"Does a person's or company's political views sway your actions?"
Short answer: HELLS YES THEY DO.
Longer answer, which is why you are here... HELLS YES THEY DO, AND TO DENY IT IS FOLLY.
Seriously, I avoid Chik Fil A if at all possible because the head honcho is against equality. It is his right to voice and beliefs, and it is my right to say "I will take my business elsewhere." Sucks, because I do miss all that sodium in my life. I just could not sponsor hate.
That and they kept saying "God bless you" when they would give me my food or tell me to "pull forward"... Who in the hell do they think they are? It got to the point where I would blast Slayer as I pulled up... "PRAISE HELL, SATAN!" makes 'em not smile so much... It is the small victories.
But they had the ultimate trump card... When, oh when, do you crave the living shit out of Chik Fil A? When does it really feel like it will hit the spot that nothing else can satisfy? That's right... Sunday. When they are closed.
That and they kept saying "God bless you" when they would give me my food or tell me to "pull forward"... Who in the hell do they think they are? It got to the point where I would blast Slayer as I pulled up... "PRAISE HELL, SATAN!" makes 'em not smile so much... It is the small victories.
But they had the ultimate trump card... When, oh when, do you crave the living shit out of Chik Fil A? When does it really feel like it will hit the spot that nothing else can satisfy? That's right... Sunday. When they are closed.
It is a matter of what you can justify and stomach vs. what you can't.
I am a big fan of Jimmy John's sandwiches. I can get in and out and back to my desk before the computer goes to sleep, if I hit the traffic lights just right. They are quick, easy, and not terribly expensive. So I hear that their head honcho likes to hunt endangered animals. Well, shit...
I decided to look into it... I found an article talking about how hunting endangered animals can actually stimulate population growth. "I will take a #12 on wheat, hold the tomatoes and cucumbers." All is well.
I understand that sometimes circumstances won't allow the justifications... You will rarely see an older Jewish person driving a Volkswagon. The whole "doors on the ovens at Auschwitz were designed by VW" is a damn tough pill to swallow. BMW's are usually verboten in that community as well... That being said, my folk's Passat was one of the best cars I have ever driven. Was a superb machine that was made to eat miles.
There was an episode of "Mad Men" where a WWII vet and head of the ad agency takes umbrage with the Honda people being considered as clients. I can understand the sentiment. He actually knew people killed by.... AH wait... There is the caveat.... His friends were not killed by delegation of Honda people... But still, prejudices are usually very comfortable to those who wear them like an insecurity blanket.
It is no secret that one of my most loathed individuals on this planet is the Retarded Cowboy, Ex-President, War Criminal, Bush Jr. Behind every empire, there is a crime. Go back one or two generations, and you find that Bush Jr.s grandpappy Prescott (automatically a douche richie rich name) was uber helpful in Hitler's rise to power. He made his money by helping the Nazis. Solid citizen and SENATOR.
If you can't justify the cause, person, service, company, what have you... Then Ctrl-Alt-Del the sons of bitches... If you can... Some people will consider themselves to have a moral superiority on that one particular facet, but rest assured, they have something in their life just as sordid... That they can justify in their mind.
"Does it make a difference?"
Sure, to YOU. As politicians are bought and sold, and a certain party is trying to enact voter strangulation, it is easier to "Vote With Your Dollar". If you say "To Hell with such and such", good for you. You can't demand others to follow in your footsteps... But you can inform them as to why you made your decision. Caution: if you get all holy crusader with a ton of shit, people will generally stop talking to you. Spread it out over time... And wait til it comes up in conversation, then get on it like a Rottweiler with a baby in it's mouth! Never let it go!!!
I understand that sometimes circumstances won't allow the justifications... You will rarely see an older Jewish person driving a Volkswagon. The whole "doors on the ovens at Auschwitz were designed by VW" is a damn tough pill to swallow. BMW's are usually verboten in that community as well... That being said, my folk's Passat was one of the best cars I have ever driven. Was a superb machine that was made to eat miles.
There was an episode of "Mad Men" where a WWII vet and head of the ad agency takes umbrage with the Honda people being considered as clients. I can understand the sentiment. He actually knew people killed by.... AH wait... There is the caveat.... His friends were not killed by delegation of Honda people... But still, prejudices are usually very comfortable to those who wear them like an insecurity blanket.
