The Democratization of Crappy Stuff

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Joel D. Hirst
The Lexus and the Olive Tree

So, fun fact, Amazon blocked this book review from their site. Then they sent me a nasty email with a ‘warning’ not to do it again. Now, I’m not a polemicist, it’s not really my style. So, I re-read this with the concern that maybe I’d written something inflammatory without meaning to. The reality is I think it’s fine. A review of Tom Friedman’s book a few years on, and where it does (and doesn’t) hold up. It is a criticism of those who have given us their tyranny of crappy stuff; and, frankly, Amazon is responsible for a lot of that. So maybe they were just offended; it is their business model after all.

I have stopped reviewing books on Amazon — I certainly don’t want to offend the gods of Olympus! Perish the thought. You’ll have to come here for my thoughts on things I read. If you want a review of the newest flavor of toothpaste, I’m sure Amazon will allow those through.

About Joel D. Hirst

Joel D. Hirst is a novelist and a playwright. His most recently released work is "The Unraveling" -- a novel about how it all came apart. He has also written "An Excess of Nationalism", a novel about Soviet Armenia. "Dreams of the Defeated: A Play in Two Acts" is about a political prisoner in a dystopian regime. And "I, Charles, From the Camps" is the story of a young man from the African camps. "Lords of Misrule" is the an epic tale about the making and unmaking of a jihadist in the Sahara. Finally, Hirst has re-published his "San Porfirio" series into one volume "The Epic Tale of Revolutionary Venezuela", about the rise and fall of socialist Venezuela (with magic).
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5 Responses to The Democratization of Crappy Stuff

  1. budbromley says:
    April 21, 2024 at 6:40 pm

    Welcome to the club of the banned and cancelled. Coming soon to our travel plans, credit cards, bank accounts, property ownership, etc.

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    • Joel D. Hirst says:
      April 22, 2024 at 7:23 am

      Ja. Not really the first time, but I was just surprised cuz I re-read and for the life of me I can’t figure out what “offensive” content might be in this review. Its an honest reflection on how our overreach has gotten us fairly close to WWIII. Mostly by not being respectful of others and lacking in diversity of worldviews and political viewpoints.

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  2. EChumly says:
    April 22, 2024 at 3:44 pm

    Freedom of Speech does not include Amazon Book Reviews. Good reviews sell books more than ……… well you have experienced the rest.

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    • Joel D. Hirst says:
      April 23, 2024 at 6:53 am

      I’m not really making a freedom of speech argument here. Amazon absolutely has the right to allow whatever they want on their site. As do I. Point I’m making was censorship against certain viewpoints because they don’t fit what others want to hear is probably not going to lead to anywhere good. And also, point two, its about the self-dealing and the picking of winners and losers. About litmus tests and silos and confirmation bias. Read this one: https://joelhirst.blog/2023/11/29/the-ideological-fanatics-literary-cul-de-sac/

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      • EChumly says:
        April 23, 2024 at 4:44 pm

        I also agree with your censorship against certain viewpoints. I apologize my Amazon Line about freedom of speech was something I thought was funny. Why? It amazes me the way sarcasm works. Sometimes it does not work very well and sometimes it pays comedic jesters good money. I do not any money as I am not a very good Jester but that darn Don Rickles.

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