# GLBT Boycot For Equality-Effective Tactic Or Waste Of Time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 26, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204 "2004-09-26T21:38:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/1 "2004-09-26T21:38:46Z")
I just learned of this in another thread. The idea is that people who support GBLT rights ‘drop out’ for a day, specifically October 8th. They don’t go to work, buy or sell anything, visit the bank or use an ATM, or use a cell phone. [http://www.boycottforequality.org/](http://www.boycottforequality.org/) The organizers feel that this will > [@](#): > > show that we are vital contributors and citizens and deserve fair and equal treatment like all members of society. I feel it will be a waste of time that will go unnoticed by politicans and businesses everywhere. The only thing I can see this accomplishing is convincing people who have called in sick and stayed home all day, that they have somehow contributed to the fight for equality. ‘No, I didn’t donate to any organization, or volunteer to work for one, or talk to anybody, or vote, or send a letter to my congressmen. I sat at home all day October eighth, so I don’t need to do any of those things.’ It also isn’t necessary to tell people that you are involved in a boycott or why > [@](#): > > What if I am not out of the closet and I don’t want people to know I am boycotting? > The beauty of the boycott is that you don’t have to tell anyone why. We will do that. Instead, you can take a day off or call in sick – follow whatever your heart tells you to do. Then make a quiet protest by dropping out for the day! So, the boycott can be effective without any business knowing that they are being boycotted? Perhaps I’m missing something. I still don’t see the point of the day of silence either. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/2 "2004-09-26T21:54:32Z")
All it’ll do is get me in trouble with my new boss, who doesn’t even know I’m transgendered (as far as I know). “Damn, those people aren’t even responsible enough to show up for work when we’re starting the December issue?” won’t make a very good impression. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/3 "2004-09-26T22:49:09Z")
I have no problem imagining some of the most conservative and staunchly anti-homosexual members of society choosing that day to go buy the new car they’d been planning on, do their grocery shopping for the week, buy their Christmas presents early, fill up the gas tank, etc. Which is exactly what I would do if a group whose views I strongly disagreed with was trying a show of power via a one-day boycott. Say, if the shoe were on the other foot, and people against gay marriage were staging a boycott to show the country how numerous and important they were? New TV set, here I come, on that very day. ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/4 "2004-09-27T03:38:16Z")
It is a dumb strategy. I will certainly not be calling in sick to work this October 8. and I doubt this will have any effect at all. Any true protest must have a legitimate target. Instead of sitting home doing nothing on October 8, how about doing something instead? Write your politicians, local newspapers. Patronize gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses. Besides, if someone is truly in the closet at work, I doubt they’d want to raise any suspicions they might be gay by taking the day off. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/5 "2004-09-27T03:54:10Z")
It can’t work; it’s just absurd to think it would. Gay people who don’t shop on October 8 will simply shop more on the days before and after, unless they plan to fast that day, and it’s not as if that would be a lot of food anyway. As I wrote in another thread, businesses generally do not issue profit and loss statements in 24-hour cycles. **This boycott will hardly even be noticed.** I certainly would not notice it if I didn’t know it was coming except maybe to note that traffic was a little lighter than usual. You can’t boycott the world. Directed boycotts (e.g. Don’t Buy From Company X) can work. This won’t. And frankly, if you’re taking sick days, so what? You have to take them sometime. ---
**Author:** ![baronsabato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@baronsabato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baronsabato)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/6 "2004-09-27T04:21:29Z")
This _does_ sound like a waste of time, and I really don’t see much good coming out of it. I suppose we’ll have to wait for October 8th to see if a significant number of people actually participate? > [@](#): > > I still don’t see the point of the day of silence either. I wouldn’t compare it to Day of Silence. I’m not sure how Day of Silence is done outside of high schools (I’ve never actually _seen_ it done outside of high schools), but it’s a good way to show GLBT students that they aren’t alone and that they have allies amongst their friends. Now once you move it from the high schools to universities or just everyday life, then I would agree that Day of Silence has little impact or purpose. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/7 "2004-09-27T13:15:47Z")
