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Do you boycott things and do you perceive it made a difference?


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Do you boycott things and do you perceive it made a difference?
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2022-06-09, 15:26

I really want this to stay apolitical and general. I know I'm already on the other side of the fence from most of you but everyone gets called on to boycott something due to a disagreement on how something was/is handled.

So In an effort of keeping this thread just about boycotts in general, leave out the specifics on who you boycotted and especially why. I'm not wanting this to be about politics but rather the value of the act of boycotting.

I've been told I should boycott a list of companies because they aligned themselves with things I disagree with. Given the mass of population out there, would me (and like minded others) boycotting actually effect them? I don't think so. I think the company wouldn't even notice in this case.

Maybe if it was a mom and pop shop in a small town who was accused of doing something some found bad. I could see them being impacted by a boycott depending on the size of the following. A "mega company" though, I have a hard time believing it would be anything more than an inconvenience to me.

What are you thoughts?

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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chucker
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2022-06-09, 15:29

I don't believe I've outright boycotted anything, but I do avoid things that clash with my values, if it's not too much of an inconvenience. (I don't like that we import Russian gas, but I do like to have heating, so.)

E.g., I use Meta's products less than I would if I had a better feeling about the company's values.
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-06-09, 15:34

There are certain websites I refuse to visit (mostly news-related, and both sides of the political spectrum), but I don't think I "boycott" anything in particular, nor do I believe my refusal to shop/engage has any detrimental effect. Boycotts can certainly cause trouble for some companies, but the big guys have so many customers from both political spectrums that boycotts do more to bolster them than to deprive them of profit. A lot of companies have very loyal followings, and boycotts serve to spike those followings to the point that, sometimes, a boycott will create incredible profit opportunities.

I find it to be a — mostly — useless endeavor. Thus my refusal to do business with someone/thing has more to do with a lack of interest, or they've just pissed me off. I try very hard not to let political agendas dissuade me from conducting my business as I see fit. Thus, a company that sounds the bell for some political BS or other, well, I just tune that out the vast majority of the time. Neither "Walmart sells guns" nor "Walmart likes gay people" will steer me away from Walmart. I don't like Walmart because the place makes me feel dirty whenever I walk in there. Whom they choose to do business with is their, um, business! I still shop there from time to time because they have what I need when I need it at a price I am willing to pay. Just got a Blackstone grill and Walmart was the only place in town that carried it, so in I went.

What I find most entertaining about boycotts, however, are the vast numbers of people who join a boycott and then buy from that company anyway because habits! Hypocrites gonna hypocrite!

- AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :)
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9)
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2022-06-09, 15:42

Those are many of similar thoughts I've had actually.

The inconvenience factor is huge. When it comes to fuels you don't really have a choice though.

The boycotting of something like soap is one I have always laughed at. I know a person who so hated the brand of soap and some commercial they put out that they decided to boycott them and tell others to do the same. Their new brand of soap, it was made by the same company under a different name! With the mega companies (like hygiene and food products) have so many brands under them that boycotting is REALLY hard.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2022-06-09, 15:52

I look at it this way: There's been a number of news-worthy elections that've come down to a loss or win because of a single vote. Was that my or your vote that made or broke it? Of course not... but maybe.

So yeah, there's a pizza place I won't order from. A chicken sandwich place too. And a hobby place that I'll go to begrudgingly because I've looked everywhere else and they're the only place in 100km with something in stock. There's a home improvement store like that too. And so on.

Will they notice my loss of business? No, but I know that it's not me paying for their exec's lunch or cab fare, and I'm good with that.

So it goes.
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-06-09, 17:25

Quote:
Originally Posted by 709 View Post
No, but I know that it's not me paying for their exec's lunch or cab fare, and I'm good with that.
I guarantee you're paying the lunch and cab fare of far worse humans — one way or the other.

Anything you buy — anything! — is going to pay a rich executive somewhere, including the guy you might think you're avoiding. Everyone is owned by someone, and the local shops all source stuff that comes from giant corporations that likely employee people you may not like. This is why I don't bother with boycotting for political/social reasons. That's a game you cannot win without showing an element of hypocrisy. Even the chicken sandwich place you do like, or the hobby place you do like, gets their products from someone that you don't. It's a losing game that is served by emotional thinking, rather than logical thinking.

