Flashback Friday: I Boycott Boycotts

Yesterday on the way to work there was a quick story about how word has gotten out about an L.L Bean executive who donated her personal money to the Republican Party. The news story continued that there are people on the far left who are calling a boycott of L.L. Bean.

That reminded me of a post I wrote back on 07/23/2013.

I Boycott Boycotts

Seems with every social or political issue flare up, comes a boycott. Don’t buy shoes from this store because their owners support abortion. Don’t buy gas from that station because their parent company extracts oil by fracking. Don’t buy this company’s product because they are against gay marriage. For every dividing issue in this country, there is at least one boycott or counter-boycott.
We are even taking up boycotting, or going out of our way to support entire states based on their policies regarding gun control, immigration, and a host of other issues.

This is a pretty stupid way of voicing your opinions if you think about it. The reason why the social issues that divide us are so hard to resolve is, well they divide us. They are not right or wrong, black or white in nature. The have a lot of maybe and gray mixed in to make a resolution palatable for everyone.

And there lays the problem. The big social issues, that never go away, typically divide us down the middle. Not always 50-50, but even 60-40 is close enough of a spread to prevent any real solution. And that is the reason why I feel it’s dumb to boycott for social-political reasons.

While the owners, and or Board of Directors, Shareholders, Union Leaders, etc. of corporation may take an official or unofficial stance on an issue; that does not speak fully of the employees. While a CEO for example may be for or against a social cause of your choosing, it’s reasonable to believe that 40% to 60% of the people who work for them agree with you. And who are you going to hurt more by not buying that $4.00 latte or $40 pair of jeans?

I do not wish to imply I don’t boycott. I do refuse to buy from or use the services of certain companies. But it’s not because I have strong beliefs that vary from management. I boycott mainly for poor service, poor quality, or for price gauging and other unethical business practices.