Whatcha boycotting?

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Kraken
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Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Kraken »

Do boycotts make any difference, or are they mostly a feel-good gesture? Do you boycott any companies or brands?

I'm boycotting Sam Adams beer because owner Jim Koch thanked trump for the tax cuts at a WH dinner. IDK how trumpy Koch really is, or if he's made campaign contributions, but this is an easy gesture to make. There are 1,000 other, better beers to choose from. On those rare occasions when I find myself in a restaurant that doesn't have better choices, I get wine or water.

I'm boycotting the Boch car dealership empire because Ernie Boch Jr is a trump enthusiast who's played golf with the cheatin' cheeto. That's easy, too. We buy a new car maybe once every 10 years, and there are plenty of other dealers. (We did buy our Honda from Boch in 2011, before trump was on anyone's radar.)

I recently learned that New Balance chair Jim Davis donated heavily to trump's campaign. This one bums me out. For many years I defaulted to Reeboks. A few years ago I tried New Balance and found that I prefer them, and I haven't bought any other walking shoes since then. I buy a new pair of sneakers every year and am going to be sad to give up NB, but this is a case where my money is definitely supporting the enemy. Back to Reebok I go.

Last week, my favorite beer bar held a fundraiser for Geoff Diehl, the peripatetic GOP gubernatorial candidate. Charlie Baker hasn't announced his intention to seek reelection, and Diehl could win the GOP nod if he doesn't. Diehl was trump's campaign chairman in MA, and just a couple of days ago spoke against vaccine and mask mandates. He's an authentic trumper, and I'm seriously bummed that the owners of this bar are raising money for him. I can't give them my money in good conscience anymore. This one's a genuine sacrifice...and probably pointless beyond salving my conscience, since they don't know they lost a customer.

Now. Many, if not most, business owners don't like taxes and regulations. Restaurants are especially unhappy with the pandemic closings and restrictions. Odds are that at least half, and probably more, of the businesses that we patronize are backing the bad guys. But one can't investigate every small business and base all of one's buying decisions on politics. If the bar owner hadn't held that fundraiser, I would've been cheerfully oblivious.

Anyway, what do you boycott, if anything?
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Holman »

I'm not sure a one-person boycott is a boycott, but I make some consumer choices on the basis of corporate/owner behavior when I know about them.

I'm in Philadelphia, but I don't drink Yuengling because the owner is a Trump donor. (I don't know what I would do if I learned Bell's Brewery was the same.) (Also Y is not such great beer anyway.)

I buy Nike sneakers because of their open support of Colin Kaepernick.

The bigger fish are the problem. My phone/internet is through Verizon, and I'm sure Verizon is in bed with some awful politics, but switching providers would be a huge hassle. And the alternatives are probably just as bad.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Jaymann »

I boycott Chick-fil-A and Bank of America.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Skinypupy »

I boycott Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, and Walmart.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Madmarcus »

I avoid Chick-fil-A although when I was running school trips I didn't outright ban going there on the times when it was easy or the team overwhelmingly wanted it instead of the alternatives. I avoid Hobby Lobby but I don't buy a lot of Hobby Lobby type stuff so it is a weak gesture.

I tend to not worry about support for Republican candidates. I don't like it when it leans into direct Trump support but at a fundamental level I'm ok with business owners / more well off people having a say in government. I wouldn't go to the fundraiser Kraken mentioned but it wouldn't stop me from going to the bar in general.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by YellowKing »

I generally don't worry about it. I'm not going to research every company for every product I buy to figure out if they contribute to something I disagree with. For every one company I actively boycotted I'd probably be blindly supporting 20 others I also disagree with.

I'm also torn on sticking it to corporations who, while I may disagree with their leaders' politics, also employ my friends and neighbors. If everyone in my town stopped going to Chick-Fil-A, it's not the Cathy family that's taking a paycut. It's my neighbor's daughter losing her job. And I know that sucks but that's how the system is rigged.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by dfs »

There are several places that I will avoid for their owners political stances/comments, but most of them don't involve hardship on my part so like madmarcus says it's kind of a weak gesture.

