Fender, What Are You Doing?

I want to be clear: this is not me saying Fender makes bad guitars. Fender changed my life as a guitar player, and that is exactly why I think this deserves a conversation. I love these companies when they make great instruments, but I do not have to love every legal move they make. I do not like this kind of behavior from any major guitar company, Fender, Gibson, whoever. If you are one of the giants, moves like this will always feel bad to players, especially when smaller builders and long-standing guitar culture get pulled into the conversation. Because this must be scary for builders who have been operating in this space for decades.