now, i could just leave it at that, try and suck people in, and the drop the whammy. but, i'll just play it straight. and really, i'm not trying to pick a fight, just ax a question (that's an homage to an episode of futurama i watched the other night).
here are some premises that i think most people agree with:
economic boycott is an effective way to demonstrate displeasure with a policy.
when we choose to shop at a mega-store, especially in an area that has such diversity, we should consider their politics.
ignorance is only an excuse for so long.
now, that second one is sorta tricky. but, we can know some about their politics through policy. or corporate behavior.
like, i don't know all of walmart's politics, but i have disdain for the corporate behavior (this is not the point, but an illustration). the manner in which they secure building locations, the frequency that they get a sweet land deal, build, destroy all local competitors, and then move to next city over when sweet tax deal expires. so, i've chosen to boycott walmart. (but i did shop their in canon city, so i admitt my hipocracy.)
so, to those of you who are strongly pro-choice, why shop at target? they have been accused of denying to fill prescriptions for plan b. of course, this is a bit of a moot point now that plan b has been approved for otc sales.
resources
a nov 05 article
a follow up article
a longer, but fair/balanced article (i'm not saying the last two weren't fair)
a funny little blog story on the issue
a new link (that sorta is along the same line as the two above that have stopped working)
another one
i was unable to find out whether or not target has changed its policies after this whole deal was big public news last october.
so, at what point is convenience more important than conscience? or does it even matter? which issues do you decide are big enough to fight for?
12 comments:
just to be clear, and to separate the question that i'm pondering from the issue that spawned it, here are the questions, sans other details:
"so, at what point is convenience more important than conscience? or does it even matter? which issues do you decide are big enough to fight for?"
I think that Walmart's corporate behavior warrants boycotting more so than Target's stance on birth control. I think a company has the right to decide what products it will provide based upon ITS conscience. I don't see this as a reason to boycott shopping there even if I disagree. This may be a lame comparison, but its like people boycotting the Dixie Chicks because of their politics even if they like their music. (Now I may do that with Toby Keith, but more so because I think his music is saturated with ignorance).
Just a thought...
fyi, I didn't read the articles you linked, so if there was more to it, I missed it. Sorry, brain can only handle so much right now.
i think you're getting at the basic question i'm asking. is there a point where you decide you don't want to shop/patronize a place? and, is that a hard rule or do you settle and break your rule @ times?
I tend to make it a hard rule unless there is no other option. I choose not to shop Walmart also, but two years ago Walmart was the only grocer to carry a certain kind of milk we needed for our daughter so once a week I had to make the journey. After a while we asked the grocer we frequent to carry it and a short time later they did, so we didn't have to do Walmart anymore.
well, if anyone is anything like me, hard rules are just that, hard. since we moved into the downtown area of bakersfield, i have found myself a bit more lax with my rules of where i will and will not shop. downtown does not have a grocery store, hardware store, or big target/walmart-type store. so, a lot of my shopping i have to go out of my way for. i am not a walmart shopper, and luckily, there is not a walmart close by, but the target (which i love) is not close either (although it is closer than walmart), so i have to really need or want to go there before i go. now, there is a lowes (which i do not like to shop at) closer than the home depot (which i like to shop at), although both are not in the neighborhood, and sometimes i break my rule for the convience.
now, you need to know, my reasons are not even close to political, they are just from shopping at various places and deciding that certain stores 'fit' me better, so, maybe thats why i break the rules.
if you look at my stand on baby diapers, however, i am being a little political about those, and am determined not to break my rules for my own convience. i guess maybe thats a whole different topic though.
Interesting that you should bring this up since Thursday morning our newspaper announced a big Super Walmart will be going in near our house (like less than 1/2 mile).
I hate Walmart. I hate the demographic change that Walmart can bring to a community, I hate the way the employees are treated, and I just hate shopping there. The extra money I spend to shop at Target is worth my sanity.
Now, that being said. I did come to a big fork in the road with my thoughts on Walmart a few months back. The thing is, I can go to Publix for groceries and Target for other things, or I can go to Walmart and get them all at the same time. A few years ago I would have thought that this was just lazy talk, but now the mom of a 17 month old, I totally think there is something to be said about the convenience of only pulling the kid out at one store, and not two or more.
I'm proud to say, I still shop at Publix, and then Target. Emily gets pulled out of the car two times, but I think that when she's older she will agree with me. :) The bigger overall problem for is that there is only a Sam's club, and no Costco. I do shop at Sam's club... so there is the hypocrisy that I bring out in myself. I keep hearing rumors of Costco coming to our area.
A great website to check out though is www.walmartwatch.com Interesting.
i understand a lot of what you all are saying.
and sara, i actually think the diaper thing may me right on the nose. although i don't know exactly what your stance and plans are.
and i'm not trying to attack any particular corporation.
nor do i know if boycott is always the best option. it is one frequently employed by "Christian" groups. unfortunately, most of the boycotts being called for are based on incorrect information, rumors, and so on.
which is why the target situation is so intriguing to me. they're allowing pharmacists to decide whether or not to fill plan b prescriptions. which is legal. some people are upset about this. but i've seen few calling for a boycott. i've seen calls for target to change its policy though.
i know we can't speak for everyone, but do people that disagree with target's policy not find boycott to be an effective solution?
(i'm not sure why, but the links to the two planned parenthood stories aren't working any more. so, i found a similar one to include.)
Like you said, it's moot about the Target thing.
As far as other stores go, I'd bet it's pretty damn difficult to find a store that isn't a subsidiary of some company with "insidious" motives. You'd have to buy everything at a mom and pop type store and then get to the know the owners to make sure that they were voting for, speaking out on, and/or supporting the same things you do.
As far as boycotting, I don't think it works anymore. I just don't see how it could. It's like frivolous lawsuits.
i think it could work. but, ost groups aren't that unified. and also the convenience factor hurts them.
It's really amazing how easily we sell out, you said it best, convenience is the factor, and though we may believe in something or against something, if it hits our time or pocketbook, we sell out. Wasn't that one of Clinton's motto's, "It's the economy stupid!" How true, how true!
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