I don't eat at Chick-fil-a because of their politics, but honestly their food doesn't do anything for me.
I don't shop at Hobby Lobby but then....I'm a 60 year old dude who has no idea what they even sell in a hobby lobby.
I have given money to the Walton family (Walmart) in the last few years because there were a few times where they were the only place locally that had something I needed in stock (canning supplies last harvest season) but for the most part I don't shop there.
There are a couple of regional pizza places that I don't call up but...well there are tons of pizza options here in suburbia and I don't miss their food.
There are a couple of local dining establishments that I might be willing to try, but they held mini-rallies in support of Donny last fall and ...again there are plenty of dinning options here.

So....Yes, but the places that I "boycott" are not places I would frequent.

My wife is making noises about boycotting Amazon. That might be a problem.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by pr0ner »

Nothing.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Exodor »

Skinypupy wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:11 pm I boycott Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, and Walmart.
Same. Chick-Fil-A was easy until a few years ago when they started building them out here.

I also won't consider a Tesla until Elon Musk is no longer associated with the company. I have a plug-in Hybrid now and plan for my next vehicle to be fully electric but they're not an option for now.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Hipolito »

Kraken wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 6:22 pmI recently learned that New Balance chair Jim Davis donated heavily to trump's campaign. This one bums me out. For many years I defaulted to Reeboks. A few years ago I tried New Balance and found that I prefer them, and I haven't bought any other walking shoes since then. I buy a new pair of sneakers every year and am going to be sad to give up NB, but this is a case where my money is definitely supporting the enemy. Back to Reebok I go.
That sucks. I've been buying NB for years, and was about to buy another pair. Gonna switch to Nike for the reason Holman mentioned.
Skinypupy wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:11 pmI boycott Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, and Walmart.
Me too, but I never liked any of those places anyway.
dfs wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 8:25 pmMy wife is making noises about boycotting Amazon. That might be a problem.
I don't boycott Amazon, but I buy way less from them these days. I'm trying to support local businesses and punish Amazon a little for their exploitative practices. I maintain a wishlist on Amazon, but use it as a shopping list to take to other businesses.

Not yet mentioned:

Papa John's because of their founder. But didn't they get rid of that guy, so I should feel comfortable going back? That's the weird thing about boycotts: even when the company reforms, I'm still used to avoiding it.

Oberweis, an Illinois dairy brand owned by a right-wing politician.

Uber: I only use Lyft because Uber did something bad, though I don't remember what it was.

Discover Card and Circuit City: this is because I lost my Discover Card at a Circuit City. I got the card back, but in the time I'd lost it, a thief bought something on it. I disputed the charge, but both Discover and Circuit City said the charge was legitimate, even though the receipt clearly showed I didn't make the purchase (the thief's signature was just a spiral pattern, without even trying to forge my signature). I elevated the matter and got the charge canceled, but that should not have been necessary given the evidence. Both companies lost my trust. I still have the Discover account so that the constant zero balance helps my credit rating. And Circuit City is no more, so one point to me for that.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Jaymann »

Hipolito wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 10:57 pm
Kraken wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 6:22 pmI recently learned that New Balance chair Jim Davis donated heavily to trump's campaign. This one bums me out. For many years I defaulted to Reeboks. A few years ago I tried New Balance and found that I prefer them, and I haven't bought any other walking shoes since then. I buy a new pair of sneakers every year and am going to be sad to give up NB, but this is a case where my money is definitely supporting the enemy. Back to Reebok I go.
That sucks. I've been buying NB for years, and was about to buy another pair. Gonna switch to Nike for the reason Holman mentioned.
Skinypupy wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:11 pmI boycott Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, and Walmart.
Me too, but I never liked any of those places anyway.
dfs wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 8:25 pmMy wife is making noises about boycotting Amazon. That might be a problem.
I don't boycott Amazon, but I buy way less from them these days. I'm trying to support local businesses and punish Amazon a little for their exploitative practices. I maintain a wishlist on Amazon, but use it as a shopping list to take to other businesses.

Not yet mentioned:

Papa John's because of their founder. But didn't they get rid of that guy, so I should feel comfortable going back? That's the weird thing about boycotts: even when the company reforms, I'm still used to avoiding it.