Food, shelter, clothing, fuel. Those things are all pretty much controlled by the same groups of shareholders, and all of those folks are people none of us serfs would like. Yet, we've reached a point in "civilization" where we either buy their crap or we starve. The privately-owned sandwich shop and hobby shop you speak of (and we know who they are) also employ tens of thousands of average folks like you and me that just want to take care of their families and otherwise be left alone, and whose politics and social causes are as widely diverse as the folks from Walmart or any other junk store. The owner's opinions about gay marriage or gun control or what color makes the best color are absolutely immaterial to me. I do not care! I try to remember that the jobs created by such hulks are far more important than making my point. If Right Wing Sandwiches R Us™ goes out of business tomorrow the left-wingers will celebrate in abundance even as thousands of people lose their jobs. If Left Wing Health Place goes out of business tomorrow the right-wingers will celebrate in abundance even as thousands of people lose their jobs.

I fall a bit further to the right than most of AN's users, but I don't let the far-left's politics determine where I get my groceries. I get my groceries where the things that I like are sold, and all of those stores lean very far to the left. However, their politics do not feed my family, my labor does. Like I said, I tune it out. There aren't any centrist-owned grocery chains. They're all owned by mega-rich shareholders who only care about the bottom line, and use political/social grand-standing to avoid being called naughty names by the noisy few.

There's a particular website I used to love that I no longer visit because its curator made a statement that I found incredibly offensive. But, that's a single human running his own website, and he serves up literally nothing that I need in order to live. In fact, his "product" is something that no human being on this planet needs in order to live. It isn't food, it isn't gas, it isn't clothing, it isn't a roof. It's just an opinion, and I don't "need" it — in fact, no one does. So I just shut that link off knowing full well that my single voice matters not to him a single bit. For me, it's personal. And, truth be told, if that website disappeared tomorrow not a single human being on planet Earth would go hungry because of it — except, maybe, him. But, I don't want him to go hungry, either, so I'm not up on my podium screaming about it — not that it would make a difference anyway.

And that's the biggest thing that concerns me about boycotts. You really have absolutely no idea how many people could be negatively affected should a mega-company shutter its doors because a bunch of noise-makers demanded it. Let's pretend for a moment that Walmart was forced to close all of its stores. That means that 2.3 million jobs would be lost! How many of you think for even once second that boycotters ever, ever consider that kind of impact?

I hate Walmart*, but
Quote:
In 2006, American newspaper columnist George Will named Wal-Mart "the most prodigious job-creator in the history of the private sector in this galaxy" and that "[b]y lowering consumer prices, Wal-Mart costs about 50 retail jobs among competitors for every 100 jobs Wal-Mart creates". In terms of economic effects, Will states that "Wal-Mart and its effects save shoppers more than US$200 billion a year, dwarfing such government programs as food stamps (US$28.6 billion) and the earned income tax credit (US$34.6 billion)".
In other words, be careful what you ask for.

* Just using them as an example, not asking for a boycott.

- AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :)
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9)
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2022-06-09, 17:57

Hey I'm not trying to close anyone down – I've just decided to not add my money to their pile is all. That's capitalism*, baby. And I know I'm not making some grand stand here. I stuff plenty of money into Bezos' swinging codpiece, even if I think he's exploitive and personally a shit human being.


*Capitalist job creators like Walmart wouldn't be where they are without a hefty dose of socialist welfare, btw.

So it goes.
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-06-09, 18:08

Yeah, I'm not talking about individual choices to do or not do business with those companies you … umm … choose.

I'm talking about coordinated boycott efforts. Either they're going to blow up in your face and draw more business (Chick Filet is a grand example of that), or you run the risk of tossing folks out of their jobs and creating undue burden for average folks. I did a quick search, and the consensus is that boycotts hurt the wrong people, i.e. the employees and customers, not the super rich corporations.

They're ineffective for everything but two things: Adding to unemployment, and padding the egos of boycott organizers. That's all they do.

- AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :)
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9)
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Quagmire
meh
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2022-06-09, 19:43

I don't outright boycott companies just because they share different views than I do.

I love Chick fil a despite their beliefs.

The company/CEO will actually have to do something that I find detestable to even consider it.

