon!!! While you're at it, boycott Barnes & Noble and Borders too! Buy your books from small, locally owned bookstores that these corporate monoliths have practically driven to extinction. Media is controlled by far too few entities and book retailing is a prime example.

So I half agree with Scott...don't boycott them because they did something dumb that they're gonna fix. Boycott them because they're part of a corporate oligopoly in the realm of ideas...just the place where we need them least.

(In the name of honesty and disclosure, I have to admit that I'm not as idealistic in practice as in principle. I regularly order non-book items from them...thereby supporting the beast...)

The latest statement released by Amazon:

Thank you for contacting Amazon.com.

This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection.

It has been misreported that the issue was limited to Gay & Lesbian themed titles - in fact, it impacted 57,310 books in a number of broad categories such as Health, Mind & Body, Reproductive & Sexual Medicine, and Erotica. This problem impacted books not just in the United States but globally. It affected not just sales rank but also had the effect of removing the books from Amazon's main product search.

Many books have now been fixed and we're in the process of fixing the remainder as quickly as possible, and we intend to implement new measures to make this kind of accident less likely to occur in the future.

Thanks for contacting us. We hope to see you again soon.

Sincerely,

Customer Service Department
Amazon.com

Former Amazonian Mike Daisey offers some insight.

"After hearing from people on the inside at Amazon, I am convinced it was in fact, a 'glitch,'" he says on his Web site. "Well, more like user error--some idiot editing code for one of the many international versions of Amazon mixed up the difference between 'adult' and 'erotic' and 'sexuality.' All the sites are tied together, so editing one affected all for blacklisting, and ta-da, you get the situation."

According to Daisey's inside sources, "A guy from Amazon France got confused on how he was editing the site, and mixed up 'adult,' which is the term they use for porn, with stuff like 'erotic' and 'sexuality.' That browse node editor is universal, so by doing that there he affected ALL of Amazon."

Crazy stuff. The LGBT community, especially the more politically-moderate, mainstream part, seem pretty easy to set off these days and look like they're looking for an enemy to rage against.

There's nothing wrong with that, but this isn't Stonewall. This is just a bookstore.

Folks, I may be living mostly outside of cyberspace with good reason I would guess. I have never used Amazon.com for anything. I am not even sure if we have a "Brick and Mortar" book store in my small big town. I don't remember where or when I got hold of book sellers ALIBRIS.COM some years ago I would guess when ordering on line and getting info was limited. It may have started with bookfinder.com...However all the books that have been mentioned in the past months on BILERICO and GREG IN HOLLYWOOD have given me the titles of books and DVDs that I would want in my library and film collections. You folks in your blogs have mentioned them by name and author and I found new copies at ALIBRIS.COM these fine folks (and I am not an owner or have any financial interest in them) list with each title where a copy of the suggested title or item is located from Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco to New York City, Charleston, and New England and the asking price including shipping costs. They give me a "DELIVERY NO LATER THAN" date and securely transact my ATM card for billing. I am pleased with these folks although of late they have bombarded me with savings coupons (code at checkout through a shopping cart) a bit more than necessary.