So one of the regular blogs that I read is JoeMyGod, which is a really good source for pretty much all things GLBT and equality related. Â This morning, Joe posted an excerpt from an opinion piece in The Atlantic by Jonathan Merritt, where Mr. Merritt discussed how we really should become level-headed in our arguments, and basically stop with the culture wars by stopping the threats of boycotts or such. Â The quote that got to me was this one:
As Josh Ozersky argued on TIME Thursday, ‘businesses should be judged by their products and their practices, not by their politics.’ I agree: I don’t care how my dry cleaner votes. I just want to know if he/she can press my Oxfords without burning my sleeves.
You know what, Mr. Merritt?  I do care.  Why on Earth would I give my money to a corporation that is just going to turn around and – especially now thanks to Citizens United – fund that money into attacks against what I believe in?  It’s like giving a drug addict a syringe of morphine and then telling them, “Please don’t inject that on yourself”.  In short, it’s bollocks.
I may not know what my dry cleaner’s voting record is, but if I read good things about them (in reputation, as well as doing good for the community), then I’ll pay them for services. Â But if they are like the Chick fil A company? Â I’ll take my money elsewhere.