Oberweis, an Illinois dairy brand owned by a right-wing politician.

Uber: I only use Lyft because Uber did something bad, though I don't remember what it was.

Discover Card and Circuit City: this is because I lost my Discover Card at a Circuit City. I got the card back, but in the time I'd lost it, a thief bought something on it. I disputed the charge, but both Discover and Circuit City said the charge was legitimate, even though the receipt clearly showed I didn't make the purchase (the thief's signature was just a spiral pattern, without even trying to forge my signature). I elevated the matter and got the charge canceled, but that should not have been necessary given the evidence. Both companies lost my trust. I still have the Discover account so that the constant zero balance helps my credit rating. And Circuit City is no more, so one point to me for that.
So it was YOU who put Circuit City out of business!
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Jaymann »

Exodor wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 8:44 pm
Skinypupy wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:11 pm I boycott Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, and Walmart.
Same. Chick-Fil-A was easy until a few years ago when they started building them out here.

I also won't consider a Tesla until Elon Musk is no longer associated with the company. I have a plug-in Hybrid now and plan for my next vehicle to be fully electric but they're not an option for now.
Just curious, what's your beef with Musk? He is trying to get us to mars.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by LawBeefaroni »

I was in the lounge at the car dealership waiting on an oil change and this other customer and I were talking. He started going on about how the owner of the dealership was a DeVos or Prince and tied into Amway. Like it was a good thing. If I can confirm,.my next car probably won't be from there despite the great location and amenities.



Aaaand, confirmed.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Kraken wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 6:22 pm This one's a genuine sacrifice...and probably pointless beyond salving my conscience, since they don't know they lost a customer.

There are two reasons to boycott. To ensure that a bad person doesn't get your money or to try to effect change with your dollar. If it's the latter and you think a business can be persuaded by a boycott, it's important to let them know what you're doing and why.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Kraken »

LawBeefaroni wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 11:35 pm
Kraken wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 6:22 pm This one's a genuine sacrifice...and probably pointless beyond salving my conscience, since they don't know they lost a customer.

There are two reasons to boycott. To ensure that a bad person doesn't get your money or to try to effect change with your dollar. If it's the latter and you think a business can be persuaded by a boycott, it's important to let them know what you're doing and why.
It's the former. Maybe I'll rationalize it away eventually, but right now I just don't feel good about spending my money there. Wife concurs. I thought about leaving a comment on their FB post that announced the fundraiser. It sure won't change the owner's mind -- I spend $60-80 a month there at most -- and the probable ensuing shitstorm probably isn't going to make the world a better place. Would you post there? Their announcement is about a week old now and there are no other comments.

Jaymann: Why BoA?
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Jaymann »

BoA is personal. They shafted me when they wouldn't cash a payroll check at my home branch back in the 80's when I was literally living paycheck to paycheck. So I switched to Security Pacific. Then they bought Security Pacific and I ended right back with them. :x
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Holman »

Jaymann wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 11:10 pm Just curious, what's your beef with Musk? He is trying to get us to mars.
Musk has flirted with semi-alt-right memes from time to time ("Take the Red Pill," etc). It's enough for me to consider him a douchebag if not an actual Nazi.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure he could get hit by a bus today and SpaceX would successfully carry on. He's much more a celebrity CEO than a visionary engineer.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by LordMortis »

I don't think I've boycotted anything but I have long long long shitlist that turns me off to things. My nearest Ford Dealership, WalMart, and Target come to mind. In a pinch I'd go there but I avoid when possible. I'm sure there are many many others but I don't know I'm faced with being a patron and then decide to actively search for an alternative.

No wait. I do have a boycott, Propaganda news stations, which will eventually lead me to a la carte streaming programming. Eventually...
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Ralph-Wiggum »

I haven't been to Chick-Fil-A in years.

I stopped buying Goya Beans after their love affair with Trump.

I should stop going to Publix because one of their owners funneled money to groups associated with Jan. 6, but their bakery is very good...
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

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Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 9:32 am I stopped buying Goya Beans after their love affair with Trump.
I've never bought a Goya anything but their love affair made me conscious of them and now I actively don't buy them. :oops:
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Blackhawk »

Chick-Fil-A is on that list for me. The Salvation Army.