Boycotts are usually silly and a waste of time. I remember the Miller beer boycott. Don’t buy Miller because they gave money to Jesse Helms. Of course, Miller was owned by Phillip Morris who happens to be in the tobacco business. North Carolina happens to be a tobacco state. Just a waste of time. Was it Coke or Pepsi that happened to do business in South Africa during apartheid? I don’t remember, but I do remember all the complaining about which soft drink would be served at college. Stay home on Oct. 8 and don’t buy anything because you support gay rights? Give me a break! How about voting on November 2 instead? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/8 "2004-09-27T14:10:47Z")
If we’re looking for ways to increase the awareness of queer effects on commerce, I’d think the write-on-your-money method would work better. Just write “This dollar was spent by a gay person” on all of your bills. Even better if you highlight it in pink. Makes it stand out more. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/9 "2004-09-27T18:42:02Z")
This is a poorly drawn-up boycott. It doesn’t go after anyone specific, it’s not that widely publicized (this is the first I’ve heard of it and it’s coming up in a couple days), it’s reminescent of the gas boycotts that snopes has discounted. One of the biggest gay boycotts I can remember was on [Colorado](http://www.skepticfiles.org/gay/gay-band.htm) (or Coloradon’t as it was called). > [@](#): > > A Colorado judge voided an anti-gay amendment to the state constitution Dec. 14. It was the third court ruling to find the law, passed as a ballot initiative in November 1992, unconstitutional. > (snip) > The national boycott of Colorado, which reportedly cost businesses millions of dollars and created considerable pressure to overturn the law, has been called off. [More from Frommer’s](http://www.frommers.com/destinations/colorado/0218020043.html) > [@](#): > > A high-profile nationwide boycott of the state was launched in 1993, and although it scared off some convention business and kept a few tourists away, the end result was a bit of a wash, and the 1992-93 ski season was among the best in the state’s history. The boycott was called off when the amendment was declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court later that year. The state appealed, but the ruling was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the spring of 1996. I would call that boycott pretty worthless since it didn’t change the lawmakers decisions anyway. The call for the boycott in the OP was effective for me in one point. It called for a boycott on cell phone usage for the day. I decided to see how my cell phone carrier, Sprint, conducted its business. It turns out that Sprint is in a bit of trouble for the policies regarding [domestic partners](http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/09/03/build/business/52-sprint.inc). > [@](#): > > Sprint Corp. was one of four Fortune 500 companies under fire Wednesday for offering health insurance for employees’ pets but not domestic partners. My contract with Sprint is up in November and will not be renewed. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/10 "2004-09-28T07:36:57Z")
Like I said in one of the other threads, I’m not very clear on how this is supposed to make Bush et al drop the marriage amendment. This protest seems to be focused on showing how big and important a part of society gays and their supporters are, which is all well and good, but doesn’t address the real issue. The amendment isn’t based on the premise that homosexuals are a tiny, insignificant portion of society, it’s based on the premise that homosexuality is inherently wrong, or at least vastly inferior to heterosexuality. This protest does nothing whatsoever to address that attitude, and so it’s pretty much a waste of time. On an unrelated note, I can’t believe Sprint offers pet insurance. I don’t even get pet insurance at work, and I work at a vet clinic. Hmph. ---
**Author:** ![NoPretentiousCodename](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/82dd89/32.png) [@NoPretentiousCodename](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoPretentiousCodename)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glbt-boycot-for-equality-effective-tactic-or-waste-of-time/266204/11 "2004-09-28T15:25:56Z")
If I recall, there was a similar effort among members of the Hispanic community in California last year. I’m sketchy on the details, but I think it was a boycott of work and of shopping which was set to occur on Lady of Guadalupe day. Some of my friends live in the SF Bay Area, and told me the following stories about people they know. (Not that I am not advocating anything by telling these stories, they are just stuff that happened). 1: One owner of a construction company caught wind of the boycott. He pulled all his workers aside and said "Look, anybody who doesn’t want to come into work tomorrow, for whatever reason, that’s fine. You WILL BE FIRED, if you choose to do so. Not a single person missed work. 2: Another business owner was unaware of the boycott until half his workforce failed to show. The owner would have been fine with the boycott, shutting the shop for the day, supporting workers, whatever. But not one single worker bothered to call and say “hey, I am not coming to work today because…”. Though the workers were not fired, any worker who failed to show up for work without the courtesey of a phone call on that day (or any other day) lost out on the yearly (quite substansial) December Holiday bonus. The moral of the story? I don’t know, you tell me. But I guess I would have to ask, did the boycott help those workers?