# How effective have I been in my boycott? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712 "2023-05-07T21:53:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/21 "2023-05-08T15:53:15Z")
I’ve seen boycotts of major branded products in the past, where special interest groups get together and discuss which brands they are boycotting, and decide to start buying the store brands instead. What they didn’t know is that the large manufacturer, produced the store brand as well, and made more margin on it than their nationally branded product (no promotion advertising expenses). Some boycotts can result in a backfire of unintended consequences. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/22 "2023-05-08T17:00:18Z")
That’s really my yardstick as well. I’m not going to get too wound up about a company that happens to be owned or run by someone whose politics don’t agree with mine, as long as those politics aren’t part of the company’s public persona. But if those politics become part of the _company’s_ public persona, I’m not buying their products and services anymore. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/23 "2023-05-08T17:14:30Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > There are a number of brands which don’t get my money because they’ve made disagreeable politics a **part** of their brand. I don’t think of it as a boycott. It’s just making informed choices as a consumer. This, exactly. I don’t think I’m having an effect on them. But my choice has a positive effect on me. @Omar_Little that’s an excellent point. Do your homework folks. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/24 "2023-05-08T18:09:16Z")
Must be working. I’ve never even heard of Goya. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/25 "2023-05-08T19:27:06Z")
I suppose you probably don’t live near a Spanish-speaking community? Their products are pretty much ubiquitous anywhere near a Latin-American population, I’ve found. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/26 "2023-05-08T19:29:12Z")
There is a multitude of activities we regularly engage in where one can ask “If I do this, will it really matter?” E.g., voting, being a nice person to strangers, etc. At the individual level it may not seem worth it. The thing to keep in mind is the group effect. The difference between no one doing it vs. a very large number doing it is significant. And this requires a lot of people not thinking of themselves and think in terms of the greater good. If you want to make the world a better place (whatever that means to you), it requires action. Inaction means the jerks win. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/27 "2023-05-08T20:25:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I suppose you probably don’t live near a Spanish-speaking community? I got more wild horses, jackrabbits, coyotes and snakes than people around here. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/28 "2023-05-09T00:34:22Z")
I know my shopping choices are a mere drop in the bucket, but I refuse to set foot in a Hobby Lobby; instead, I buy my beading supplies from small independent stores. As others have said, it feels really good. And sure, there’s probably an increased carbon footprint since I have to have my purchases shipped, but I’m supporting small businesess, so my money is supporting ‘real’ people instead of a bunch of religious grifters. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/29 "2023-05-09T00:53:34Z")
I vote with my pocketbook all the time. I doubt anything I’m doing/have done makes any kind of real dent in a company’s bottom line. But it isn’t about them. It’s about what I can live with. I dropped my homeowners’ insurance company because I found out they contributed to this jerk’s campaign: > **[JD Vance suggested women in violent relationships should not get divorced](https://news.yahoo.com/jd-vance-suggested-women-stay-045908237.html)** > > Vance made the comments while speaking to Pacifica Christian High School in California last year It made me queasy to give them money, so I found a new insurer. Then wrote to them to tell them why I’d switched after 19 years. I avoid all products made by the Kochs that I can. I don’t shop at Hobby Lobby and I’ve never eaten at a Chik-fil-A. I order sparingly from WalMart, only when I can’t source something from anywhere else. I’m glad I have an alternative to StarLink for internet. I bank with my local credit union. I fired a pest control guy because he was an ignorant racist. Oh, and I don’t buy Goya beans, either. How does the old saw go? Be the change you want to see. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/30 "2023-05-09T22:10:11Z")
And here I was enjoying the image of you roaming the neighborhood late at night, calling “Hebrew! Hebrew National! Where are you?” ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/31 "2023-05-09T23:20:00Z")
😀 That would have been funny! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/32 "2023-05-10T00:41:13Z")
