Boycotts: Our "Civil War?"

[Sparkly]

This morning, a story on TV reminded me that 60,000 seniors cancelled their memberships in AARP when that organization endorsed the GOP Medicare prescription drug plan. That's a statement in numbers too large to ignore.

In the past, boycotts were usually not taken very seriously. But now, blogs have the ability to organize and mobilize people in great numbers -- look at the fire over Sinclair broadcasting and its advertisers. If we boycotted sponsors of GOP propaganda and purchased only from others, could we make a difference, even beyond November 2?

Earlier in the week, I heard someone remark that if Republicans and Democrats all lived in separate states, we'd have a second civil war. Someone referred to this as a "cold civil war." Could boycotts be our civil war?

Maybe the way to take back the media, especially if we can't stop consolidation, is to organize how and where we spend our money, and do it visibly. Freepers would engage in the opposite way, which creates the battle. But I think that's a war we can win. Start now with the sponsors of Sinclair, but after their broadcast and after the election, stay organized. Put people like Hannity and Rush out of business.

Am I naive, or is this possible? Is it unfair to people who work for Colgate-Palmolive, for example, to buy only Crest if it puts them out of work? What do you think?

[Hello_Kitty]

1. Aren't there statistics that show

Blue states have higher incomes and red states lower? We might have a lot more pursestring power than we realize.

[movonne]

2. I think it could work if you can keep people focused and not stop.

We have to do something to get our country back or there will be no country to take back...to me it looks like if the bushies get in again by hook or crook then they will rape this country of all natural resources.

[Warpy]

3. Boycotts typically cause a 10% or less decrease in sales

which is certainly enough to attract corporate attention, but which is not likely to throw significant numbers of people out of work, not unless it persists for more than a year or so.

It's not exactly our civil war, but it certainly is a shot across corporate America's bow.

Asking yourself what kind of weasel is getting your hard earned money is always a good idea. There are a lot of corporations out there I simply cannot support in good conscience, although the products they make may be good ones. Nike would be a shining example, producing their gear in third world sweatshops while expecting Americans to pay prices that reflect their being made here with union labor.

Asking yourself how much human misery went into a product is another good idea, although that one is more difficult. What would be unacceptable here is perfectly acceptable elsewhere in less aware countries, if only because horrible working conditions are also what is lifting a family out of grinding poverty.

Maintaining a good relationship with one's conscience is hard work, which is why so many people have given up on the idea and now vote Repuglican.