I get really mad when people believe that a single person's struggle to change things is a fruitless endeavor. I was talking with someone about how I like to support gay owned businesses or businesses that contribute to the advancement of equal rights for everyone. This person responded to me with skepticism about how there is no way that I could possibly live my life only supporting or patronizing those businesses and that even if I avoided certain companies that it wouldnt make a difference to them. Then he began to tell me about how that kind of change takes a long time and look how far gay rights has come in the past ten years. "Fucking RED HERRING!" I said to him. I have never heard such bullshit in my life. The government wants to increase military spending by 300% and they do it in a fucking heartbeat. People want equal rights and protection under the law and we have to wait years before we are even able to make a dent!? So I'm supposed to rest on the laurels of the work of previous generations and be satisfied with the scraps that they have been thrown?! Not a fucking chance.
I know that in this era of globalization and consolidation of corporate wealth and power that it is difficult to avoid funding ruthless conglomerates. However, it is possible to be conscientious of where you shop and where your money is going to. It is possible to sit and think and ask yourself, "Who made this? Where did the materials come from? What is this company going to do with my money later on?" Then it is possible to avoid companies, like Wal-Mart, that are perpetrators of human rights or that fund groups that are against equal rights campaigns. Furthermore, corporations are about making money. They want everyone to buy their goods so if I'm not buying their product it will show on their bottom lines. I cannot stand it when people disregard boycotting as a futile form of protest. As long as you believe in your cause, no matter how small, your protest is not in vain.
For those of you that brush off protest as being ineffective, wake up.
I know that in this era of globalization and consolidation of corporate wealth and power that it is difficult to avoid funding ruthless conglomerates. However, it is possible to be conscientious of where you shop and where your money is going to. It is possible to sit and think and ask yourself, "Who made this? Where did the materials come from? What is this company going to do with my money later on?" Then it is possible to avoid companies, like Wal-Mart, that are perpetrators of human rights or that fund groups that are against equal rights campaigns. Furthermore, corporations are about making money. They want everyone to buy their goods so if I'm not buying their product it will show on their bottom lines. I cannot stand it when people disregard boycotting as a futile form of protest. As long as you believe in your cause, no matter how small, your protest is not in vain.
For those of you that brush off protest as being ineffective, wake up.
posted by Adam at 10:23 PM
1 Comments:
Here! Here!
I wholeheartedly agree. I'm a poor bastard and I STILL don't have shop at Wal-Mart, no matter how cheap their products are. If it's the only store in town for you, that's another story. But for those of us that live in urban areas, you have many choices. Not just with Wal-Mart, but with food. Stay away from GM foods or fast food and that's a protest in itself. The more unhealthy society becomes because of these things, the more apparent those protests will become and the more we will have to adjust our industrialization of the food industry.
Another example is Cindy Sheehan. Her very presence sparked a movement. Who's to say that other small gestures or acts cannot do the same or at the very least send a message? Even if the message is not received, it was still created in the first place.
Protest is all the average American has these days to make their voice heard against the onslaught of corporate greed and governmental wrongdoings. If we don't care about this stuff, who will?
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