“Dakota” is an autistic boy who is primarily nonverbal. For Father’s Day this year he did something amazing, he picked out a present for his father. That’s something Dakota had never done before. He never had the words to do it.

Dakota picked out a Chicago Bulls umbrella for his father on Amazon and his parents ordered it for him. Amazon assured them the product was in stock and would arrive no later than June 10.

On June 11, with the package still having not arrived, Dakota’s parents checked the status of the package with Amazon. They were informed that the product had never shipped. They were, however, assured it should ship now and arrive in time for Father’s Day.

On June 14, Dakota’s parents checked the status of the package and discovered that Amazon had cancelled the order. Amazon never reached out to them to tell them the order was cancelled. No explanation was given why the order was cancelled.

Dakota’s parents immediately contacted Amazon to have the situation rectified. Amazon said that because Dakota’s parent cancelled the order, there was nothing they could do. Amazon was informed that Dakota and his parents did not cancel the order – Amazon did. Still Amazon said they wouldn’t do anything.

Amazon said that Dakota’s parents should happy that they would be getting a refund – in 10 days. That means Dakota’s parents won’t have the money back to buy a replacement gift until long after Father’s Day.

Amazon said that instead, Dakota’s parents should order the same gift from them, paying again on top of the money they were not being refunded for 10 days, AND pay for expedited shipping.

Dakota’s parents are poor. Without the refund they have no way to get something else – from Amazon or anywhere else.

Dakota’s parents are heart broken. They begged Amazon to find a solution. The parents requested that Amazon issue an immediate refund so that they could buy something else. Amazon refused. The parents suggested Amazon find something similar in their inventory and ship it so Dakota would have something to give his father on Father’s Day. Again, Amazon refused.

Amazon’s yearly profits as of March were $201.308 billion. Yet they can’t “afford” to refund less that $50 for a product they didn’t ship; they can’t “afford” to ship the product that they list as in stock; they can’t “afford” to do anything to fix the situation.

Dakota will not understand that Amazon screwed him over. All he will know is that the first gift he has ever picked out on his own never arrived. Day after day he waits for it to arrive and Amazon doesn’t care.

That’s what Father’s Day means to Amazon – a chance to screw over hard-working Americans and discriminate against the disabled.

Jeff Bezos doesn’t care about people with autism. Jeff Bezos doesn’t care about the disabled. Jeff Bezos doesn’t care about his customers at all.

Think about that next time you are tempted to order something from Amazon. Think about how the company discriminates against the poor and the disabled.

Peace. Love. Trust.

If you appreciate the nature of my words here, I ask that you take just a moment to share this article with your social media of choice. Follow me on Facebook (/rikki.travolta) and Twitter (@RikkiLeeTV)