It was revealed in a book (whatever that is) that an Amazon executive’s love for the New York Giants killed Philadelphia’s bid to host Amazon’s second HQ, Amazon HQ2.

Personally, this is a non-story. However, if other websites are writing about it, then we here at The Liberty Line have to, as well. That’s just good business. Of course, if you’ve read my work for the site, you understand why this story is my responsibility. I bring a certain flair to these stories that are tangentially related to sports. I also hate corporatist greed, and Amazon is the grandaddy of them all when it comes to that.

Honestly, this was a good thing. Why do we need Amazon here? That Amazon exec said he would never want to live in Philly because he is a Giants fan. Hell, I wouldn’t want an Amazon exec living here either. Especially when he’d be accompanied by 2.8 million square feet of office space dedicated to enriching a bald sociopath with no social skills and awful taste in mistresses.

Look, we all know the executive’s Giants fandom really had nothing to do with this. It all came down to one thing: money. In America, it’s all about producers and consumers, buyers and sellers, pimps and whores. Amazon is no different. Philadelphia and Pennsylvania offered a combined $5.5 billion in state and city tax breaks. BILLION. That still was not enough to turn the heads of the Amazon search team.

I’m not even salty about it. Sure it would have been nice to have a massive influx of jobs, especially after this pandemic. However, Amazon was looking at University City and the Navy Yard as possible locations. West Philadelphia is one of the city’s most historic neighborhoods. Do you think Amazon would have done its due diligence to ensure that the neighborhood is preserved and its residents are not displaced? Obviously not! If Penn can ignore the wants and needs of the people in its community without losing too much sleep, Amazon certainly would have done so without even blinking.

I’m happy Amazon decided to keep its distance from Philly. They’ve added new warehouses in and around the city, creating plenty of job opportunities that way. We don’t need a glass and iron eyesore blocking the beautiful murals of West Philly. We certainly don’t need the Navy yard to be occupied by a soulless corporate monolith. Go ahead and build your HQ2 wherever you want – just keep it out of our city.

Amazon HQ2 Location:

Wait, where did they decide to build it then? Arlington. You know, in Northern Virginia? Right by the Pentagon? Yeah, tells you all you need to know. Fast forward to 2025 and Arlington, Virginia is going to be overrun with drone airplanes and other delivery robots that resemble that one episode of Black Mirror. That would never fly in Philadelphia. We all know what happened to that slick talking hitchhiking robot who tried to get cute in Fairmount Park.

Have fun in Arlington, Bezos. You surely won’t be missed in Philly.

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Mandatory Credit: CinemaBlend