Emily Stewart from Business Insider lately brought up the growing trend of people shoplifting from Bezos-owned Whole Foods and another Bezos-affiliated businesses as a defiance of billionaire Jeff Bezos. The Rise of the Anti-Amazon Avengers, according to Stewart’s article,” The Rise of the Anti-Amazon Avengers,” examines the motivations behind these thefts, which are frequently portrayed as a form of protest against Bezos ‘ business practices and political decisions.
Stewart spoke with a number of people who admitted to stealing from Amazon or Whole Foods, frequently citing their behavior as a way to “take from the wealthy to give to the poor” with the “poor” being themselves. The individuals cited concerns such as Amazon’s market dominance, Bezos ‘ enormous wealth, and his “political shifts” regarding President Trump and his own The Washington Post as being” Robin Hood-like” mentality, according to Stewart.
Bezos ‘ unwillingness to have” The Washington Post” support a candidate during the 2024 presidential election was a source of contention. Critics were outraged by his decision, which was followed by his conference with then-President-elect Donald Trump and later editor changes emphasizing “personal freedoms and completely markets.” Some believe that these actions are in keeping with Trump, which further aggravates Bezos ‘ hate.
The shoppers who Stewart spoke with used a variety of arguments to defend their actions. For instance, a younger communications skilled in Washington, D.C., admitted to minor thefts like concealing luggage at self-checkout or misplacing spices. He justified his actions by citing Bezos ‘ wealth and Amazon’s market dominance. Another person, alias” Carson,” admitted to stealing expensive things like salmon workhorse from Whole Foods and participating in Amazon gain fraud, saving roughly$ 1, 000 annually. In what he called a “dehumanized system,” he compared Bezos to the evil Lex Luthor and questioned who was actually hurt.
One person said,” I can scrape a little off the top, too,” adding,” If a billionaire can steal from me.”
One man who was unidentified as” Jesse” said,” Bezos only profits so much taking advantage of the little people, but if we as much people can bite back a little bit, and that’s me taking$ 100 maybe out of profit for him, that’s a little bit of a middle finger.
Some adopted a more metaphorical strategy. By replacing worn-out items with new ones, a government employee who purportedly referred to himself as” Jimmy” made up an avatar of Batman and targeted Amazon for return fraud. He refrained from worrying about the company’s financial loss, arguing that Amazon’s enormous revenue were unimportant.
Despite these arguments, Stewart argued that such incidents are damaging and counterproductive.
None of what they’re doing actually has the kind of effect that they might want, and they quickly ignore Bezos ‘ good efforts, for as his generosity. And they could get causing anyone else’s unforeseen harm, including the non-Bezoses of the world. She said that many retailers have placed things behind glass cases to prevent theft, which is a problem for everyone. Shoplifting is intimidate employees, and if enough people do it, it could cause companies to increase prices or, in the case of returning fraud, make it much harder for them to return unwrapped goods.
Stewart concluded her statement by expressing her regret for the frustration that drove these acts but offering a warning about how society might be affected more broadly. She noted that while theft may be less harmful than lighting Teslas on fire—as opposed to other kinds of anti-billionaire protests, it still constitutes an ineffective strategy for addressing such issues.
