Rant Level: 5 out of 5 at top of the lungs!
Is EBay a smut peddler? Yes, in a roundabout way. You associate with unethical dogs, you get up with their smarmy fleas. Is that how the saying goes? Or is it: You hang out with unethical pigs and the stink gets on you, too?
Last night after I posted my blog about my major-league disappointment/criticism of Chris Brogan and his defense of the CraigsList “Adult Services” Section, I called EBay.
I wanted to voice my complaint that EBay, being part owner of CraigsList, was part owner of a service that advertises sleazy stuff.
Disclosure: I have never looked at the CraigsList “Adult Services” section. But I have read plenty of Internet articles and watched a CNN exposé that displayed these ads.
Here’s what they look like: scantily-clad women offering services. Would those services be scintillating conversation—or scintillating something else? You be the judge.
I call this stuff sad. Some would say disgusting. Some would say it’s no biggie. (My Mom would have called it nasty.) But as I have said before, I don’t care what adults want to do with other adults. And as we all know, one person’s scumbag is another person’s Gucci bag.
It’s when children are drawn into this arena that DRIVES ME BERSERK. I cannot stand that ONE child is forced into a life of sexual slavery because of the ease of CraigsList.
And because of EBay’s ownership stake in CraigsList, that makes it partner to illegal sexual exploitation of children. As a result, I can no longer do business with EBay. (And I’m oh-so-close to 1,000 stars for out-of-control buying!)
That’s what I conveyed to Francis, the first person I spoke to on the phone at EBay. He listened intently and then decided I needed to speak to his supervisor. That would be Hannah. She was also polite and professional. She said she needed to speak to her supervisor (or was it a different department?—it was past my bedtime).
After a few minutes on hold, Hannah said that she explained my complaint to the appropriate parties and that my concerns would be duly noted. She said she appreciated my call.
I’m hoping that since EVERYTHING is ALWAYS about the MONEY, if enough people refuse to do business with EBay because of CraigsList, maybe something positive will happen—like saving girls’ lives from “forced prostitution”—a euphemism for child rape.
For now, I am a one-person boycott of EBay.
To John D. Donahue – President of EBay: Time to DUMP THE ASS (“Adult Services” Section). Then I will gladly go back to buying way too many clothes and vintage items!
P.S. To Jerry Brown — whom I sincerely hope bankrupts Meg Whitman in the California Governor’s race — this may be a possible campaign issue. First Meg Whitman climbs into bed (so to speak…) with Goldman Sachs — and then she goes after CraigsList — for the ASS? Just wonderin’…
