I’d like to take a quick poll of readers. How many of you remember a time when you didn’t eat grapes in the winter, checked to see where a product was grown or manufactured before buying it, or have even gone to the extreme of not shopping in a place because they did not label where items came from? Does that sound familiar to anybody?
When I was a kid that was my family. Supporters of Cesar Chavez and the farm workers union in California, enforcers of the nothing from South Africa rule, and latter from Chile. When your young it’s difficult to understand the subtle nuances of political behaviour. All it meant to me was that I never got to eat the Granny Smith apples I loved so much because they came from South Africa.
My Mother tried to explain it to me, about people being treated unfairly. The Mexican workers in California not being paid properly for their work picking the fruit and vegetables. The situation in South Africa of white minority rule.
I had asked her why she didn’t shop at a particular store, they had better candy and that was important to me, and had been told they didn’t label products telling which country had grown them. She said that if these people who were living like slaves or being treated badly asked for help by people not buying things, it was the least we could do. Giving up grapes in the winter was nothing compared to not being able to afford to feed your family.
I guess you could say that was the beginning of my political awareness. A mixture of liberal guilt and a desire to make the world better. In my innocence, or ignorance, I assumed that everybody’s family acted like ours did. So the first time I was over at a friends house and saw a bowl of grapes I said something about it. The silence that followed told me that I had made some sort of faux pas, but didn’t know what.
It wasn’t till I got home that my mother explained that not all people believed that boycotts, she had taught me what the word meant, were any good, or that some even thought that supporting the people who needed help was wrong. I couldn’t understand why people wouldn’t want to help those in trouble. She said neither could she, but there were some people in the world like that.
Article comments
1 - dietdoc
gypseyman writes: "Our power as consumers can not be underestimated. All of us have the ability to choose not to buy something. Nobody can take that right away from you."
Reply: I think we, today, feel just too impotent in the face of the national and world attitude. My office staff and friends laugh at me all the time for my "boycotts." To avoid alienating certain readers, I will not list my preferences. It is a very personal issue with me and, while I know - deep inside - I am not affecting anyone, I chose to do it. I will not see movies or buy DVDs of actors who chose to use their public fame to promote their personal political beliefs. I will not buy music CDs of artists who do likewise. These people somehow feel that since they have a recognizable face, they are experts. When a "celebrity" (and I use that term in its broadest strokes) choses to step forward as a spokesperson for some cause on which I have differing views, I chose to no longer support them with my scant dollars. I do look to see where products are manufactured. There are other issues, too numerous for this venue.
It is a right, for everyone, to take a stand, now and then, and stick with it. Am I hurting anyone's pocketbook? Not hardly. I miss a lot of movies and music I would probably enjoy. But, as you state, it is empowering, if only to me.
Cheers,
Ron
2 - Nancy
Dietdoc, why are you afraid of 'alienating' certain readers? Isn't it a little dishonest, to hide your convictions because you're afraid they might not read your columns or something? Besides which, I doubt they would; if they like them well enough to read them, you posting an opinion they disagree with shouldn't put them off, unless they're total cretins, in which case, good riddance.
Boycotts...they work for a lot of commercial causes, but I wish there were some way to make them work against congress, which really doesn't give a rat's ass what the public thinks, except just before election time. Like you, I boycott stuff all the time. Currently, GM, US Air, & Walmart, for obvious reasons if you at all follow the news. Verizon just because I hate being inundated w/targeted marketing. TV cable because I despise their attitude that they're the only game in town, so I have to ante up on their terms or not get TV. Thanks...I'd rather read anyway, assholes. To my surprise, I've also found in the long run, boycotting tends to save one money! I don't go out and blow small fortunes on little crap at Walmart, nor do I spend $60+/mo on cable TV, money I put to better use w/books & supporting my local animal shelter! So it has lots of benefits. Recommend it highly. :)
3 - dietdoc
Nancy writes: "Dietdoc, why are you afraid of 'alienating' certain readers?"
Reply: It is only for the purposes of making a reply to this particular point. When I try and make a point about, say, boycotts, I would not want to blind someone's eyes to my point because of my opinions about something unrelated.
My point was that boycotts can be a very personally rewarding thing, delusional as they be to any real effects. The ancillary issues about who, what, and why are not related to this particular point.
I have no problem discussing my personal ideas and leanings in the appropropriate forum. I see the subject of BLOGs get obscured by personal ranting back and forth too often and I didn't want to clutter gypseyman's post in that fashion.
Cheers,
Ron