# What do you refuse to do out of principle? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 6, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428 "2010-08-06T17:56:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/41 "2010-08-07T04:47:47Z")
I thought of another one… Answer to any diminutive of my real first name unless I have given that (extremely rare) person permission to call me that. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/42 "2010-08-07T06:29:18Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Buy goods made in Israel. That’s nice. Do you have any idea how much of the hardware and software in the computer you’re using right now was manufactured or designed in Israel? Buh-bye now. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/43 "2010-08-07T06:46:02Z")
I refuse to use Microsoft products on my Mac. I respect Bill Gates, but Microsoft products really suck. I refuse to vote Republican, even the few who are worth voting for. Their party tolerates the Religious Right and the likes of Sarah Palin and Sharron Angle. And these days, I no longer shop at Target and Best Buy. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/44 "2010-08-07T06:46:55Z")
I will not command the yankees in any Civil War-based game. As a consequence, my buddy won’t play Gettysburg with me anymore. He’s tired of losing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/45 "2010-08-07T06:48:31Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Buy goods made in Israel. And I don’t buy goods made by Palestinians. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/46 "2010-08-07T06:48:35Z")
Call me a woolly-headed idealist, but I refuse to commit cannibalism. ---
**Author:** ![hadziin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85f322/32.png) [@hadziin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hadziin)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/47 "2010-08-07T06:49:53Z")
Tolerate willful ignorance or, argue with anyone in that state. And I have to agree with GusNSpot having been in both situations > [@GusNSpot](#): > > Always remember and never forget, there are impossible choices out there and having to make them sucks. > > If you are not willing to kill or die over it, it is not worth fighting about. > > YMMV ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/48 "2010-08-07T11:08:23Z")
Watch “Reality TV” ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/49 "2010-08-07T11:53:53Z")
Use an ATM. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/50 "2010-08-07T12:15:38Z")
I won’t answer telephone solicitors’ questions. I don’t eat lamb or veal. I don’t support fundraisers for middle class frivolities such as select soccer teams. You want to travel to Atlanta for a baseball tournament? Tell your mom to get a job. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/51 "2010-08-07T13:06:46Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I also think the iTouch/iPhone is what stupid people use instead of a real laptop. I don’t know which one insults me more. The iTouch, to me, is pretty much the crappiest laptop money can buy, and I can buy netbooks for the same price. The iPhone seems to do a great job at everything except being a phone. Of course the smarts ones (like me) use an iPhone, a laptop, and a desktop, each for the pupose for which they were intended. There’s no greater tool than my iPhone when I’m on my feet on a factory floor for 14 hours. Access to PDF’s of documentation, access to Outlook without having to go to my desk, access to the whole world at my fingertips. In fact, it’s pretty insulting to be called “stupid” when it’s apparent that you’re the one who doesn’t know how to use the tool properly. > [@](#): > > I’ve been a conscientious objector to the so-called “American democracy” since I was old enough to understand that we don’t have a true democracy[.] What American democracy? We’re a federal republic. You have your democracy on the local level, unless there’s something wrong with your local level. > [@](#): > > Buy flowers as gifts[.] I really wish I were as strong as you on this one! But I’m a married man, and alas, half of my own personal willpower belongs to my dear wife. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/52 "2010-08-07T13:13:10Z")
I’ve gotten really crabby lately, and begun to refuse to fill out questionnaires if I’m not being compensated for doing so. I give away enough free data on Facebook… everybody else can suck it up. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/53 "2010-08-07T14:06:05Z")
> [@Surly\_Chick](#): > > For me, it’s read any book on Oprah’s book list. And I think less of people if I see them reading one. 😉 That’s a shame. One of the best novels I’ve ever read was “I Know This Much is True” by Wally Lamb, which had a big gold Oprah Book Club seal right on the front cover. His 1st novel, “She’s Come Undone,” was also very very good - and also an Oprah pick. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/54 "2010-08-07T14:40:46Z")
I’ve read 90% of the books on Oprah’s book list and enjoyed almost all of them. Of course, I used to read a lot, and read some of the books before they were on her list. I refused for years to go to McDonald’s, but lately I’ve been untrue to my principles ☹ since there are some tasty things on the menu (and the red-vinyl-haired freak seems to have disappeared). I refuse to watch “Pretty Woman” or “The Godfather”. I’ve seen bits and pieces over the years accidentally. I refuse to wear a bra around the house, or the 'hood (gas station, post office, Burger King), in the summer. When I get dressed up to go somewhere in public, I will dress properly, but not around the house or the neighborhood. I have no AC in the house, a bad heat rash, and it is absolute torture to strap one of those things on. It ain’t pretty, the girls cry out for support, but frankly I don’t care 'cause no one ‘checks me out’ anyway! I used to shop at a certain drugstore until I overheard two cashiers there talking and one of them was saying how she hates cats and threw a rock at a cat she saw in her garden. I never set foot in that drugstore again and I will now drive miles out of my way to shop elsewhere. I don’t know if the cat-hater is still there or not, doesn’t matter - I will not shop there ever again. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/55 "2010-08-07T14:48:48Z")
I refuse to own a Japanese car. I know it’s not logical. I know many Japanese cars have more U.S. made parts vs. their “American” counterparts. But I still have a hang-up over them. I know it’s irrational, but I just can’t get over what the Japs did to us in WWII. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/56 "2010-08-07T14:55:27Z")
My iPhone works fine as a phone, just FTR. Subsequent responses have reminded me that another of mine is not buying things or donating to organizations that are soliciting by phone. Ever. I don’t care what the cause is. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/57 "2010-08-07T14:58:01Z")
I won’t buy flowers or cards. The whole industry is overpriced and based on guilting you into spending. Nuh-uh. Same goes for diamonds. I won’t shop at wal-mart unless it’s my only option and I’m in severe need of something. I refuse to get into the Apple vs PC debate with friends when they find out that we have a Mac household. I like my Apple products, they work wonderfully, and I don’t care that you can do this or that with PC now, etc… Like another poster, I also refuse to watch _Titanic_, or go to an exhibit about it, etc… It was a big damn boat that sank, the end. I also refuse to have anything to do with celebrity death memorial stuff. I refuse to eat broccoli. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/58 "2010-08-07T15:31:08Z")
Refuse: …to watch any reality show, ever. …to buy stock in any tobacco company. …to post profile information on sites like Facebook, or click on any of their links. …to eat at fast food chain restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![History\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b19c9b/32.png) [@History\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/History_Geek)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/59 "2010-08-07T16:06:25Z")
I won’t buy diamonds, because their value as a luxury item is completely artificial. Oh, and they’re also politically encumbered. But really, I object to the way they’ve been marketed and controlled. If I can avoid it, I won’t shop at Wal-Mart; though I must admit it is less about treatment of employees than a desire to avoid the so-called “People of Wal-Mart.” I used to not buy flowers, but I think that’s going to have to change when I break this thing about diamonds to my girlfriend. And I love veal, fast food, and my iPhone. If I could use my iPhone to find a fast food place that served veal, I would go there all the time. The lines would be short. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428/60 "2010-08-07T17:29:24Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Buy goods made in Israel. That’s harder than it might seem. As has been pointed out, Israel has a big tech industry such that they produce hardware and software that goes into many products. Also, they have a huge generic drug industry. Several of the prescription drugs I take, as it turns out, are made in Israel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-refuse-to-do-out-of-principle/549428.md?page=4)