What’s Left to Buy?
A little while ago I wrote about how we are boycotting a few stores—such as Auto Zone and Chik Fil A, one of my absolute favorite restaurants—because they contribute both money and manpower to anti-gay marriage campaigns. I have boycotted Curves due to their support of anti-abortion campaigns, Taco Bell for their refusal to pay tomato pickers fairly (this has since been resolved—as of the last I heard), and chocolate companies for their use of slave labor in harvesting their chocolate.
When we do this, I think it’s important—one of the most important things we do. Boycotting has been shown to be one of the best forms of activism, especially when it results in a net profit loss to businesses. If they don’t give a damn about what you say or think, they’ll sure give one when they start losing your money!
But after so long, you are boycotting so many companies that it’s nearly impossible to get anything that you need. We are now using a local store that doesn’t have a great track record, but it’s the lesser of two evils—and all of the little stores in my area, save for a couple of restaurants and a bookstore, have been run out of town. It seems like if I want something that’s not been touched by hatred or blood, I will have to just pluck it out of my own front yard. Dandelion stew, anyone? (It worked for Katniss Everdeen…)
I once had a boss who warned me of this line of thinking—that I could not demand so much from companies when I should instead celebrate the ones that are making progress and give them my money (and my good reviews). I scoffed that we could not allow any businesses to get by with anything unethical. It turns out that we were both right.
Not only am I having trouble today finding places that meet my standards; back when she lowered ours (along with the rest of the company’s), we were betrayed and eventually lost everything, including our jobs. So where do you meet in the middle? What lesser evils can you embrace in order to avoid the worst of what humanity has to offer? Do we compromise on body image in order to stop cruelty to animals—or drill for oil so the poor can get to work without taking out a loan in order to buy gas?