Dear Amazon: this is a fine example of ableism FAIL

So I emailed Amazon to complain about the lack of CAPTIONS FOR HEARING ISSUES (yes, I'm virtually shouting intentional of the irony here) on the videos that stream through Roku for free when you have Amazon Prime. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with Downton Abbey, saw it was available for free via Prime, and thought "hey, I can watch it without messing with the ease of my kids getting to their favorite stuff via the recently watched queue on Netflix - yay" so gave it a go. No way to turn on the captions (which, for the record, ARE there on Netflix, and my primary reason for buying a *second* Roku for the household was because, up until recently, it was the only device to stream Netflix through that didn't require me to pause the video after it loaded and tell it every. effing. time. I. loaded. a. new. video that yes, I still have hearing issues that make me want the captions on thankyouverymuch). The current state of things at Amazon are, apparently, several years behind Netflix (who was sued for lack of captions on their streaming videos several years back), as was their reply to my email:

Hello,  This is Cameron from Amazon Instant Video.  Thank you for allowing me to help you look into how to utilize the closed captions option for Instant Videos on your Roku.  Closed captions is a feature we have just recently launched and one that we are working to make available with all options. If the video you are wanting to watch does have the closed captions option available, you can do the following to turn them on:  1. Go to the movie details page where you can Play/Resume the video  2. Select the option that says "Watch Trailer, Closed Captions, & More"  3. You can turn the closed captioning on / off for that title  4. To turn closed captioning on/off while the movie is playing, press the back arrow on the Roku remote to go back to the product detail page.  To ensure the video your interested has closed captions, you can look in the details page for the "Watch Trailer, Closed Captions, & More" option. If you want to view options from your computer you can do the following:  To browse for videos with closed captioning:  1.    From your web browser, go to the Amazon Instant Video store.  2.    Go to the Movies or TV Shows storefronts.  3.    Set the "Subtitles & Closed Captioning" filter in the left-hand column, and then browse the results.  To search for videos with closed captioning:  1.    From your web browser, go to the Amazon Instant Video store.  2.    Search for a video title or keyword, and then set the "Subtitles & Closed Captioning" filter to display only those videos that both match your search term and include closed captions.  Thank you for using Amazon Instant Video. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Best regards, Cameron C.

Did I solve your problem?    Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company. Thank you. Amazon.com

Oh, so there's FEEDBACK as an option on this "Earth's most customer-centric company" ableist failure of duty. Good. I gave "Cameron" four stars and their policy one for being digitally archaic. There's also no way to reply to this message (it comes from a generic email address and doesn't indicate any tracking numbers to help reroute to "Cameron" and gives no indication of HOW to reply other than feedback, nor does it really INVITE a continuation of the discussion), so I took off points for that too.

Click submit presented me with this at the center of my screen:





Yeah... so I'm sending you an EMAIL about an issue that clearly identifies me as someone who has CHALLENGES HEARING (yes, I'm shouting at this proverbial "you") and you highlight your desire to help me via AUDITORY CHANNELS... with smaller-than-the-rest-of-the-page "not near a phone? send us an email" link tucked below... because the only reason I wouldn't want to talk to you people over the phone was simply because I didn't happen to be near one.

Assumptions much, Amazon? This is so effing archaic, I feel like throwing a good, old fashioned, ANTIQUE earhorn at someone.

And seriously, I have to jump through that many effing hoops to even FIND things that MIGHT have captioning? Yeah, THIS is why I don't pay you people for video streaming services. I cannot rely on things that I already have access to via Netflix (and that are already captioned on there) to be at an equal level of service through you. And it makes your service much less attractive.  And with an aging market (and with aging comes hearing issues) that is becoming more technologically adept, keep the hell up already if you're going to try to claim to be "customer-centric".

Umm... oops again

Yeah, I'm non-linear. Oops. I'm also pregnant again, found out not long after posting my last post... so I'm 34+ weeks now. Baby is due on Thanksgiving Day (US). I'm also in graduate school. So my brain is mostly elsewhere. People keep poking me to blog more. I'm trying, but highly distractable and other priorities on my plate. Feel free to look through the archives. I'll TRY to remember to post here when the baby is born at least ;)

edit: he was born, he is great, still busy as all get-out. All but thesis on the Master's. If all goes according to plan (still waiting on IRB approval for my survey so twitching) I'll get my MA diploma handed to me the day before Mother's Day. Probably with my then-5 month old in a carrier under my graduation robes. He's a very healthy eater (been putting on around half a pound per week, now edging on 16lbs at 14 weeks old) so I can't be away from him (exclusively breastfeeding) as long as commencement excercises generally take. Life with four sons is never dull... so lacking in dullness that we switched almost entirely to ballpoint pens so they don't poke an eye out.

Mr. Limbaugh, I am not a slut for using contraceptives

I am a woman who planned her family carefully, so that we would not be an undue burden on society when my husband and I chose to have children. We had been married for almost 4 years before our first child was conceived, and have been together very exclusively for nearly 16 years. How long has your most recent marriage lasted, sir?

Your non-apology is not acceptable. You repeatedly point out your "problem" with insurance paying for contraceptives, medication that has many other usages other than simply preventing pregnancy. Where is your outrage over the same insurance companies (who often do NOT cover contraceptive medications) offering unquestioned coverage of medications the sole purpose of which is to make MALE reproductive organs behave in a different way than nature is directing them to? Why is Viagra OK for the rest of us to pay for, but not contraceptives? The ripple effect costs of Viagra are MUCH higher, in fact - since it increases the chances of the female partner becoming pregnant, thus putting the insurance company (or Medicaid) on the hook for prenatal care, childbirth expenses, and the associated costs of that new human being. This is why, when all is accounted for, the insurance companies actually really don't have a problem with footing the bill for contraceptives - it SAVES them money. It saves ALL of us money, when there are not more unhealthy, unwanted pregnancies happening in our country - that result in medical complications and births that the state and/or other hospital users wind up bearing the costs of instead. In my own state, about half of all births are paid for by Medicaid last I looked. If a laboring woman goes to a hospital without insurance, they can't turn her away so they wind up writing off the cost of the birth - by passing on the expense via increasing the costs of other hospital services that people who CAN pay need. We all lose.

I am also asking anyone who reads this to not send me any gifts from ProFlowers until they pull their advertising from Mr. Limbaugh's show, and advising that you think hard about whether to use their service at all with others whom you'd like to send a gift in the near future. When contacted regarding the controversy, they have been sending the following robo-reply email (I verified it is verbatum what others have posted):

Thank you for your feedback. We spend our advertising dollars across a wide spectrum of media channels. The views and opinions of the media outlets and personalities we advertise with are not necessarily those of our company.

We simply wish to delight our customers with fresh and unique gifting products, and that will continue to happen to the best of our abilities.

My response:

If the views and opinions of the media personalities are not in line with those of your company, then I respectfully ask that you cease advertising during their show. If anyone sends me flowers from ProFlowers before you cease advertising on that vile man's show, I will refuse delivery. As far as I'm concerned, you're as effectively calling women who use contraceptives prostitutes as he is, and that does NOT make me want flowers with your logo on it. Being treated to gender slurs for expecting that insurance companies that cover medication for erectile dysfunction will also cover medications that benefit WOMEN'S reproductive organs is NOT something that "delights" me, and until your company ceases advertising with the spewer of such vileness, I will envision your logo on Rush Limbaugh's face every time I see it. While that may be a UNIQUE image, it is not fresh nor delightful.

I encourage all of you to push companies you do business with to have the courage of their convictions, and ask them to find better ways than hatemongers to promote their goods and services.