I try to avoid some other places, either for moral/ethical reasons or just in self-defense, although it's an 'avoid' not a full 'bodycott' - Hobby Lobby, for instance, but it is the only hobby shop I have access to. I have cut my Amazon use way down. I've begun to actively avoid Google (I think Gmail is the only Google-run service I still use.)
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

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Kraken wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 12:52 am
LawBeefaroni wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 11:35 pm
Kraken wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 6:22 pm This one's a genuine sacrifice...and probably pointless beyond salving my conscience, since they don't know they lost a customer.

There are two reasons to boycott. To ensure that a bad person doesn't get your money or to try to effect change with your dollar. If it's the latter and you think a business can be persuaded by a boycott, it's important to let them know what you're doing and why.
It's the former. Maybe I'll rationalize it away eventually, but right now I just don't feel good about spending my money there. Wife concurs. I thought about leaving a comment on their FB post that announced the fundraiser. It sure won't change the owner's mind -- I spend $60-80 a month there at most -- and the probable ensuing shitstorm probably isn't going to make the world a better place. Would you post there? Their announcement is about a week old now and there are no other comments.
I'll say this. I doubt the owner woke up and said, "More than anything, I want to support Candidate X!" It's probably a regular customer who connected him with the campaign or a local GOP group who cajoled him. Unless you know the guy to be a Trumper, I'd imagine he'd put his business interests first and if you can convince him to quit supporting assholes, it would be a win.

I don't know your neck of the woods but there's also the possibility that he owed someone something...city inspectors, assessors, unions, etc. Or he was looking to get a future IOU.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Blackhawk »

FWIW, the only real reason I 'boycott' most businesses is to simply avoid supporting their causes. I don't want my two three cents boosting certain things.

On the rare occasion when I've actually quit using a business due to (whatever), I've always notified the businesses of the decision and reason. There are always fluctuations in business, and a few - or a few tens of thousands - customers shopping somewhere else is a minor blip on the graph, nothing more. If a few tens of thousands explain (sans attacks and vulgarity) why they're leaving, the company might, at least, take notice. And it is a smaller, local place, it takes a lot fewer people. It's still unlikely to change anything, but not doing it makes a futile gesture into an non-gesture.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

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Blackhawk wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 10:55 am FWIW, the only real reason I 'boycott' most businesses is to simply avoid supporting their causes. I don't want my two three cents boosting certain things.
I avoid places either because I don't want to support their causes or they refuse to meet my expectations.

I stopped getting service at my local Ford dealer because they chewed up the lugs on my car and then wanted $60 to replace them, calling them wear and tear. I refused so they didn't do a tire rotation and then didn't take the price of the rotation off my service. They later called and asked what they could do to make things right. I told them replace the lugs and do the tire rotation. They said they couldn't do that. Why did they even call to ask? What did they think I wanted to make things right? They didn't even tell me what they were prepared to do. Now I'll buy my next car at a different dealer and won't visit their service center by reasonable choice again.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Jaymann »

LordMortis wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 11:07 am
Blackhawk wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 10:55 am FWIW, the only real reason I 'boycott' most businesses is to simply avoid supporting their causes. I don't want my two three cents boosting certain things.
I avoid places either because I don't want to support their causes or they refuse to meet my expectations.

I stopped getting service at my local Ford dealer because they chewed up the lugs on my car and then wanted $60 to replace them, calling them wear and tear. I refused so they didn't do a tire rotation and then didn't take the price of the rotation off my service. They later called and asked what they could do to make things right. I told them replace the lugs and do the tire rotation. They said they couldn't do that. Why did they even call to ask? What did they think I wanted to make things right? They didn't even tell me what they were prepared to do. Now I'll buy my next car at a different dealer and won't visit their service center by reasonable choice again.
That call was both insulting and terrible marketing.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Ralph-Wiggum »

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 9:47 am Chick-Fil-A is on that list for me. The Salvation Army.
I forgot about the Salvation Army. They're on my list as well.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

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LordMortis wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 11:07 am
Blackhawk wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 10:55 am FWIW, the only real reason I 'boycott' most businesses is to simply avoid supporting their causes. I don't want my two three cents boosting certain things.
I avoid places either because I don't want to support their causes or they refuse to meet my expectations.

