I would comment in an email to Rachel, but I really something to blog about. This is something that comes up a lot in Catholic circles, and I actually find it interesting why it becomes so heated. Very often I find it is used as one of those “good Catholic” litmus tests, i.e. “You allow your kids to watch Disney? We never!”
I actually do not believe that the few people who stop buying mega products like General Mills cereal, or stop buying Disney tapes do much economic harm to a company. I do feel, however, if you know a certain company strongly backs a view you find contrary to your beliefs, you certainly don’t have to give your hard-earned money to that company. That’s your prerogative.
I think it gets sticky when people start expecting others to start rejecting Cheerios or Stoneyfield yogurt with them. It is hard to find the exact companies that give to Planned Parenthood for example, and start abandoning them all. Not impossible. Just to me, it takes much energy that I really need for other things.
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Frankly, all the “good Catholic” litmus tests annoy me…and there are several (from what you wear, to what you read, and even to whether or not you celebrate Halloween, etc. Heh, that sort of sounds almost lyrical :P). Maybe I just know I wouldn’t measure up to most of them, hence my annoyance. 😛
As far as boycotts are concerned…I do believe they have their place, but I consider it more of a personal statement but often feel that little is gained in terms of loss for the company in question, particularly if the group in opposition constitutes only a small number of would-be patrons. I do feel that it is our right and privilege to be able to decline patronizing a company if their policies are in conflict with our belief systems…but ultimately, if one really thinks about it, if we were to remain consistent in employing this right (or some may say, duty as faithful Catholics), we would never be able to do business with anyone! And therein lies the problem. Does one boycott a company like Disney and ignore its affiliations (or vice versa)? I have a friend who once was upset that I was using Bounty paper towels. “It’s a Procter & Gamble product! Don’t patronize them,” she’d say. Well, they make tons of products, and frankly, I don’t have the time to be researching each and every product I purchase. It’s takes enough time and energy to ensure that what we *do* use in the house isn’t super toxic.
As for the Disney situation… Of course, Disney has a lot of affiliations and such. I sometimes think that when films like “Finding Nemo,” for instance, do as well as they do at the box office, that is also sending a message to the company that that’s the sort of entertainment that attracts the most revenue, whereas a film like “Priest,” produced through Miramax, garners lackluster public acclaim. Yet the loads of negative publicity may have worked in favor of the film after all, as we have seen that any publicity is good publicity when it comes to the Box Office. So instead of a viewership of 10, you get a viewership of 20, most of them there because they’re curious.
I guess that sums things up for me.
Wow — your “Catholic” circles are very different from mine!
But the attitudes are the same, on every side. I got a group email from a Democrat friend of mine, saying everyone should boycott Fresh Choice salad products because the owner donates lots of money to conservative causes.
Cute belly in the post below. You look great — my big (nonpregnant) stomach sticks out more after a full meal than yours does in the photo.
Oh, and adorable kid, too!
Oh, is Disney givng money to Planned Parenthood now? (See how badly uninformed I am?)
I don’t know if they give to PP or not. but there has been much controversy with them in the past because of some of their Miramax films with anti-Catholic themes and a few other shenanigans.
I remember when we were always being told to boycott one thing or another because of Apartheid. In Santa Cruz it got so irritating that I threatened one hippy with starting a Krugerrand and Boer artifacts shop. Poor hair farmer was so doped out he thought I was serious.
Anyway, Apartheid ended, thank God, but I noticed a punative aspect to the boycotters. They simply found some other reason to boycott many of the same companies.
I take a different approach. Let’s say that Disney is a cultural negative 20% of the time. 20% of the time it is participating in the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. 60% of the time it is simply irrelevant.
Now, big conglomerates take a look at what is making money. If the cultural poo-poo is losing money, out goes cultural poo-poo. If it is raking in the bucks, it stays. Controversy over poo-poo generally makes poo-poo profitable.
But what if poo-poo gets raves from the poo-poo audience, and silence from everyone else, and the Good, the True and the Beautiful quietly make more money?
I do, however, always boycott hard-cooked eggs. Anything that smells like Satan’s pits cannot be good to eat. And I don’t really completely trust people who do eat the stinky things.