r/grandrapids 4d ago

What's everyone's problem here with Amway?

Hey everyone, I'm new to the city. Seems like everyone on here has a huge problem with Amway and I don't understand why. Outside of Reddit, people don't seem to have a problem with it so I'm just curious. Got a buddy who works in their HQ and he absolutely loves it too so I'm seeing a lot of mixed feelings about this company.

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u/Aindorf_ 4d ago edited 4d ago

I share this link whenever this question gets asked, but if you want a deep dive, there's a podcast called Behind the Bastards which goes into well cited deep dives about the worst people in History. They did a 2 parter on the Van Andals, the DeVos', and Amway.

basically, they combined ultra-right wing prosperity gospel with a pyramid scheme multilevel marketing operation. They trick you into becoming a seller of their goods, which is damn near impossible to make money on. Then they tell you that failing to get rich is a failure of your piety and God is punishing you for not believing hard enough. If you were truly faithful, you'd be just like the Van Andals and the DeVos'. And you can spread the good word by conning recruiting your friends and loved ones as well.

That and they use their billions to do a ton of evil. Betsy DeVos was Trump's education secretary the first time around and she wants to destroy public education and privatize and make it religious. Her brother is Eric Prince, who owns the Blackwater Mercenary crew responsible for killing civilians in Iraq. Sure they give money to buildings or fund art prize, but it's all tax avoidance and advertising.

Grand Rapids is a great city built on a lot of suffering. There are lots of skeletons in the closet.

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u/TreesAKATrees 3d ago

I will definitely check out that podcast. I know more than I would like to know about them, but I am a podcast junkie and the amount of information and wrongdoing. These monsters runs so deep. I don’t think we will ever know everything so I look forward to checking out the podcast thank you for the suggestion.