We are fans of a company that was founded and ran during it's peak of "innovation" by a guy that was a complete asshole and shit father, etc. Sometimes you have to separate the person and the company. I certainly have to do it with a certain car company named after a certain person during the Edison era.......

giggity
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-09, 20:13

I don't boycott anything on any deliberate, "I'm making a statement" basis. I'm a speck. What I do, or don't do, matters nothing, really. I mean, I don't go out of my way to patronize known shitheadery, but I can barely think of any. I'm not putting myself over a barrel to make some "stand" nobody gives a shit about. I'm not 26 anymore, when I used to believe such things mattered.

If a company came out and was just blatantly stupid or offensive to the core (un-P.C. isn't "offensive", BTW; it might not be someone's cup of tea, but I'm not going to wet my pants over humor or poking holes in things that deserve it). But I'm not wild about a handful of outfits. But I don't use the kinds of stuff they sell/serve anyway, so it's really a non-issue.

Dr. Pepper would have to go a really long way to put me off, and I just don't see it happening.

PS - I don't get a hard-on over tactical flashlights...
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-06-09, 22:53

Quote:
Originally Posted by psmith2.0 View Post
PS - I don't get a hard-on over tactical flashlights...
Just under one?





I'll show myself out.
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kieran
@kk@pennytucker.social
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
 
2022-06-10, 07:53

My family does skip shopping or patronizing stores that have a different set of values than we do, but I'm fully understanding that my single "boycott" (that word doesn't really fit, but I guess it's the best in this case) will actually cause any organization to alter their values.

There are places I used to go to/shop/eat at that I no longer do and I do miss some of them, but with so many options out there these days, it's not really that difficult to find places to patronize that align with your values.

No more Twitter. It's Mastodon now.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2022-06-10, 09:16

So really boycotting isn't a thing for most of us but rather just not giving money where we don't prefer.

This is pretty much how I've always done it, "vote with my wallet".

This thread got prompted by some other conversation that was trying to push all around the conversation to stop supporting business on a list. One of the companies on the list was really a parent company that holds umpteen other companies with umpteen other sub-brands under each of them.

To me it is laughable that my family "boycotting" them would do anything other than annoy and inconvenience me. What Ken mentioned earlier about who the boycotts actually hurt makes sense to me.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2022-06-10, 09:56

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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-10, 10:19

Good grief, I'd starve if I were a professional boycott monkey.

Who owns Dr. Pepper? Where are they on that graphic? I notice they seem to span the netherworld between Coke and Pepsi a lot of times. You'll see Dr. Pepper at fast food places - McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. - where Coca-Cola is served. But you'll also see Dr. Pepper in places like KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, etc. where Pepsi is their main soda. And nearly every Subway I've been to has Dr. Pepper, whether that certain location is a Coke or Pepsi joint.

I know here in town, Dr. Pepper is bottled at the big Coca-Cola bottling plant near the river (went on a field trip there in third grade ), and when local grocery stores have sales on Coca-Cola products (Coke, Sprite, etc.), Dr. Pepper is always included. As a result, I've always thought of Dr. Pepper as a Coca-Cola product, but I don't think it is.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2022-06-10, 10:44

Yeah, that graphic is great for giving perspective on this stuff.

For Dr Pepper, apparently it is owned by a coffee company now.
Quote:
Acquisition of Dr Pepper Snapple Group
In July 2018, Keurig Green Mountain acquired Dr Pepper Snapple Group in a deal worth $18.7 billion. Legally, Dr Pepper Snapple Group was the surviving company; it remained publicly traded and changed its name to Keurig Dr Pepper. This created the third largest beverage company in North America. On July 10, shares in Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Its stock switched to NASDAQ in 2020. Dr Pepper Snapple Group continues to operate as a business unit under the Keurig Dr Pepper parent company.
They have a long list of brands under them too.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-06-10, 10:53

Quote:
Originally Posted by 709 View Post
Precisely one of the points I am making. Everyone is owned by someone. Boycott Jell-o, but unless you want to be labeled a hypocrite, you best toss out that Cool Whip, too. And who can live without Kool-Aid?



"M&M's is the libtards!"

"So, are you giving up Snickers, too?"

"Oh, hell no! Can't live without m' Snickers."



I hear this crap from both sides of the aisle, but neither side actually lives up to their ranting. It's just noise.

- AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :)
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9)
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iBrowse
Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: The Shire
 
2022-06-11, 21:34

I do. I tend to buy generic, small, or local whenever I can anyways. I also like to make things myself, cook a lot, and find things for free or used when possible. Like others have said, it's knowing that my money is going anywhere besides directly onto a giant pile of money. I have a specific corporation on that image that 709 posted that I will never buy anything from. If somebody offers me one of their products I'll say "No thanks, I don't consume ______ products because that company is a huge piece of shit." I don't really get into the boycott of the week where a baked bean company tweeted this or that, or the donut company stopped putting baby jesus on their boxes at christmas, or whatever the media hyped up as the latest outrage. I'm usually already not a customer.

i thought i used to have a signature
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Matsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2022-06-12, 19:35

I boycott the things, people and places I dislike and it has the positive effect of making me a happier person.
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2022-06-13, 00:58

I know when to go out.
Know when to stay in-
get things done.


...
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Matsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2022-07-22, 08:46

Interesting experience the last few days. When the subject of summer vacations has come up at work, a few colleagues and directors that I regularly interact with have mentioned to me sentiments to the effect that they will not be visiting the US because for a collection of reasons "it's not a good place to be right now".

Most of us have family on the east and west coasts, and I don't think a single reason stands out, and this is all anecdotal, but... it's the first time in my life that a balance of issues (police violence, gun violence, COVID news, politics, abortion rights ?) seems to have soured a proportion of travelers on the US...

Most of us are new, first, or second generation Canadians of international origins. hmmm...

.........................................
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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
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2022-07-22, 08:57

I have heard the same from a few people, but there are also a lot of people going down for cheap gas and food. Gas I get, I don’t really see much savings in food prices though, at least when it comes to food that’s of better quality.

I’ve been boycotting the US, in terms of visiting, since 2008. The US is increasingly becoming a bubble, not willing to look outside itself to learn new things. If I have a choice between a US product and one from elsewhere, it might depend on the US company that makes it. No outright boycott of US goods. Not sure what immigration has to do with it, kind of puzzled by that comment.

Last edited by PB PM : 2022-07-22 at 09:10.
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Matsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2022-07-22, 09:21

I think for many people around the world the US is still a dream destination, but for people who either have or have had other options, not so much. So I just thought I’d mention it. Every day I consider myself incredibly lucky that my parents emigrated to Canada. Some days I feel it could have been a bit luckier had they stayed in the Mediterranean, but that’s mostly when I fantasize that I could live a little more laid back than I have - or suffer a little nostalgia for my youth. I know I’m in a good place, perhaps not the best in every respect, but one of.

Last edited by Matsu : 2022-07-22 at 17:57.
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crazychester
Dick in the Abstentia, The
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2022-07-24, 18:52

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matsu View Post
I think for many people around the world the US is still a dream destination, but for people who either have or have had other options, not so much. So I just thought I’d mention it. Every day I consider myself incredibly lucky that my parents emigrated to Canada. Some days I feel it could have been a bit luckier had they stayed in the Mediterranean, but that’s mostly when I fantasize that I could live a little more laid back than I have - or suffer a little nostalgia for my youth. I know I’m in a good place, perhaps not the best in every respect, but one of.
I'd love to go back to the States. But it's a big yeah, nah from me atm.

But I'm probably a little biased given the last time I was in the US was nearly 42 years ago.

Arrived December 8, 1980.

Suffice to say, the trip did not start well.
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Matsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2022-07-25, 09:42

I don't often attach much significance to the comings and goings of the rich and famous. I was too young to care or remember. All I knew for years was that my mother played his songs in our car's cassette player. In retrospect it had foreboding symbolism didn't it? It closed off an era, just as another had begun. By'68 all of John Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy were dead. Assassinated. Artists of the time, the popular faces of cultural conscience, usually died by misadventure and addiction, not lunatic gunmen...

To start the seventies, Joplin, Morrison, Hendrix, all gone too soon. Civil rights too seemed to peak then regress in the face of overconsumption, hippies started turning into fat suburbanites. By '77 Elvis was dead, though he'd been gone some years before.

December 1980... Regan had only been elected a month or so prior. The super powers leaned into their national identities and built even more rockets. People wouldn't start dying of AIDS for a few years yet, we'd go on to buy even more drugs, and more guns as the country quietly re-segregated itself along real-estate lines... lunatic gunmen are everywhere, including your kids' schools.

Last edited by Matsu : 2022-07-25 at 13:21.
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