Boycotting because of inclusion seems more wrong to me than boycotting because of non-inclusion (though to be fair I would totally support anyone who banned a certain church and its members).
The effectiveness of a boycott depends, in part, on the entity being boycotted knowing what they are doing wrong. Just as some people who are choosing to not fly are telling the airlines that it is because of the new TSA practices, others are just not doing it so the airlines won't know if they stopped because of the economy or if they stopped because of TSA.
I totally see your point about not wanting to hurt the rank-and-file people (which is a problem with the airline as well) and it is a valid concern. I don't have any easy answers.
The whole thing reminds me of an exchange in one of the Valdemar books. Student: My folks say magic is evil Teacher: Magic is a tool, is a sword evil? Student: It depends on who's holding it.
I think that boycotts as a concept on paper work just fine. Boycotts in the reality of the modern world do not have the desired effect. Far better to explore other avenues of letting a large corporation know that they are doing something you do not agree with than to stop supporting the local store in which you may do business.
Lots of thoughts, but I will say that when I have chosen to boycott an organization or business, job loss is one of the least of my worries... maybe partly because I do not believe that my small boycott has much of an effect without other, complementary actions (letting the company know, for example) and partly because, while it DOES matter if someone loses their job, I am not going to compromise my values at that point to keep someone employed in an organization that is oppressing others.
That being said, I am usually boycotting organizations / businesses that are also treating their employees awfully (or specifically because employees are treated awfully).
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The effectiveness of a boycott depends, in part, on the entity being boycotted knowing what they are doing wrong. Just as some people who are choosing to not fly are telling the airlines that it is because of the new TSA practices, others are just not doing it so the airlines won't know if they stopped because of the economy or if they stopped because of TSA.
I totally see your point about not wanting to hurt the rank-and-file people (which is a problem with the airline as well) and it is a valid concern. I don't have any easy answers.
The whole thing reminds me of an exchange in one of the Valdemar books.
Student: My folks say magic is evil
Teacher: Magic is a tool, is a sword evil?
Student: It depends on who's holding it.
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That being said, I am usually boycotting organizations / businesses that are also treating their employees awfully (or specifically because employees are treated awfully).
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