It is no secret that one of my most loathed individuals on this planet is the Retarded Cowboy, Ex-President, War Criminal, Bush Jr. Behind every empire, there is a crime. Go back one or two generations, and you find that Bush Jr.s grandpappy Prescott (automatically a douche richie rich name) was uber helpful in Hitler's rise to power. He made his money by helping the Nazis. Solid citizen and SENATOR.
If you can't justify the cause, person, service, company, what have you... Then Ctrl-Alt-Del the sons of bitches... If you can... Some people will consider themselves to have a moral superiority on that one particular facet, but rest assured, they have something in their life just as sordid... That they can justify in their mind.
"Does it make a difference?"
Sure, to YOU. As politicians are bought and sold, and a certain party is trying to enact voter strangulation, it is easier to "Vote With Your Dollar". If you say "To Hell with such and such", good for you. You can't demand others to follow in your footsteps... But you can inform them as to why you made your decision. Caution: if you get all holy crusader with a ton of shit, people will generally stop talking to you. Spread it out over time... And wait til it comes up in conversation, then get on it like a Rottweiler with a baby in it's mouth! Never let it go!!!
If you despise Wal-Mart and their corporate structure of completely anally raping their employees, DON'T SHOP THERE! If you don't like Target's French Connection, DON'T SHOP THERE! If you need food and are against Monsanto, GROW A GARDEN, PRAY FOR RAIN. If you are against drugs, THROW OUT ALL GOOD MUSIC FROM THE PAST 400 YEARS...
If you feel strongly enough about it, get vocal. Utilize social networking sites... Be a snarky bastard and write blogs about it (*wink!*). HOWEVER, just because that one alarmist friend of yours posts something about carrots turning white will bring about the Zombie Apocalypse... Snopes.com the shit before you scare your Mom half to death, who just friended you because she wanted to see pics of your kids. Seriously, research research research. Find arguments both for and against. Think for yourself. Google is free, yo.
If you feel strongly enough about it, get vocal. Utilize social networking sites... Be a snarky bastard and write blogs about it (*wink!*). HOWEVER, just because that one alarmist friend of yours posts something about carrots turning white will bring about the Zombie Apocalypse... Snopes.com the shit before you scare your Mom half to death, who just friended you because she wanted to see pics of your kids. Seriously, research research research. Find arguments both for and against. Think for yourself. Google is free, yo.
You have a voice, USE IT! It is one of the kick ass things about this joint. You can say what you want. People can reply. Double edged sword. Thankfully, I know how to sword fight.
So what will it take to enact real change?
Company vs. Company Gang Wars!!!!
This week it was OKCupid.com Vs. Mozilla... Recap here.
OKCupid was not cool with Mozilla guy's anti equality stance and put a disclaimer on their main page if you browsed to it using Firefox, and offered the links to get all of the other major browsers. They did leave a "proceed anyways" link... So they were not total dicks about it, just gave their opinion. They handled it cool. The Mozilla dude in question resigned.
I am not a fan of taking out my frustrations of a CEO's actions on the minimum wage person I actually come into contact with. That is not cool. Back during the hay day of the Chik Fil A hoopla, they were a couple of people who posted themselves going through drive thru's and giving some pimply faced teen grief... That kid is innocent and does not deserve that sort of "retribution".
I have swallowed pride for paychecks before... One company flew three flags over the headquarters... The Stars and Stripes, The Texas State Flag, and the Christian Flag... I was the seventh employee and four of the "senior" staff all attended the same church. To the president's credit, he never said I have to believe in what he did. It would make my sphincter itch when he would want to start meetings with a "prayer". Um... sorry, but I just don't think telepathically communicating with a Jewish Zombie Carpenter is gonna make a bit o' difference in my not wanting to be in this damn meeting. Ooooh, ya brought donuts! AMEN!
Kicking out the jams,
d
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And again, no comment?! WTF? Love the "... hunting endangered animals can actually stimulate population growth. "I will take a #12 on wheat, hold the tomatoes and cucumbers."" This is sooooo human; we justify anything we want. But you seem to be able to capture the rawness of what we do everyday in your words. Your talent should be recognized and I'm glad you're still blogging.
ReplyDeleteI also liked "prejudices are usually very comfortable to those who wear them like an insecurity blanket." and "People can reply. Double edged sword. Thankfully, I know how to sword fight.". And even though I do hold out hope for God I liked this one too: "but I just don't think telepathically communicating with a Jewish Zombie Carpenter is gonna make a bit o' difference in my not wanting to be in this damn meeting. Ooooh, ya brought donuts! AMEN!" Jewish Zombie Carpenter? Where do you get this stuff?