Sometime ago, Starbucks took a stand for same-sex marriage. Many evangelical Christians were offended and called for a boycott of Starbucks. Advocates of same-sex marriage saw this as intolerant and as an overreaction. More recently, Chick-fil-A took a stand against same-sex marriage. Advocates of same-sex marriage were offended and have called for a boycott of Chick-fil-A. Evangelicals see this as intolerant and an overreaction.
Am I the only one who sees all this as rather silly? Really? Mayors banning Chick-fil-A from their cities because they disagree with their position? Christians afraid of buying a coffee from Starbucks because it might be seen as support for same-sex marriage? These are restaurants and cafes. Who cares what the owners of these companies feel about same-sex marriage? Our society has gotten overly occupied with being offended. Why not acknowledge you disagree with a position and eat your chicken sandwich and drink your coffee?
In our supposedly advanced society, we should be at the place where we are okay to disagree with one another. We should not be so upset that someone has a different opinion that we need to organize a boycott. Don’t let yourself buy into the lie that we should be offended by everything and anything. I am not dismissing same-sex marriage as an important issue. However, there is a need for maturity in these issues. Stick to the pros and cons of a particular issue and don’t get so caught up in what some food franchise thinks.
The Muslim shopkeeper at the end of the street thinks I’m a kafir because I believe Jesus is the Son of God. I think he’s wrong. Surely this is a much more important issue than same-sex marriage and we should mutually boycott each other. If this kind of thing were carried to its logical conclusion we would have people boycotting businesses owned and operated by anybody who disagrees with them. Good luck getting a cab in Hamilton since they’re mainly driven by Muslims and Sikhs.
If money is speech and companies are people, a loud boycott is the closest thing we organic citizens can get to telling a company to their faces that they need to straighten up when they’re acting poorly in public.
Cameron, I think Robin has a point here. How far are we willing to take this? What issues are we willing to boycott over? Deity of Christ? Trinity? Should we have a very limited set of business that have the same beliefs that evangelicals are allowed to purchase from?
Stephen, I think Robin’s point merely glances off the issue. If a business practices in a way that offends someone’s core values, whatever they may be, the boycott is a tool for making that offence known.
If a given issue doesn’t matter to you, fine. But there are people for whom it does, they want to connect to others of like values, and speaking louder to a corporate entity through a boycott call makes sense.
I’m not about to get into a war over whose values are more valid. *You* decide what you’re willing to fight for, and nobody else. My point is that a boycott call is a viable tool for communicating with a corporate entity. Critiquing the tool in place of values of the hand that wields it doesn’t make sense.
Of course you are welcome to boycott whoever you want. I am just not convinced that getting upset about a business’ position on an issue is the best use of time. Where do we draw the line? What issues are worth boycotting? How far do we want to take this? I can’t see Jesus or even Paul organizing boycotts because non-Christian businesses are holding to non-Christian values.
I’m also struggling with playing the boycott card. I wrote a post asking similar questions back in January of 2011 when some were calling for a boycott of Home Depot over their support of homosexuals. For what it’s worth, the post can be found at http://www.mhmcintyre.us/2011/01/06/are-boycotts-effective-in-reclaiming-our-culture/
This comment is copied and pasted (slightly edited for clarity) from another discussion post on exactly the same discussion
Danny, You summed up some of my thoughts, but let me add a couple of points. First of all, I don’t go around commanding other people to not support businesses that are doing things that are evil. Any more than I tell people not to watch certain hollywood movies, go to ceratain worldly places, abstain from alcohol or tobbaco, etc. Each person should be free to follow their own conscience. What bothers me here is that it is starting to sound like maybe I’m being pressured to support companies that my conscience isn’t free to do so. When I heard that pepsico was using fetal cells from aborted babies in their flavour research, I could no longer buy their product. I felt like blood of the innocent would be on my hands if I did so. Apparently others felt that way also and guess what? Pepsico announced shortly after that they discontinued their association with the company supplying them the cells. When I heard that Home depot went beyond just having a float in a gay pride parade, but also set up “play areas” so that small children could be present at the parades and watch semi and fully naked men simulating sex acts (and so I hear, in some cases performing them), sorry, I am now going to shop at Rona or Home Hardware, even if I have to pay more. If I spend my money at a retailer or restaurant that OPENLY and purposely uses their profits to tear down the (shreds of the) fabric of our society, How am I not strengthening the hands of evildoers? I’m not talking about not going to a restaurant because it is owned by homosexuals, I am talking about companies that are actively fighting against biblical values. Shall I give my money to them to help them in their fight against me? This is not about hate at all.. These companies and people are ignorantly being used by the enemy to tear down all of the safeguards that God designed for our society. It would be hateful(or at least unloving) to make their job easier! Hope this gives people some food for thought, not just ammunition for a fight, that’s not my intention.
All that i want to add here is that I choose my battles, I don’t know very company, but as I am aware, I will prayerfully decide how I will respond and not impose that on anyone or judge them if they patronize businesses that I choose not to. If asked I will tell about why I will not patronize certain businesses, but with out any expectations that they must follow suit. Each servant must give an account to his own master.
Scott, good information on Home Depot and Pepsico of which I was not aware. Thanks for informing us.
“Our society has gotten overly occupied with being offended.” You’ve just put into words a nagging feeling which I’ve gotten over all this but haven’t been able to name or shake. With so much leisure time, we find nothing better to do than be outraged. And what, really, will all that outrage come to? An increasingly polarized public, further bitterness on both sides of the fence, and ultimately, I think, little hindrance to the legalization of gay marriage.
Good points by all, I always ask myself how my business will be viewed. When I buy my coffee will the server or the person behind me or anyone say, well there’s a strong endorsement for same sex marriage? I doubt it, especially since I’ll be at a Tim Horton’s
I’ll bet you don’t back any of your friends or any politicans when they have a questionable opinion. Do you even vote? We have to stand for something. If we just give in on everything then we have a country of “I don’t care, it doesn’t affect me” attitudes. Just pick something and stand behind it. We have chosen our beliefs.
I do vote and I do care about what the government officials who represent me believes or is working for. I do not care what the owner of a coffee shop believes.
Perhaps, we should actually see these announcements of support for this or that from companies as a signpost suggesting these are the very places we should because they are yet to recognise God as their sovereign King? I am pretty sure Jesus went to all the places, ate with all the people, that the Jews “boycotted”. All we need to know about God we can see in Jesus. God wants us to love Him and love others, in fact we love God best by loving others. Rather than being like the Jewish hypocrites who failed to be the light to the rest of the world that God had called them to be, lets re-engage as Christ did, and does through us, by walking humbly and crying out for justice.
*places we should go to because …
This is exactly what I’ve wanted to say but not been able to put into words. Thank you for a well written and respectful way to say “stop whining!” :)
How is it whining Lesley, to stand up for what we say we believe in……biblical values and morals? When we have a chance to express our values, we get labeled as judgmental whiners! I do not agree with this blog and make no apologies for it. Im not looking for an argument and I’m not upset with anyone but am a little surprised at your stand on this issue. I think we both are mature enough to agree to disagree. We’ve known each other long enough to respect each others opinions, but really? :) I also will never support Victorias Secret. It’s a whole other issue but along the same lines. I do not support pornography. I see the damage it does and refuse to support any company that promotes it. Seems to me that the Lords return is very near. I can’t wait for that day!