I stopped getting service at my local Ford dealer because they chewed up the lugs on my car and then wanted $60 to replace them, calling them wear and tear. I refused so they didn't do a tire rotation and then didn't take the price of the rotation off my service. They later called and asked what they could do to make things right. I told them replace the lugs and do the tire rotation. They said they couldn't do that. Why did they even call to ask? What did they think I wanted to make things right? They didn't even tell me what they were prepared to do. Now I'll buy my next car at a different dealer and won't visit their service center by reasonable choice again.
To be fair, that's just not patronizing bad businesses, which doesn't really count as a 'boycott' (at least to my thinking.) It's like avoiding a restaurant because they have bad food. I avoid Denny's because their food, atmosphere, prices, and service all suck. I avoid Chick-Flay because they're assholes.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by noxiousdog »

Blizzard.

I'm also quite surprised more of my OO brethren won't take a stand. I guess it's much easier to make such a stand when you don't like the product.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Blackhawk »

noxiousdog wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 5:38 pm Blizzard.

I'm also quite surprised more of my OO brethren won't take a stand. I guess it's much easier to make such a stand when you don't like the product.
Are you sure some haven't? Of course, it's fairly irrelevant to me (and to lots of us), as I wasn't planning on buying any Blizzard products anytime soon, and I'm not entirely convinced that a boycott is the right response here, either. But we discussed that at length in the Blizzard thread.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by noxiousdog »

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 5:43 pm
noxiousdog wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 5:38 pm Blizzard.

I'm also quite surprised more of my OO brethren won't take a stand. I guess it's much easier to make such a stand when you don't like the product.
Are you sure some haven't? Of course, it's fairly irrelevant to me (and to lots of us), as I wasn't planning on buying any Blizzard products anytime soon, and I'm not entirely convinced that a boycott is the right response here, either. But we discussed that at length in the Blizzard thread.
Of course some are, but it's a tiny fraction of people who like to take moral stands.

Also, it's a little surprising that donating to the Trump campaign is worthy of a boycott, but large scale corporate sponsored sexual assault is not.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by LawBeefaroni »

I have a small group that to game with. We've been playing Deep Rock Galactic (which is freaking amazing) but someone got high on D2R. I said I wasn't getting it because of their shitty corporate leadership. So they gifted me a copy. Completely missed the point.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Blackhawk »

noxiousdog wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 5:46 pm Of course some are, but it's a tiny fraction of people who like to take moral stands.

Also, it's a little surprising that donating to the Trump campaign is worthy of a boycott, but large scale corporate sponsored sexual assault is not.
Again, we discussed it at length, both in the Blizzard thread and in the Art Vs Artist thread. Targeted responses are different from carpet bombing a company with thousands of employees in order to hit the top 0.1%. And if you're going to boycott Blizzard, does that extend to all of Activision, in which case you're also punishing every third-party company that just happens to use Activision as their publisher? Or are you letting the Activision/Blizzard suits, who had to be aware of it (and were absolutely responsible since it was under their leadership), get away with their misbehavior?

There are good arguments in either directions. Questioning why people won't take a moral stand is fair. Knocking people for not taking the same moral stand as you isn't. How many people who continue to do business with Blizzard are doing so as a moral stand, having simply arrived at a different conclusion to a complicated moral mess than you did? Should they be damning you for the peripheral damage you're doing?
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by noxiousdog »

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:48 pm
noxiousdog wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 5:46 pm Of course some are, but it's a tiny fraction of people who like to take moral stands.

Also, it's a little surprising that donating to the Trump campaign is worthy of a boycott, but large scale corporate sponsored sexual assault is not.
Again, we discussed it at length, both in the Blizzard thread and in the Art Vs Artist thread. Targeted responses are different from carpet bombing a company with thousands of employees in order to hit the top 0.1%. And if you're going to boycott Blizzard, does that extend to all of Activision, in which case you're also punishing every third-party company that just happens to use Activision as their publisher? Or are you letting the Activision/Blizzard suits, who had to be aware of it (and were absolutely responsible since it was under their leadership), get away with their misbehavior?

