Ahh. I am an emotional wreck today. I never repost links to articles on FB, but I felt like I really had to post the Amazon one. Then a friend of mine sent me this in response to the aritcle. The pictures are beautiful and heartwarming... and I'm sitting here bawling.
It makes up for the fact that they haven't contributed to any political or civic causes at all until the last year or so.
A year or so ago they got ripped in the Seattle Times for not being more civic-minded like Boeing and Microsoft. They don't underwrite the symphony or opera or ballet or the theaters the way the other big companies in the area do. Their local political involvement on things that might affect them like transit or road construction funding or education issues is close to zero.
Now I don't really have a problem with it because I think having the arts depend on corporate giving is sort of crazy. But now that they are getting so big I think that Jeff is realizing that if Amazon is going to get what it wants -- like huge zoning changes in SLU -- people are going to have to think of the company as a good citizen.
ETA: also it looks like he has a personal connection to one of the fundraisers, which I'm sure helped.
It makes up for the fact that they haven't contributed to any political or civic causes at all until the last year or so.
A year or so ago they got ripped in the Seattle Times for not being more civic-minded like Boeing and Microsoft. They don't underwrite the symphony or opera or ballet or the theaters the way the other big companies in the area do. Their local political involvement on things that might affect them like transit or road construction funding or education issues is close to zero.
Now I don't really have a problem with it because I think having the arts depend on corporate giving is sort of crazy. But now that they are getting so big I think that Jeff is realizing that if Amazon is going to get what it wants -- like huge zoning changes in SLU -- people are going to have to think of the company as a good citizen.
ETA: also it looks like he has a personal connection to one of the fundraisers, which I'm sure helped.
All very valid points, but I'm not going to look a horse's gift in the mouth (or however the saying goes) because at the end of the day equality for all is equality for all.