evil

Matt Ruby - Just how evil is Amazon? And am I awful for being a Prime addict?
also: Gizmodo - Is Amazon Evil and Am I Evil for Using It?

what is evil? people in the article above define it as:  not capitalism, something that is out of normal, dodging taxes, and "what lies outside the boundary of the moral community."

personally, i think I would evil as purposely hurting something (or someone) purely for one's own gain. therefore, amazon (bezos) is evil, because it repeatedly hurts the environment, local economies, and its workers to make more money for itself. plus, unregulated capitalism is definitely evil and amazon is trying its best to deregulate itself. 

so if amazon is evil, are you evil for shopping with them? no, because you're not purposely hurting anything. you're inadvertently hurting the environment, local economy, and fellow humans. also doing evil things does not make you evil anywat, unless those evil actions are born of evil beliefs. most people shop on amazon because it's easy and they think it's cheaper (tho often times it's not), not because they want to underpay workers, ruin the environment, destabilize the community, etc. however, they know they're doing these things second hand through amazon, and yet continue to do it anyway. which, again, while not evil, is certainly not good.

I think the majority of middle class americans have heard of a lot of the bad things amazon does and have decided to not think about it. to not take responsibility for encouraging evil because they are not themselves actively committing evil. but every decision you make is another opportunity to reinforce your beliefs, since it doesn't really matter you think if your actions don't reflect it. I think shopping on amazon shows that you value your convenience and wallet over your moral code (because I think most people say they value the environment, the local economy, and worker's rights).

so don't do it. decide now that you ARE a moral human. that the convenience of getting something shipped straight to your door matters less than the health of planet you live on and will leave to future generations. that your wanting to save a couple bucks matters less than the health and quality of life for 800,000+ amazon employees. that your 15 minutes saved by not price comparison shopping matters less than supporting local or smaller shops which hold up our community and pay a hell of a lot more in taxes than amazon does so that you don't have to be taxed more to subsidize bezos and his legal tax dodging.

don't perpetuate evil and don't support amazon.