# Have You Ever Boycotted Products/Stores You Really LIKED? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304 "2012-08-03T15:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/61 "2012-08-04T10:02:00Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > There’s a small part of me that still would like to see “On Golden Pond.” But I’ve never even said the name of that &!+(# Henry Fonda spawned, and I don’t intend to start anytime soon. If it’s possible to do it without hijacking the thread, can you explain the sheer _persistence_ of Jane Fonda hate? I mean, sure, _Barbarella_ was a piece of trash, but I got over that a few decades ago. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/62 "2012-08-04T11:10:26Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > If it’s possible to do it without hijacking the thread, can you explain the sheer _persistence_ of Jane Fonda hate? > > I mean, sure, _Barbarella_ was a piece of trash, but I got over that a few decades ago. 🙂 Vietnam,or was that a whoosh? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/63 "2012-08-04T12:42:46Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Vietnam,or was that a whoosh? Well, yeah, but we’ve been out of Vietnam for nearly 40 years. And yes, I know, she went over to Hanoi and basically said how great Ho Chi Minh was. Given that, at the time, we were blowing up hundreds of thousands of civilians whose only crime was to be in the wrong country, I’d hope that time would bring just a tad of perspective. She made the all too common mistake of assuming that, because one side was awful, the other side must be good. And it wasn’t like her unfortunate publicity tour made a rat’s ass worth of difference in how the war played out. It’s not like people don’t make the same mistake all the time, right now, often with far more real-world consequences. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/64 "2012-08-04T13:26:27Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Well, yeah, but we’ve been out of Vietnam for nearly 40 years. The people I know who hate her lost friends/relatives in that war and hold her partly responsible. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/65 "2012-08-04T14:27:38Z")
Rereailing, though the Jane Fonda thread will be interesting reading when it’s inevitably spun off. > [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > (Just as a side note, I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything because of the ads, but I have stopped buying things because of the ads.) I don’t think I’ve ever (after my gullible childhood) bought anything directly because of the ad, but ads (including billboards and packaging and the like) have alerted me to the existence and/or proximity of a product, service, or business, and induced me to learn more. So no “I am buying this because I saw an ad for it” but sometimes “I am buying this because I have determined it will meet a need or fulfill a desire, after an examination undertaken after an ad for it made me aware of it.” ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/66 "2012-08-04T15:44:39Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The people I know who hate her lost friends/relatives in that war and hold her partly responsible. I don’t know anyone who was lost over there, but I did my time in the military. Her actions were/are viewed about equivalent to being a traitor. That isn’t something that you live down. I’ve never watched any of her movies and turn the channel if she’s interviewed. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/67 "2012-08-04T15:52:40Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > Rightly or wrongly, I have boycotted Nestle’ s products over their practices involving promoting formula over human milk in developing countries, despite the fact they make delicious chocolate. I fed my babies from my body and am happy I was able to do so. I used to love Hershey’s chocolates but haven’t had any of their products in about 2 years because they’ve started sending their production to Mexico. Sending jobs off shore is bad enough, but then the Mexican made products were being picked up with salmonella in them… so, now I stick to a local company that makes chocolates. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/68 "2012-08-04T15:53:45Z")
My Google-fu is weak today; can someone help be find a cite? A “friend” of mine is insisting that Cathy donated the grand sum of $1000 to Family Research Council, while I’ve read it was much more than that. Where would I find the figures? ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/69 "2012-08-04T16:11:20Z")
> [@SnakesCatLady](#): > > My Google-fu is weak today; can someone help be find a cite? A “friend” of mine is insisting that Cathy donated the grand sum of $1000 to Family Research Council, while I’ve read it was much more than that. Where would I find the figures? Maybe he’s referring to this? [http://www.policymic.com/articles/12219/all-the-anti-gay-companies-you-fund-when-you-spend-5-25-on-a-chick-fil-a-sandwich](http://www.policymic.com/articles/12219/all-the-anti-gay-companies-you-fund-when-you-spend-5-25-on-a-chick-fil-a-sandwich) ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/70 "2012-08-04T16:18:16Z")
