So, a bit of controversy has arisen surrounding this year's Comic Con. Apparently the owner of the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego gave a large donation in support of an anti-gay marriage initiative, and now there are calls to boycott the hotel (or at least the hotel bar) in response. I'm not sure a boycott is a great strategy here; it's got a pretty good chance of backfiring if the effect is minimal (that would suggest that those in opposition to the owners position are in the minority), and I don't particularly like the idea of trying to punish someone simply because he holds a different political position (even if his position is stupid). Augie De Blieck had an amusing take on boycotting in his CBR column this week.
That's the real thing, I've never understood the argument of those opposed to gay marriage. What possible effect could it have on them if two men or two women want to get married. Do the opponents love their spouses a tiny bit less every time a same-sex couple marries? Are they afraid that gay marriage will make homosexuality look like so much fun that everyone will decide to be gay, ending human reproduction and dooming the species? Why do they care? You have a religious objection to it, fine, your church doesn't have to perform or recognize gay marriages, but why should that have any bearing on government policy?
It's a bit of a puzzler.
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6 months ago
I wouldn't boycott based on a mere opinion--unless that opinion was that civil rights should be denied a particular gropu. Would you say "Don't boycott businesses whose owners argue that interracial marriage should be illegal"?
ReplyDeleteI would. My money doesn't need to support such people.
I would never say "don't boycott . . ." about any situation, even the one described. My point (well, one of them anyway) is that it's likely to be a pointless gesture, as it's unlikely to be large enough to be noticed in anything but a negative way. If someone really wants to do something meaningful, then rather than simply boycotting, they should take the money they were going to spend boozing it up at the con and donate it to a pro-gay rights organization.
ReplyDeleteI've certainly avoided businesses whose owners have espoused philosophies that I find troubling, but I'm not one for organized boycotts (for the reason stated above). So, no, I wouldn't boycott. I also wouldn't make a blanket statement about what I would do, because quite frankly I can't be bothered to keep up with every crackpot thing every business owner I interact with has said. So, to answer your question, if I knew about it, I'd probably be uncomfortable doing business with the company and would probably go elsewhere if I could. Would I boycott? No.