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Q: I would prefer to not support a company like Amazon, but sometimes it is too convenient not to use! I’m also not sure if it would even make a huge difference if I didn’t use it. Is this something I should feel guilty about?
—Penance for Prime
A: Sister, brother, whoever you are, I am with you. My husband and I have been on the brink of canceling our Amazon Prime subscription for months (years?!), but each time one of us is finally about to pull the trigger, the other halts the action with an “Oh, wait, just let me order new ice cube trays/an egg slicer/doggy-do bags/replacement printer ink/you-name-it.” Like you said, the one-stop shop of Amazon is just too convenient not to use. Of course, convenience doesn’t preclude culpability, and as I write this, my mind is flooded with all of the reasons why my family has considered cutting our Amazon habit (likely some of the same reasons you submitted this question in the first place).
But you didn’t ask whether you should stop using Amazon; you asked if you should feel guilty about supporting the company. I guess it comes down to how you define guilt. I’ve always liked Brene Brown’s distinction between guilt and shame, where she describes shame as the feeling of “I am bad,” whereas guilt is a sense of “I did something bad.” Applying her understanding to my Amazon conundrum (which sounds similar to yours), I’d give myself a pass on feeling shame, but, well, I’d say that guilt is warranted. Is supporting a company that exploits workers, is largely powered by fossil fuels, and creates excessive packaging waste (among many other unfortunate behaviors) the worst thing I could do? No. But it’s not good, either.
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