Beware of Paypal, the Great Internet Censor

I pulled my stories off Smashwords.com yesterday. They are only available on Amazon now. Several authors have bemoaned Paypal's draconian censorship crusade as a First Amendment issue. This couldn't be further from the truth. The First Amendment protects us from government efforts to prohibit free speech. Paypal and Smashwords are private companies. I support their right to conduct business as they choose. I'm also asserting my right to refuse to be bullied as part of their phony mission. Lolita and the Story of O are still being sold, and Paypal is processing the payments. What's the difference between those books and the books they are banning? Lolita and Story of O are "literature."

This should be intstructive to all of us. What started off as an upstart online payment processing company, has morphed into a monster. They are imposing their view of what the world should look like. "Utopiaists" are the most dangerous people in the world. They want what they think is best for the world. They are smarter than us. Imposing their will at any cost is justifiable in their minds. The worst tyrants in history often started off with the best intentions.