Too quickly is it forgotten that Americans are our partners, neighbours, allies and friends.
It surprises me how easily and quickly some Canadians are willing to be manipulated towards mindless animosity, to become pawns in Trump's madness.
How quickly we jump upon hatred under the disguise of being patriotic. American companies, American products, and Americans themselves, are not the villain nor the cause of this. They too are the victims. This is one administration under one man, and one man only.
Let's remember this before we all too willingly jump on the anti-American bandwagon. Boycotting American companies must be done with care and awareness.
To move onto the topic of Amazon, specifically Amazon's books, please bear in mind, this is one of the few viable options for self-published authors and small presses to reach an international audience, and in some cases, even produce printed books.
Boycotting Amazon's books ultimately favours traditional publishers, the Big 5 (Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins, and Macmillan) who control over 80% of the American book market.
Remember this: choosing to boycott Amazon books under the misguided idea of boycotting American companies or showing Canadian patriotism, is ultimately favouring The Big 5 Publishers who control over 80% of the American book market.
And this is the problem with Trump's rhetoric and propaganda: Canadian and American industries and economics are intrinsically interwoven and difficult to separate.
But having said all this, one definite truth is the old adage of Support Local. We are seeing the revitalization of local bookshops and a slow migration away from the big-box stores. Drop by your local bookshops. Pick up your new reading materials from your local bookstore. Check out their local authors' section. You might just be surprised.
You can find Broken Keys Publishing & Press' titles at these local independent bookstores!
Please patronize them.
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