I’ve not knowingly bought Nestle products since I was in my teens, though I used to really like some of their chocolate. I’m trying to cut out all non-sustainable palm oil, but it’s in freakin’ everything, so I keep messing up on that one. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/71 "2012-08-04T16:22:52Z")
> [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](#): > > Rereailing, though the Jane Fonda thread will be interesting reading when it’s inevitably spun off. Nah, because I’m going to leave it where it is, other than to say I never will understand people. Blame Johnson or Nixon, blame McNamara or Bundy or Rostow? Nah, blame Jane Fonda. I guess I’m just not very tribal, when it comes down to it. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/72 "2012-08-04T19:54:14Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > I used to love Hershey’s chocolates but haven’t had any of their products in about 2 years because they’ve started sending their production to Mexico. Sending jobs off shore is bad enough, but then the Mexican made products were being picked up with salmonella in them… so, now I stick to a local company that makes chocolates. Was México actually the source of the problem? [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=6fdb045a-6ef4-434c-829a-35c2ad66c787&k=33604](http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=6fdb045a-6ef4-434c-829a-35c2ad66c787&k=33604) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/73 "2012-08-05T03:56:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Have You Ever Boycotted Products/Stores You Really LIKED? Never. If I believed it would do one damn bit of good, I’d consider it. I look at boycotting of things you like as a cutting-off-nose-to-spite-face gesture. mmm ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/74 "2012-08-05T12:10:27Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Never. If I believed it would do one damn bit of good, I’d consider it. > > I look at boycotting of things you like as a cutting-off-nose-to-spite-face gesture. It depends on what you consider ‘doing some good’. 1. The boycott could change the target’s behavior in the direction desired by the boycotters. It’s hard to argue that this outcome isn’t a success. And there have certainly been instances of this. 1. The boycott doesn’t get the target to change its behavior, but hurts the target’s bottom line and convinces businesses similar to the target to change or firm up their policies in the direction desired by the boycotters. There have certainly been instances of this too. And it’s hard not to see this outcome as at least a qualified success: maybe the boycott didn’t achieve yits primary goal, but it moved the ball in the right direction more broadly. 1. The boycott doesn’t get the target to change its behavior, but hurts the target’s bottom line and reduces the negative influence of the boycott’s target. Again, not a total success, but certainly a positive outcome. I’d say a Chick-Fil-A boycott has chances at both #2 and #3. And even if a boycott doesn’t have a snowball’s chance of changing anyone’s behavior, ISTM that it’s an honorable thing to have nothing to do with patronizing a business or associating with an individual whose behavior is beyond what you can countenance. I may disagree with the perspective of the Fonda haters, but if they feel her actions of nearly half a century ago have permanently put her beyond the pale, then their actions are reasonable in that light, even though their boycott of her movies can’t possibly undo her actions back in the day. Similarly, if I should meet George W. Bush 20 years from now, I still wouldn’t shake his hand, and would try to get in a few words about what a worthless scum he is, even though it wouldn’t undo his Presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/75 "2012-08-05T17:18:18Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > It depends on what you consider ‘doing some good’. > > 1. The boycott could change the target’s behavior in the direction desired by the boycotters. > > It’s hard to argue that this outcome isn’t a success. And there have certainly been instances of this. > > 1. The boycott doesn’t get the target to change its behavior, but hurts the target’s bottom line and convinces businesses similar to the target to change or firm up their policies in the direction desired by the boycotters. > > There have certainly been instances of this too. And it’s hard not to see this outcome as at least a qualified success: maybe the boycott didn’t achieve yits primary goal, but it moved the ball in the right direction more broadly. > > 1. The boycott doesn’t get the target to change its behavior, but hurts the target’s bottom line and reduces the negative influence of the boycott’s target. > > Again, not a total success, but certainly a positive outcome. > > I’d say a Chick-Fil-A boycott has chances at both #2 and #3. > > And even if a boycott doesn’t have a snowball’s chance of changing anyone’s behavior, ISTM that it’s an honorable thing to have nothing to do with patronizing a business or associating with an individual whose behavior is beyond what you can countenance. I may disagree with the perspective of the Fonda haters, but if they feel her actions of nearly half a century ago have permanently put her beyond the pale, then their actions are reasonable in that light, even though their boycott of her movies can’t possibly undo her actions back in the day. Similarly, if I should meet George W. Bush 20 years from now, I still wouldn’t shake his hand, and would try to get in a few words about what a worthless scum he is, even though it wouldn’t undo his Presidency. I guess we’ll have to disagree on this one, then, RT. But that doesn’t change the fact that yours is one of my all-time favorite Doper names. