Monday, July 21, 2008

The Boycott System

There is a trend in politics and also in religious groups that I find quite annoying and absurd. I think boycotting certain things like not shopping at Target because some of their sponsors support abortion, or even not buying certain items that is supported by particular groups… It’s like people think that if they STAND AGAINST something they are making a stand for what they believe, but in reality, does it really make a difference of what others think? I would get some emails from some friends that are petitioning against something and encourage everyone else to jump on the boycott band wagon. It is so funny but I hardly see the point. At some point, people think that if you ‘do’ this or stand for ‘that’ you are ‘supporting’ sin, when, in reality if I buy a certain pair of shoes that are made from a company that supports something that is religiously wrong, the focus in now on ‘me’ who 'did' the wrong by buying the item… It becomes a vicious cycle of finger pointing and is complete stupidity in my opinion. To me, it is just another system that tries to enforce itself on people, and I refuse to support the BOYCOTT SYSTEM…

4 comments:

Laurie said...

You remind me of a bottle of champagne Nicole. Bright, crisp and bubbly and once you get the cork off, there's no way to contain it. :)

Interesting thoughts. I really agree with what you are saying about the boycott system that seems to run rampant in emails but there have been times when I felt like the Lord convicted me about where I spent money or products that I used because of the larger picture of what they represented. I think once again if it is Spirit-led then it is different than the group mentality and cookie cutter approach that prevails in what you have so aptly described.

Bino M. said...

It's interesting that just today I received one such email where they are collecting signatures for supporting some televangelists who were threatened to drop out of airwaves.

(Well, I think it's better some of them go out of air :) )

There were some discussions on this boycott stuff on one of Joel's recent post: Moral Police.

Anonymous said...

Nicole,
I just want to say, I love reading your Blog because you raise such excellent questions in each entry. Thought provoking. And it's wonderful reading others' responses.

I agree with Bino and Joel. In a nutshell, quite honestly, I believe your title "Boycott Bandwagon" says it all." To me, it's another way some Christians like to inject law and control into EVERYTHING.

I believe such things are so personal. The Spirit will place on INDIVIDUAL hearts what things they should stand up for (and even then, I believe the Spirit leads us to do so appropriately).

Joel makes a statement that really sums it up for me, "If a Christian thinks his or her duty is to reward those who do good and to boycott all those who do evil in this world, then I think they've missed the point."

And...

"if a Christian does indeed go around with a mindset that they need to police the world, or judge the sin of others, or boycott and avoid people and companies because of their sinful practices or because of the sinful things they support, then according to their own mindset I'd like them to take a look at Romans 1 and see where THEY stand, if they're really going to begin pointing fingers at the actions of others!"

Additionally, wouldn't such a Christian than, in essense be playing "God?" Who put them in the place to "judge" another's heart based on where another shops?

~Amy :)
www.myspace.com/amyinsurprise

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