I have my causes, the things I care about, the things I'm not willing to put up with, the things I support. Then I have the things I will not support and the causes and things I boycott. It's the power of the one person boycott. (Bows head, outstretches right arm and raises hand into a fist)
I don't have many things I boycott, but I feel strongly about those that I have.
Wal-Mart. Truly, an evil empire. I refer to this evil empire as The Devil Store. I will not shop there; I do not support the evil empire in any way. Horrible, horrible store. Bad on the environment, treats their employees horribly, many of their employees are on welfare to subsudize their income, yet the CEO's of Wal-mart are some of the richest in the world. Boycott has been ongoing for over five years.
Blockbuster. In principle I just do not care for the store. However, several years ago they charged me repeatedly for late fees that I did not owe and claimed, repeatedly, that I did not return movies when I had. So, perhaps not completely justified, because it has more to do with bad training and store policies than anything else, I don't care. Boycott has been ongoing for over seven years.
A local grocery store chain: Has more to do with the fact that the pimple faced kids do not realize that we all have to work, we don't want to, working is not our favorite thing, but we like to have money, and "Hey, how are you?" is a rhetorical question. Boycott is off and on because unfortunately sometimes I do need to shop there, because, unfortunately I like food on Sundays. (My favorite grocery store is closed on Sundays.)
Ethanol gasoline: It's a horrible, horrible, horrible policy. Ethanol sprawl, water run-off, downstream pollution, still uses petroleum; it is not a cheaper fuel. The only reason it is cheaper is because of tax subsidies. Tax breaks for the gas station owners and farmers. It actually costs more and takes more energy to produce one gallon of ethanol than it does to produce one gallon of regular gasoline. Boycott is brand new, about a week. I've thought about it since this past fall, finally my Jiminy Cricket got to me. Do I like paying more at the pump, no. But regular gasoline burns slower, lasts longer; so really, I'm saving money.
PBS: Okay, I do not boycott PBS. I love PBS. But, I did realize, just the other day, that I listen, watch, and throughly enjoy PBS and NPR, but I never give them money to stay on the air. They are public goods and I am a free-rider. I should stop that. The next telethon I've promised myself that I will give a donation. Just seems like the right thing to do.
So, those are a few of mine. Do you all have any one person boycotts?
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11 comments:
I see u have been learning your macro-economics!
Currently I girlcott Warner Brothers.
They've decided not to make any movies with female leads after the last two bombed in the box office.
And obviously, that was because they starred women.
Grrr.
I have a few.
Victoria's Secret: I'm not always as good at this one as I should be as I have friends that can actually fit what they sell that ask me to go in with them while we are shopping. This is in part because all of their ads are highly sexual even when advertising the "everday" bra. Somehow showing that even when you're just relaxing at home or dressing for work you should try to be sexy or you won't be effective. It's also because a sales girl (yes girl, not woman, a tiny little girl) chuckled and told me "I don't think they make that size" when I asked for the size that I WEAR.
Restylane: On their commercials they have a woman saying "why do I use restylane? Because he thinks I'm younger than I am". As if at a certain age you are completely unlovable and should go to all lengths to lie to your lover.
Bratz Dolls: It's not a company but I still think it counts as I won't buy them for any young women I know. The dolls show a highly sexualized/bratty/entitled version of what a child/teen should be and I am disgusted that these are a new role model for young girls.
Brody: I do not shop at Best Buy, but my parents do quite a bit of shopping there and they have WAY too many stories about refunds/returns.
Anon: Yep. Some things actually have sunk in.
Ablog: That's an interesting one, is it hard not slipping up? Sometimes I'm clueless as to who the company is.
Also, what were the movies?
Random: I remember when "Thelma and Louise" came out and it was SHOCKING to those in the industry that it was written by a woman(gasp!)
HST: Good job.
VS: I can relate. I only fit in a few of their bras. Isn't it ridiculous that a company that specializes in bras don't make a wider range of sizes? Seems counter productive to their (supposed) overall message: women are sexy, always.
Also, the sales clerks can be annoying.
Restylane: I HATE that ad. Makes my eyes roll and blood boil all at once. The line you reference, plus the scene with the two women in the bathroom; the one appears superior and the other one shoots a look of jealousy and resenement and disgust.
Really? Is this the message we want to send to woman? I mean, as if we don't have enough societal pressure on us.
Bratz Dolls: Exactly, and the list could go on and on about the images and "toys" on the market.
Grrrr.
Walmart, Tom Cruise Movies, Milk (well, I'm lactose intolerant, so... ), and dating assholes (a bad habit of mine)
Bre: Yep, yep, nope (I LOVES me some cereal) and way too much, yep.
You know, my dad once got a bunch a late charges from blockbuster, even though he knew it was mistake on their part, but he could not prove that his movies were turned in on time. It almost happend again, even though I know they were on time. Then the son of a lawer we know happend to be working their one summer and told him, yeah don't worry about it. He tried to call us later that day, I don't why. So my dad went in there the next day and asked for a receipt that said he turned the video's in on time. They could do that I guess.
I don't know, the whole thing seemed strange, especially since my dad is a Mexican. We didn't want to think it was discrimination but it was strange.
I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart. I don't think that's a one-person boycott anymore. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are in situations where they have no choice but to shop for the cheapest stuff they can find. And thus Wal-Mart rolls on.
Ditto HST on VS - While I sit there and enjoy their Super Bowl Ads (though this year's was ridiculous and stupid), it annoys me how even a sports bra - a freakin' sports bra (!) should have tremendous amounts of cleavage. Uhhh...isn't that why I'm wearing one? To prevent the boobage from slapping me in the face? That and the fact that I can't wear very many of their bras (none since Bella, but a few before then) annoys me enough that I refuse to step foot into the store.
Best Buy - hate the ads, hate making returns, hate the parking, hate the people that work there...pretty much everything about it I hate. Thank goodness we have a multitude of stores around here that sell the same thing for either the same price or slightly less!
Citgo - I got an email once about how it's owned by Venezuela and something about corporate greed and sticking it to the Americans, blah blah blah...in any case, their gas sucks and my mpg always decreases when I use their gas. So I refuse to go there, regardless of if the email was actually truthful or not.
Target - well, I don't boycott shopping there, but I refuse to purchase anything there for anyone else (whether it's on a registry or not) because of their hideous and horrible return policy. Even if it's on a registry (baby or wedding), without the gift receipt you can't return it without having a limit of $20 and having to get something in the same f'n department at that exact time. It's a crock and ridiculous. While I understand the impetus to do so, isn't that why they have store security?? I'm just sayin'.
I boycott Anahauser Busch products cuz they they are the Walmart of beer. With their thousands of dollars poured into marketing they are able to flood the wonderful world of beer with shitty product. If given the choice between a bud and a soda....I'll drink soda!
exxon: because they totally ruined the west coast for several years while i lived there with their oil spill. Not even a pack of gum from there, usually I won't even drive other people to an exxon to get something. haven't shopped there since long before i could drive...
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