I can see the ads now: > Hebrew National. The dogs so fresh they come when you call. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/33 "2023-05-10T00:48:12Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I found out that the guy who owns Nathan’s hotdogs is/was a big Trumper. They are my favorite hotdogs, and my last dog, a dachshund, I even named Nathan. So I switched to Hebrew National, my second favorite. Good to know, thanks, I wasn’t aware. No more Nathan’s for me, which will suck as they are really good 'dogs. I stopped buying Barilla pasta after the owner made anti gay comments. Yes, he recanted, but I’m not going back; lotsa pasta out there with non-dumbass-bigot owners. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/34 "2023-05-10T00:59:36Z")
We’re talking about an individual boycott here. The most that can cost the company is however much you would have paid. For a boycott to significantly affect the bottom line of a company, it has to be an organized group thing. And it has to be public about why it is happening. Those do in fact sometimes have results—often decried as “cancel culture.” Now, has Goya’s support of Trump hurt them in any significant way? I have my doubts as I hadn’t heard about it, let along about a boycott. I typed “goya tru” into Google, and “trump” didn’t even appear at first. However, I did find this article, which says that the board voted to force the CEO to stop voicing support for Trump. That suggests they thought it was hurting their brand. > **[Goya Foods moves to muzzle its Trump-supporting CEO](https://nypost.com/2021/01/25/goya-foods-votes-to-silence-pro-trump-ceo-robert-unanue/)** > > Goya Foods has voted to silence its pro-Trump CEO Robert Unanue following his recent television appearances questioning the results of the presidential election, The Post has learned. The Hispanic … ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/35 "2023-05-10T09:58:53Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > this article, which says that the board voted to force the CEO to stop voicing support for Trump. That suggests they thought it was hurting their brand. Then I have been successful. And I’m determined to continue–the fact that the board merely told him to shut up about Trump, and didn’t fire him or anything substantial, just means that the company is still being led by a MAGA creep. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/36 "2023-05-10T12:42:41Z")
Youse people are slipping, The boycott of Goya products hasn’t amounted to a can… err, hill of beans! ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/37 "2023-05-10T12:56:44Z")
A local business has a big flag with “This is Trump country” outside the door. It may be the only place in town that does something I need soon. I will be going to another town at a different place to get it done. But, since Trump got about 80 percent of the vote in the county, I expect that is a selling point for them. I had some money to put into a savings/investments thing. A bank recommended a guy and I had an introductory meeting with him. This was early 2000, just as Covid made the news, but hadn’t hit US yet. He said things like. The economy is good under Trump and will continue to improve as long as Trump is re-elected. Covid shoudn’t cause any issues, and so forth. I went elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/38 "2023-05-10T21:50:29Z")
As mentioned above, the real point of a boycott is organize it, publicize it, and make it part of a larger strategy or campaign. It is hard to do, and hard to find an organization and capacity to pull it off. But I agree, at the individual level, it may be ineffective, but it feels good. And it’s a talking/organizing point that lets you spread the word among friends and colleagues, and thus help them think through the issues. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/39 "2023-05-14T13:59:17Z")
Here are links to articles about boycotts past and present, centered on the current Bud Light story [https://link.eater.com/view/614369ef7b51b35caf6afbc2iqhzr.lcg/2ef3a0f6](https://link.eater.com/view/614369ef7b51b35caf6afbc2iqhzr.lcg/2ef3a0f6) > **[Hey Bud Light Boycotters, Protesting Beer Is Actually Really Gay](https://www.bonappetit.com/story/bud-light-boycott-queer-activists-coors?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SUNDAY%20-%20Eater%20National%20-%205%2F14%2F2023%20Boycotts&utm_term=Eater%20Today)** > > Transphobes are protesting Bud Light after its partnership with actress Dylan Mulvaney. But 50 years ago, queer activists organized the original beer boycott against Coors. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712/40 "2023-05-15T02:48:00Z")
A-B is getting it with both barrels now. The conservatives boycotting because Mulvaney and now LGBTQ groups boycotting because A-B didn’t double down with their support. Bud Light isn’t going away though, and I’ll be somewhat surprised if it’s knocked out of first place because the consumers abandoning it aren’t going to a single competitor. But losing 3/5/7 billion in market shares, depending on who you ask, is going to leave a permanent mark IMHO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-have-i-been-in-my-boycott/983712.md?page=3)