It's becoming increasingly more common for people to boycott certain companies, products, or even celebrity names. They don't like the thought of their money going to these people with whom they strongly disagree on a matter they feel is important. While I can understand and often respect such financial protests, the following questions immediately fill my head when I hear about such boycotts: 1) At what point do we draw the line?; 2) Are these boycotts at all effective (and if so, how effective are they?)?; 3) With uber-wealthy individuals and companies owning so much, are boycotts of all their products even possible?; and 4) As far as celebrities go, is it really fair to boycott a person's talent due to a mistake in their personal lives, especially since they're afforded much less privacy than the general public?
I don't really have answers to these questions. I just find the matter to be interesting and am curious to hear people's stories on their own boycotts, the reason(s) behind them, how effective they are, and where they feel the line should be drawn in such situations.
For me personally, I don't watch Fox News, don't listen to right-wing talk radio, try not to purchase Koch products, rarely ever shop at Walmart, etc., but there are times I'm sure I fail when it comes to these personal boycotts, sometimes unknowingly so, which is why I often feel overwhelmed and powerless in the grand scheme of things. I'm often ignorant on the political leanings and contributions of grocery store and restaurant owners, yet I need particular products to survive, so I do what I can to do so. While I may not agree with a business owner's politics, if he/she treats me with respect as a customer, I'm going to treat him/her with respect as well. However, if he/she tries bringing attention to their company by going public with an opinion and/or a contribution on which I strongly disagree, chances are I'm going to do everything in my power to boycott them. Like I said, though, such acts are easier said than done. For example, here are all the Koch products and companies:
- Angel Soft
- Angel Soft Ultra
- Brawny paper towels
- Dixie cups (& napkins & plates)
- Insulair cups
- Perfect Touch cups, paper products
- Quilted Northern
- Sparkle paper towels
- Stainmaster
- Vanity Fair napkins & paper towels
- Mardis Gras napkins
- Zee napkins
- Georgia Pacific products
- Advantage
- Image Plus
- Spectrum paper
- American Greetings
- Guardian Glass
- Lycra
- Teflon
- Canadian Tar Sands
- Holiday Companies
- Gander Mountain
- The list goes on and on and on...
See what I mean?
When it comes to celebrities, I find it more difficult to draw a final line which marks where I'd officially stop supporting their products in any manner. O.J. Simpson was charged with murder yet found to be not guilty in a court of law. He also had a history of physically abusing his ex-wife. So is it morally wrong to support him in any manner? Is it okay to support him as a football player but not as a person? Does supporting him as a football player inevitably show support for him as a person? Michael Jackson was accused of molesting boys, yet all such charges against him were eventually dropped. So once again, in the chance he did commit these crimes, is it taking the moral high road to boycott his music? Is it perfectly acceptable to deem him innocent until proven guilty? Is there a right or wrong answer? Again, I don't know. For me personally, maybe it's wrong at times, but I simply try to separate celebrities' personal lives from their professional lives. I don't know any of them very well personally, don't know what it's like to always be in the spotlight, have no idea how differently I'd behave if I were, and try to look at and treat them like I would anyone else. The chances are good each and every celebrity has done or said something with which I strongly disagree, yet a large majority of times I feel it'd be unfair to fully judge them on these (hopefully isolated) incidents. If I were always in the spotlight, I have to imagine just about everyone would find something I said or did which they hated, yet I'd hope they wouldn't fully judge me on the event and boycott me as a result.
Boycotts can often be tricky balancing acts, and while I respect and admire some people's protests, I think others are too quick to pull the trigger, and in any such act, the questions remain, where do we draw the line?; will it work?; and in some cases, is it even possible?
http://www.boycottkochbrothers.com/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/4/1/1288957/-Sign-the-pledge-Don-t-buy-these-Koch-products
I don't really have answers to these questions. I just find the matter to be interesting and am curious to hear people's stories on their own boycotts, the reason(s) behind them, how effective they are, and where they feel the line should be drawn in such situations.
For me personally, I don't watch Fox News, don't listen to right-wing talk radio, try not to purchase Koch products, rarely ever shop at Walmart, etc., but there are times I'm sure I fail when it comes to these personal boycotts, sometimes unknowingly so, which is why I often feel overwhelmed and powerless in the grand scheme of things. I'm often ignorant on the political leanings and contributions of grocery store and restaurant owners, yet I need particular products to survive, so I do what I can to do so. While I may not agree with a business owner's politics, if he/she treats me with respect as a customer, I'm going to treat him/her with respect as well. However, if he/she tries bringing attention to their company by going public with an opinion and/or a contribution on which I strongly disagree, chances are I'm going to do everything in my power to boycott them. Like I said, though, such acts are easier said than done. For example, here are all the Koch products and companies:
- Angel Soft
- Angel Soft Ultra
- Brawny paper towels
- Dixie cups (& napkins & plates)
- Insulair cups
- Perfect Touch cups, paper products
- Quilted Northern
- Sparkle paper towels
- Stainmaster
- Vanity Fair napkins & paper towels
- Mardis Gras napkins
- Zee napkins
- Georgia Pacific products
- Advantage
- Image Plus
- Spectrum paper
- American Greetings
- Guardian Glass
- Lycra
- Teflon
- Canadian Tar Sands
- Holiday Companies
- Gander Mountain
- The list goes on and on and on...
See what I mean?
When it comes to celebrities, I find it more difficult to draw a final line which marks where I'd officially stop supporting their products in any manner. O.J. Simpson was charged with murder yet found to be not guilty in a court of law. He also had a history of physically abusing his ex-wife. So is it morally wrong to support him in any manner? Is it okay to support him as a football player but not as a person? Does supporting him as a football player inevitably show support for him as a person? Michael Jackson was accused of molesting boys, yet all such charges against him were eventually dropped. So once again, in the chance he did commit these crimes, is it taking the moral high road to boycott his music? Is it perfectly acceptable to deem him innocent until proven guilty? Is there a right or wrong answer? Again, I don't know. For me personally, maybe it's wrong at times, but I simply try to separate celebrities' personal lives from their professional lives. I don't know any of them very well personally, don't know what it's like to always be in the spotlight, have no idea how differently I'd behave if I were, and try to look at and treat them like I would anyone else. The chances are good each and every celebrity has done or said something with which I strongly disagree, yet a large majority of times I feel it'd be unfair to fully judge them on these (hopefully isolated) incidents. If I were always in the spotlight, I have to imagine just about everyone would find something I said or did which they hated, yet I'd hope they wouldn't fully judge me on the event and boycott me as a result.
Boycotts can often be tricky balancing acts, and while I respect and admire some people's protests, I think others are too quick to pull the trigger, and in any such act, the questions remain, where do we draw the line?; will it work?; and in some cases, is it even possible?
http://www.boycottkochbrothers.com/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/4/1/1288957/-Sign-the-pledge-Don-t-buy-these-Koch-products
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