Have You Boycotted a Business for Political Reasons?

[garbon]

Just kidding, but seriously, do you own a rental property in Portland or something?  You seem very invested in my move.

No, I don't really even like Portland (Sorry fhdz and sbr) but from my sisters' friends I met while visiting - it doesn't seem like it is that hard for 30-somethings to live there on very little income. Now, of course, I frown upon them and have referred to most of them as losers but it is something, I guess.

Anyway, my point in bringing up Portland is that it was just a place I could think of that you could actually boycott a whole lot of companies and not starve to death as you said it. We're talking about a place where the citizens won't even allow fluoride put in their water.

[Ideologue]

Whoa, for real?  No way I'm going to Portland.  That's nuts and unhygienic.

[HVC]

Whoa, for real?  No way I'm going to Portland.  That's nuts and unhygienic.

i think you may be thinking if chlorine. As far as I know fluorine is only added for the benefit of your teeth.

[Ideologue]

Whoa, for real?  No way I'm going to Portland.  That's nuts and unhygienic.

i think you may be thinking if chlorine. As far as I know fluorine is only added for the benefit of your teeth.

I know that fluoride is (it saps my vital essense and protects my enamel).  If they're not putting it in the water, they're insane.  It's like the only feat of social engineering America ever accomplished besides the interstate highway system.  To abandon it is madness.  (In short, read g's post again. )

[Josquius]

A lack of fluoride in the water is why Japanese people have such cheap teeth (and expats always need a filling or two when they go home. I'm dreading my count)

[Archy]

durka durka durka et blastium 

[mongers]

Several, though as mentioned by others, there are many more I 'boycott' for consumer reasons. And still others I only use for exploitative reasons.

[Ed Anger]

I'm boycotting Meri.

[sbr]

I don't shop at Walmart because I am not a fan of a lot of their business practices, but the closest Walmart is far enough away that that isn't really tested on a regular basis.  I am pretty sure I would continue to avoid them even if they built one here in town.

Other than that I prefer to "shop locally" as much as I can without it being too inconvenient.  The local hardware store over Home Depot; always check the small local bookstore before going anywhere else even though it would be more expensive; buy berries from roadside stands instead of the large supermarket.

[derspiess]

Hardly. If you wanted to know because you wanted to look into it yourself to decide if you wanted to make changes, then sure. But to have you pick the list apart and find minuscule reasons why you think I'm stupid for my choice? Nah, not worth it.

I've done my research and I'm comfortable with my choices. If you're really interested, feel free to do your own.

I find it interesting that you're willing to make enough of a statement to boycott a company, but not enough to talk about it.  Just saying, that kinda reeks more of passive aggression (nice anonymous way to "make a statement") than conviction.

More like I know my audience. derspeiss neither lives around here nor gives two shits why I do or don't shop at places. What he wants is a list to pick apart, and I'm not interested in playing.

I was just curious  

Also, you've used the word "stupid" a couple times-- I've never even hinted that I think your boycotts are stupid.  Maybe I'm partly to blame, but you seem to read the worst possible intentions in a lot of what I say.

[fhdz]

Yes. Goodwill and Salvation Army.

[Valmy]

Yes. Goodwill and Salvation Army.

Those bastards will pay for their crimes.

[Ed Anger]

Hardly. If you wanted to know because you wanted to look into it yourself to decide if you wanted to make changes, then sure. But to have you pick the list apart and find minuscule reasons why you think I'm stupid for my choice? Nah, not worth it.

I've done my research and I'm comfortable with my choices. If you're really interested, feel free to do your own.

I find it interesting that you're willing to make enough of a statement to boycott a company, but not enough to talk about it.  Just saying, that kinda reeks more of passive aggression (nice anonymous way to "make a statement") than conviction.

More like I know my audience. derspeiss neither lives around here nor gives two shits why I do or don't shop at places. What he wants is a list to pick apart, and I'm not interested in playing.

I was just curious  

Also, you've used the word "stupid" a couple times-- I've never even hinted that I think your boycotts are stupid.  Maybe I'm partly to blame, but you seem to read the worst possible intentions in a lot of what I say.

Monster

[garbon]

Whoa, for real?  No way I'm going to Portland.  That's nuts and unhygienic.

From last spring:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/22/portland-fluoride-water/2350329/

he mayor of Portland, Ore., has conceded defeat in an effort to add fluoride to the city's drinking water.

With more than 80 percent of the expected ballots counted late Tuesday night, the Multnomah County election website showed the fluoride proposal failing, 60 percent to 40 percent.

Mayor Charlie Hales supported fluoridation and said "the measure lost despite my own 'yes' vote.

"That's sure disappointing, but I accept the will of the voters," he said in a statement.

Fluoridation foes were delighted.

"We're very excited with how the numbers look," said Kellie Barnes with the anti-fluoride group Clean Water Portland.

If the early returns hold up, "then Portlanders spoke out to value our clean water and ask for better solutions for our kids."

Voters in Portland twice rejected fluoridation before approving it in 1978. That plan was overturned two years later, before any fluoride was ever added to the water.

The City Council voted last year to add fluoride to the water supply that serves about 900,000 people. But opponents quickly gathered enough signatures to force a vote on the subject.

Rejection of the proposal would keep Portland the largest U.S. city without fluoride in the water or with plans to add it. San Jose, Calif., — which is larger than Portland — has been working to add fluoride to its water supply.

Voters had weeks to make their choice in the mail-ballot election. By Tuesday it was too late to rely on the postman, so drop boxes were placed across the city to accommodate those who waited until the final day.

"We were still getting ballots from drop sites close to 8 p.m.," said Eric Sample, a Multnomah County elections spokesman. That meant a "pretty darn long night" of vote counting that likely would stretch into Wednesday, he said.

Supporters and opponents of fluoridation raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and traded accusations of sign-stealing and shoddy science in an election that has been the city's most contentious of the 21st century.

A sampling of voters dropping off ballots earlier Tuesday in rainy Pioneer Courthouse Square found people opposed to fluoridation.

"People don't like change. When in doubt, say no," said Tracy Rauscher, a native Portlander who, like a native Portlander, did not use an umbrella.

Portland's drinking water already contains naturally occurring fluoride, though not at levels considered to be effective at fighting cavities. Backers of fluoridation say adding more of it to the water is a safe, effective and affordable way to improve the health of low-income children whose parents don't stress proper nutrition and dental hygiene.

Opponents describe fluoride as a chemical that will ruin the city's pristine water supply, and they argue that adding it would violate an individual's right to consent to medication.

Although most Americans drink water treated with fluoride, it has long been a contentious topic. In the 1950s, fluoridation was feared as a Communist plot. Today, people worry that its effect on the body has not been sufficiently examined.

"I don't want chemicals in my water," Sarah Lazzaro said after voting Tuesday. "I know that there are really no known health risks with it, but there's a lot of things we find out later in life really do have health risks."

The issue re-appeared on Portland's radar late last summer, when health organizations that had quietly lobbied the City Council for a year persuaded the panel to unanimously approve fluoridation by March 2014.

Days before the vote, 227 people — most of them opponents — signed up to testify at a public hearing that lasted 6 1 / 2hours. When their objections weren't heeded, they quickly gathered tens of thousands of signatures to force Tuesday's vote.

Also, I always knew San Jose was scummy but wow...

[Siege]

Better question is who boycotts businesses, liberals or conservatives?
I suspect only liberals engage in this kind of warfare.