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/76 "2012-08-05T18:13:20Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I look at boycotting of things you like as a cutting-off-nose-to-spite-face gesture. Boycotting things you don’t like is even less effective. That said, > [@RTFirefly](#): > > It depends on what you consider ‘doing some good’. > > 1. The boycott could change the target’s behavior in the direction desired by the boycotters. > […] > 2. The boycott doesn’t get the target to change its behavior, but hurts the target’s bottom line and convinces businesses similar to the target to change or firm up their policies in the direction desired by the boycotters. > […] > 3. The boycott doesn’t get the target to change its behavior, but hurts the target’s bottom line and reduces the negative influence of the boycott’s target. None of these would happen if it’s only a handful of people. If I learn Acme Products is putting some of its profits towards kidnapping puppies, strapping explosives to them, and sending them into abortion clinics, and I quietly stop buying from Acme – maybe tell my friends, post on FB – it won’t help. On the third hand, [QUOTE=RTFirefly] And even if a boycott doesn’t have a snowball’s chance of changing anyone’s behavior, ISTM that it’s an honorable thing to have nothing to do with patronizing a business or associating with an individual whose behavior is beyond what you can countenance. [/QUOTE] … is another factor to consider. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/77 "2012-08-05T20:37:58Z")
I like Chick-Fil-A and find them much better than McDonalds and the like. I’ve been boycotting them for several years now and even though my actions wont change anything, unless enough others join to impact their bottom line. I feel it is the right and moral thing to do. Unfortunately, many believers are sorely lacking in the morality department. ---
**Author:** ![Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lo-Slung_Denim)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/78 "2012-08-05T22:19:08Z")
I probably wouldn’t go to Chik-Fil-A, but I don’t worry about it too much because it would be a long plane trip to get to the nearest one, being as I am in the UK. I try not to have anything to do with the Murdoch empire. I don’t have Sky and I won’t have a Murdoch-press newspaper in my house. It is hard because he has leeched into just about everything, but I think he’s scum. Also, there is a free Sky channel on my Freeview which does loads of cop shows and I love cop shows, so it \*is \*a sacrifice. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/79 "2012-08-06T01:01:09Z")
I boycott Nestle and I try to boycott their subsidiaries as well, including Stouffer’s, Dreyer’s ice cream, Häagen-Dazs, etc. I boycott ham and pork, unless it is produced in Europe or in the US with non-factory methods. Ham is my favorite meat. I boycott Whole Foods for their health care reform position. I boycott Target, because of their taking advantage of Citizen’s United in record time to fund an anti-gay crackpot in Minnesota. I participated in Bank Transfer Day, but only coincidentally. > **[Bank Transfer Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_Transfer_Day)** > > Bank Transfer Day was a consumer activism initiative calling for a voluntary switch from commercial banks to not-for-profit credit unions by November 5, 2011. As of October 15, 2011, a Facebook page devoted to the effort had drawn more than 54,900 "likes". Debit card fees of $5 a month from the Bank of America are among steps leading to the Bank Transfer Day protest with a November 5 deadline. Occupy Wall Street participants support the effort even though the events are not r Christian, an art ga... > **[1977 Nestlé boycott](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9_boycott)** > > A boycott was launched in the United States on July 4, 1977, against the Swiss-based multinational food and drink processing corporation Nestlé. The boycott expanded into Europe in the early 1980s and was prompted by concerns about Nestlé's "aggressive marketing" of infant formulas (i.e., substitutes for breast milk), particularly in underdeveloped countries. The boycott has been cancelled and renewed because of the business practices of Nestlé and other substitute manufacturers monitored The N... ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304/80 "2012-08-06T14:46:06Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Just about the only business I don’t use because of other than product based reasons is Citgo. I am fond of gasoline. If it was between Citgo and running out of gas I would use them. I’m generally non-boycotty. Often it hurts the innocent franchise owner but does nothing to the evil corporate overlords. Just out of curiosity, is this due to Chavez ? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-boycotted-products-stores-you-really-liked/630304.md?page=5)