5.5.20: WFH, Biden & Amazon
May 5, 2020.
Good Tuesday Morning. It’s Cinco de Mayo, which is not Mexican Independence Day. (Here’s the Wikipedia page to prove it.) Also, let’s just all agree to no Corona jokes today, okay?
In other news, my affirmation yesterday that LeBron James, and not Michael Jordan, is the greatest basketball player of all-time didn’t win me a lot of fans.
Your OPINION about the hoops goat is both useless and irrelevant.
Saying LeBron > MJ got me very close to unsubscribing... I demand an unlike button at least. To quote Stephen A. Smith: This is blasphemous!
Well then.
Finally, and on a far more serious note, the questions about the sexual assault allegation clearly surfaced a lot of emotion and internal conflict for our users. I recognize that the questions were difficult to answer, and that the situation continues to evolve.
Rather than trying to summarize the feedback many of you shared, I decided to simply include all the comments related to the allegations at the bottom of this email, should you be interested in reading them.
We’ve got some more questions today too, so click on the Let’s Talk button whenever you’re ready to get started.
Results from May 1, 2020
Question 1: If you could continue working primarily from home after the quarantine, would you?
This one surprised me. I was expecting support for working from home, but folks are pretty split.
Question 2: Are you aware of the sexual assault allegation made against former Vice President Joe Biden by Tara Reade, a former staffer in the US Senate?
Reade’s accusations have near universal awareness amongst our users.
Question 3: Based on the information you have now, which do you tend to believe most: the accusation of sexual assault made by Tara Reade or the denial made by former Vice President Joe Biden?
It’s still early, and any of the facts are still emerging, so many of you are reserving judgement.
Question 4: If the allegation of sexual assault against Joe Biden is true, what effect do you believe it should have on the 2020 Election?
Again, there are a lot of motivations and emotions that underlie these numbers, and I recognize how difficult it can be to answer. Only 16.7% say it’s disqualifying in this election.
Question 5: Amazon reportedly gave priority space in its warehouses to "essential goods" like groceries and sanitation supplies. This potentially causes shipping delays for other products Amazon does not deem "essential", including those for Amazon Prime members. Do you support or oppose Amazon's decision to change its warehouse layout to prioritize certain items over others?
There was strong support for Amazon’s decision and folks were generally willing to defer to Amazon’s judgement, even if it meant delays on other products. A number of you said that you were fine with Amazon de-prioritizing Prime orders, but you thought Amazon should also refund Prime members.
An interesting tidbit from one from an anonymous comment:
Amazon shipped my sisters manicure kit as essential but delayed shipping my yoga mat + blocks for 5 weeks.
Another insight from another user:
Any warehouse design decision will prioritize some items over others. They're moving things around to accommodate things that are being ordered most frequently which makes sense.
Make it all the way through but forget to answer today’s questions?
Click on the Let’s Talk button below to get started.
Comments on the Allegation of Sexual Assault
On Biden, I truly don't think the accusation is true. There are just too many holes in the story. Also, why come out now? He's run for president twice before and was VP for eight years! It honestly seems like a well timed attack from the Trump camp. Does that make me a bad woman for not believing her? I don't know. Does that make me a conspiracy theorist? Maybe. That being said, if the accusation is true, I would normally say that yes, he should be disqualified. However, given the dozens of accusations against our current president, I'd rather have the guy who did it once thirty years ago than the one who did it multiple times and harasses people from the oval office on a daily basis.
For the last Biden question: By “disqualify”, did you mean legally or morally? Because morally, I say absolutely, but Constitutionally I’m not sure it does.
Due to the allegations against the current president and member of the Supreme Court, it is difficult to determine what effect, if any, the allegations against Biden should have on the 2020 election. Morally, I believe it should disqualify him but practically I hope that it does not have too big of an effect.
There’s no perfect presidential candidate, but anyone who commits predatory sexual behavior should be disqualified. Period. #WARREN2020
Anyone who claims the biden sexual assault claim disqualifies him from the presidency and doesn’t say the same about trump is incredibly ignorant. to be quite honest i don’t think either candidate is a good choice. seems like as always its a choice of the lesser of 2 evils.
I am a hardcore, super left-leaning democrat. The allegations made against Biden are really disappointing to hear about, and really confusing. I want to believe Tara Reade, because it is hard enough for women to come forward and open up about sexual assault without being told automatically that they are liars. I also want the claims to be false because I want to be able to feel the democratic candidate is more fit morally to be president than the current incumbent. There are so many inconsistencies with this accusation but that doesn't mean it's false. I do feel there should be an investigation, and I hope the real truth comes out. It's such a conflicting feeling.
The allegations against Biden mean we have two candidates accused of sexual assault. Americans are being asked to judge sexual assault allegations by relativity. Sadly, one candidate's voter base doesn't seem to care about (or simply believe) dozens of women. Maybe there is even more to delve at in these questions...
I think if we are going to discuss the single accusation toward Biden (not including the women who said he made them uncomfortable - discomfort and assault are not the same) we also need to talk about the MANY, more credible, accusations of Trump. Biden was not my first choice, but he is all we have left. Unfortunately, if it comes down to a man who allegedly assaulted one person versus a man who allegedly assaulted dozens of people.... the first one gets my vote. Do better, America :(
I am somewhat conflicted over the Tara Reade accusation. Biden has been in office a long time. Why didn’t Tara Reade come out with this accusation when he was Vice President? On top of this, we have a President who has at least a dozen accusers, who boasted to Billy Bush that he grabs women by the ___, and who denies everything. It is difficult to know what to think about all of this.
I am very conflicted about Biden. I think there is an air of privilege in the White House. Trump has been accused of terrible things (and I personally believe he is guilty) and yet he is still standing pretty at the White House. And he is praised in some circles for this behavior. Should Biden be disqualified, so should trump. And I don’t think I am opposed to that outcome. Do we want someone who engages in this kind of behavior, who cultivated this kind of toxicity, leading our country? I don’t know.
Biden’s alleged indiscretion is no different from any other politician’s indiscretions. If liberals sexually abuse, it is wrong. If conservatives sexually abuse, it is wrong. However, sexual misconduct may not be the best indicator of one’s ability to be a good leader.
Bernie Sanders doesn't have any allegations of sexual assault against him...just saying.
I wish someone who has not been accused of sexual harassment or assault could get a party nomination. This election is a wash as far as character goes. I’m concentrating on policy and experience since I don’t have a “good” person to vote for.
How on earth are we going to let Trump and the Republicans try to smear Biden with this after all of the contortionists found a way to excuse Trump over and over and over again??
The entire Democratic Party needs to be supportive of Tara Reid’s allegations in the same way they crucified Justice Kavanaugh and supported Blasy-Ford. If they do not, why would ANYONE support the hypocritical democrats. The democratic mascot should be a chameleon.
When I took government class in high school, I didn't imagine I would be saying to myself 'Well he's only got one sexual assault allegation against him, I guess he'll make the better president...'
I’m kind of shocked that no “big lawyers” have not come forward to represent Tara Reade. I also don’t think it’s fair that the Dems are ignoring the possibility of sexual abuse. Would Biden even understand or remember? Sometimes if feel as though this country has turned into a reality show
Women have been sexually harassed so frequently that we took it in stride......no more...I have not sexually harassed the fabulous men I have worked with....I know they would support me as an equal!!!!