There are good arguments in either directions. Questioning why people won't take a moral stand is fair. Knocking people for not taking the same moral stand as you isn't. How many people who continue to do business with Blizzard are doing so as a moral stand, having simply arrived at a different conclusion to a complicated moral mess than you did? Should they be damning you for the peripheral damage you're doing?
Spin it however you want.

When it's been chick-fil-a or hobby lobby, the moral outrage has been epic.

But blizzard makes good computer games.... so it's not as much. The thread itself is very dismissive.

Again, there's folks in this thread who are boycotting entire companies due to political donations. Systematic corporate sexual abuse? I'm the first in the thread to speak up.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Blackhawk »

noxiousdog wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:08 pm Spin it however you want.

When it's been chick-fil-a or hobby lobby, the moral outrage has been epic.

But blizzard makes good computer games.... so it's not as much. The thread itself is very dismissive.

Again, there's folks in this thread who are boycotting entire companies due to political donations. Systematic corporate sexual abuse? I'm the first in the thread to speak up.
When Blizzard starts donating to Rapist Education your comparison will be valid. Until then, judge away.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by noxiousdog »

That's a weird take. Don't boycott the group that's doing the bad stuff... Boycott the ones that support them? Like the streamers that buy their games??
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Madmarcus »

noxiousdog wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:08 pm Again, there's folks in this thread who are boycotting entire companies due to political donations. Systematic corporate sexual abuse? I'm the first in the thread to speak up.
Others have mentioned The Salvation Army and you have mentioned Blizzard. Both are organizations that have done things that I find distasteful. But I wasn't going to bring them up because they never even enter my mind. Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby are at least places I have patronized a little in the past and have actively chosen to not continue to patronize. On the other hand, the only Blizzard game I have ever played (yes, I went to check in the list on Wikipedia) is Diablo. My brother sent me his disk when he was done. I played for an hour or so and never picked it up again.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Blackhawk »

noxiousdog wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 8:45 pm That's a weird take. Don't boycott the group that's doing the bad stuff... Boycott the ones that support them? Like the streamers that buy their games??
Group that's doing the bad stuff?

Blizzard isn't doing 'bad stuff' as an organization. There are individuals within Blizzard who are doing bad stuff. "Blizzard" is 10,000 people. 9,9XX of them have nothing to do with the what happened, and cutting off those peoples' incomes would do nothing but harm. And that goes a hundred-fold for the third parties that aren't even part of Activision-Blizzard, but just publish games through them. What'll it do to boycott them? Reduce some suit's $25,000,000 income by a few tens of thousands? Pfft. It probably won't do that, and if did, they wouldn't care. Boycotting Blizzard mostly affects the individuals, not the organization, not the leadership, and certainly doesn't address the issue. Social and legal pressure are what are targeting the fraction of a percent whose behavior needs to change.

The Salvation Army/Chik-Fil-A (the two I personally mentioned), as organizations, are doing things I find repugnant, and doing so actively. Dropping money into their pockets directly promotes and funds their bad behavior, unlike Blizzard's management. Yes, they have employees, and losing business hurts them, but it also reduces their ability to do the harm in question, partially because they're using their profits directly to do the harm. Again, that's not true of Blizzard.

Blizzard is shedding executives like crazy right now, and while they probably have enough to retire, their careers are over. They're toxic. They're also becoming a cautionary tale for the entire industry, which is even more important. Is it enough? Hell no. But it is more effective than a meaningless boycott that will almost exclusively cause peripheral damage. It isn't the boycotts that are driving these things.
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Re: Whatcha boycotting?

Post by Kraken »

Thanks for mentioning Blizzard, nox. I've drifted away from gaming and hadn't heard anything about this. I don't think I've bought a Blizzard game since Diablo II, though, so easy boycott for me :D .

Salvation Army is one I forgot to mention. I'm leery of religious organizations in general, although I do throw a few bucks to a local interfaith group now and then because one of my friends is a booster.

I'd like to know why Jaymann mentioned Bank of America. Are they worse than other megabanks?
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