The Cracker Barrel thread reminds me of my once and possibly future (dependent on how it comes out) boycotting of that particular chain for its homophobic and racist hiring practices. I don’t patronize one local restaurant because of racist comments made by its owner or another because of the swastika tattoo on one of its menial employees.
I will not donate to the Salvation Army, not because they don’t offer same-sex couples benefits but because they have specifically spoken out against them and because they have some training programs I believe to be corrupt. I donate instead to local thrift stores and give money to other relief agencies (including, actually, Catholic Charities, which makes sense somehow but that’s another story).
I wish I could say that I boycotted Wal-Mart, but in fact I still go to Sam’s Club upon occasion. This is due of course to the gazillion reasons I need not go into.
Is there any company you’re boycotting at the moment, particularly for ethical reasons?
We had a perfectly scenic little town until Home Depot came in and erected that bright orange monstrosity. I refuse to walk into the place. I do business with our little local hardware store. Sure it’s more expensive, but money spent there stays in our community.
Sam’s Club
Several different “media” outlets - I say “media” because there are television stations, magazines, radio stations, etc. - I’m not going into them all and besides, I don’t want to stir up any controversy.
Several clothing stores - I don’t want to get into which ones either.
Sampiro, I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything, but we kind of just did this with Shirley. But I don’t mind answering your question!
Daimler-Chrysler. Because of an experience I had 20 years ago with a Chrysler car. 1980 Dodge Omni, family was the first, and only, owner. And we never heard about the recall that the first-year models went through because of problems with the transaxle seperating.
So, when the transaxle seperated on a back road in New England, while I was driving I hit a tree and rolled the car.
And about a month later, I got a nice letter from Chrysler, telling me that I couldn’t sue, because they’d covered their ass with a nominal recall for that vehicle. No apology for having not sent us the recall notice. No concern about anyone being injured. Just a “neener neener you can’t sue us” letter.
So they don’t need my business.
(Not that I was in the market for a car, anyways, but still.)
Oh, from then on - I’ve referred to Omnis as “Deathmobiles.”
Wal-Mart - for all the usual reasons (employment practices, squeezing out the small businesses, etc.), and because they just seem so…oogy.
McDonalds - oogy food.
ARCO - their gas may be cheaper, but it’s bad for your car. Causes knocking & pinging.
Tom Cruise - I won’t spend a cent to see one of his movies or support him in any way, after the sewage he spewed about psychiatry & meds - like that jackass would ever know what it’s like to have crippling depression.
CVS Drug Stores, for consistently screwing up our prescriptions and for having surly, stupid employees. And for having dirty, cluttered stores.
And for having a tag on the shelf that advertises “Fifty Cents Off On Advil! - with in-store circular coupon.”
So in essence, I have to find the store circular, find the coupon, tear it out, and present it just to get fifty cents off Advil. I hate that shit.
Safeway and Wal-Greens get my pharmacy business now. Wal-Greens was open last Thanksgiving and quickly filled a prescription for my son who woke up that day with strep throat. Their employees are cheerful and reasonably intelligent, and their stores are clean and bright, and always fully stocked.
I keep kosher (though I will eat vegetarian food or kosher fish at non-kosher restaurants). Since they use beef tallow for frying, they have nothing I can eat except desserts. Maybe they have salads I could eat, but who wants to eat salad at McDonald’s anyway?
The ARCO’s around me don’t take credit cards. Get with the 20th century already…
Best Buy - for the “Lost Computer Saga” of May 2001
Circuit City - for lying about no longer selling PS2s in January 2002
Advance Auto Parts - For lying about a part that didn’t fit my car and having to wait 15 minutes for a lousy $0.65 refund while the manager yakked it up with a drone
Barnes & Noble - for their slash and burn methods when entering a mall and blackmailing the mall owners into booting out B&N’s competition
After the blow-up about beef-extract flavoring their oil (McDonald’s stopped using beef tallow around 1990), didn’t MickeyD’s end that practice? I know that in February 2003 they changed the oil used to cook their fries, and that the lawsuits about beef extract were in 2002.
WalMart. All the usual reasons, but the fact that their stores are disgusting helps. The one nearest to me is in a center with a spotless Borders and spotless Best Buys - but is dirty and has merchandise thrown all around the floors.
Ford. We used to be a Ford family, but the last few times I tried to buy a car from several Ford dealers they acted as if I was bothering them, so I won’t even try.
In-n-Out Burger. I’m not standing on line to buy food from a place where you have to make a special order to produce something edible.
Any movie with Tom Cruise or Woody Allen. The former because of his insane rants about things he knows nothing about and are none of his f’in business, and the latter because, well, he’s just gotten kinda creepy.
It’s not something I’m following too closely- the very limited selection of things I can eat at any fast food restaurant means I don’t go to them anyway.
I am boycotting Sebastiani Vineyards over their support of Proposition 73 (parental notification of abortions) in the special election on the grounds that it would reduce the number of abortions.
I’m boycotting Domino’s, for their anti-abortion stance (don’t know if this is true any more) and their manky pizza.
McDonald’s - the e. coli thing, the hiding the fact that fries weren’t vegetarian thing, the fact that every contest they had for 15 years was rigged, the stealing of Syd and Marty Kroft characters - they have a track record of doing sleazy stuff and successfully putting the blame on someone else.
EA Sports - they treat their programmers and artists like crap.
I’d like to say I boycott Cracker Barrel, but I never ate there anyway. Same with Walmart.
With McDonald’s, it wasn’t the oil - they advertised heavily that they went to vegetable oil for fries in the early 90’s, but they had a mysterious “natural flavors” ingredient in their fries which they admitted about 4 years ago included beef.
Wal Mart, for all the reasons stated above. I’ve been in a Wal Mart once ever, when I went in with a (n ex-) boyfriend who’d gotten a gift card for his birthday. Didn’t buy anything. When I mention to people that I don’t shop there they’re stunned. I’ve had people tell me flat-out that they don’t believe me.
Exxon and Mobil stations. Mobil had an anti-discrimination policy in place that covered sexual orientation. When Exxon bought Mobil it rescinded the policy and has refused several times to reinstate it, despite being one of only a few corporations of its size not to have one.
Since I’m a vegetarian I don’t eat at Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy’s, Arby’s, etc. but I don’t really think of that as “boycotting.”
I’m semi-boycotting Whole Foods because the one here in Madison situated itself to drive a small community grocery out of business, and it’s virulently anti-union.
Burger King’s pretty vegetarian friendly. Not healthy, of course, but if you miss fattening hot junk, veggie whoppers, veggie burgers, and fries are all vegetarian.
