The Laughing Wolf

Do Not As I Do?

Over the last few weeks, I have been positively amazed at the number of articles that have come out stating that boycotts of French products would have no effect. There have been learned pieces replete with statistics and analyses, and there were any number of pundits who wrote how such things were a joke that should never be tried.

Yet, the fact is that the French wine industry is already hurting, admitting same, and even sending delegations to the U.S. to try to turn things around. Other sectors are also feeling the heat. So, if boycotting French or other goods is a joke that we should never have tried, then why is it working? Why did all these people suddenly come out and say that we should not try and that it would not work?

Indeed, the latter is the most interesting question. It is a well established fact is that boycotts do work. They can and do have an impact. They have been a tool of politics for some time, but largely one of the liberal segment. Environmental groups, Jessie Jackson’s coalition, vegetarians, and others have used them to good effect in terms of raising money and awareness for themselves, while forcing desired changes.

Why then, when people in the center and conservative segments of the spectrum took up the same tactic, did it become something that could not work? Why did a favored and proven weapon suddenly become a joke?

The answer lies, of course, less in economics than in politics. There appear to be two facets to the problem, from the perspective of those opposed to boycotts.

The first is that boycotts do work, and having clearly lost ground and prestige in the early days of a quick war, certain segments of the left are as frantic as the UN about being marginalized and shown for the irrelevant factors that they have become. The opposition, therefore, has less to do with effectiveness than with loss of power. Anything that could give the “enemy” more power is a thing clearly to be avoided.

The second is that it is a reminder that boycotts are a weapon of the individual. It is a strong reminder that individuals do matter, that they can make a difference, and that they can effect change in politics and the world. This scares extremists of all types since they see the public not as individuals, but as blocks of population to be manipulated and controlled. They do not like individualism, and do everything they can to eliminate it. Sheep are always to be preferred by such people.

Worse than that, it is a reminder to all that economics is a very powerful way to fight, and one in which the individual can make a difference. It is a reminder to all of us that we have both rights and responsibilities. When we shop, we have the ability to reward those who sell good products, are good neighbors, who do the things with which we agree. When we watch television, go to a movie, and listen to music, we do the same thing. When we withhold purchases, change the channel, and do similar things to avoid someone or something that we do not feel is a good neighbor, who does not do good things, or do not agree, it also sends a message.

I personally have stopped purchasing French and Belgian products because I feel that they are oathbreakers. As an individual, I choose not to support such and I vote with my money. I therefore no longer buy French wine, cooking products, soaps, and more. I no longer watch the Sci-Fi and USA channels because they are owned by Vivendi Universal, a French company who also happens to own Universal Studios, Seagram’s, and other companies who’s products I no longer purchase. Now, the fact is that I had already started boycotting Sci-Fi and USA before the war because of the way in which Farscape was cancelled, but I have expanded it since. Belgian chocolate and other products no longer come in my door.

Admittedly, my personal efforts are going to have little effect, as has been pointed out to me in forums and in e-mails. I accept and acknowledge that, and simply state that it is my way of exercising my responsibilities to society at large, and most of all to myself and my code of honor. My honor demands that I do no less.

That others also feel this way is becoming obvious, and the French and others are feeling the heat. Let’s pour it on and show them what true heat is. As individuals, let’s exercise our power. Go to sites like Boycott French Products and take the time to do it right. Buy your gas at stations that don’t import much oil from the Middle East. Tell your gas station why you buy from them and not their competition, so that the message is heard. You can make a difference.

What scares some people right now, very badly, is that you may realize that you can and should make a difference. That you can think for yourself, that you can and do have power, and that you can and will live according to a code of honor scares some people very, very, badly. Let’s make this into their worst nightmare, and at the same time make ourselves felt in Paris and elsewhere. Let’s change the world.

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Indeed, the latter is the most interesting question. It is a well established fact is that boycotts do work. They can and do have an impact. They have been a tool of politics for some time, but largely one of the liberal segment. Environmental groups, Jessie Jackson’s coalition, vegetarians, and others have used them to good effect in terms of raising money and awareness for themselves, while forcing desired changes.

Why then, when people in the center and conservative segments of the spectrum took up the same tactic, did it become something that could not work? Why did a favored and proven weapon suddenly become a joke?

The answer lies, of course, less in economics than in politics. There appear to be two facets to the problem, from the perspective of those opposed to boycotts.

The first is that boycotts do work, and having clearly lost ground and prestige in the early days of a quick war, certain segments of the left are as frantic as the UN about being marginalized and shown for the irrelevant factors that they have become. The opposition, therefore, has less to do with effectiveness than with loss of power. Anything that could give the “enemy” more power is a thing clearly to be avoided.

The second is that it is a reminder that boycotts are a weapon of the individual. It is a strong reminder that individuals do matter, that they can make a difference, and that they can effect change in politics and the world. This scares extremists of all types since they see the public not as individuals, but as blocks of population to be manipulated and controlled. They do not like individualism, and do everything they can to eliminate it. Sheep are always to be preferred by such people.

Worse than that, it is a reminder to all that economics is a very powerful way to fight, and one in which the individual can make a difference. It is a reminder to all of us that we have both rights and responsibilities. When we shop, we have the ability to reward those who sell good products, are good neighbors, who do the things with which we agree. When we watch television, go to a movie, and listen to music, we do the same thing. When we withhold purchases, change the channel, and do similar things to avoid someone or something that we do not feel is a good neighbor, who does not do good things, or do not agree, it also sends a message.

I personally have stopped purchasing French and Belgian products because I feel that they are oathbreakers. As an individual, I choose not to support such and I vote with my money. I therefore no longer buy French wine, cooking products, soaps, and more. I no longer watch the Sci-Fi and USA channels because they are owned by Vivendi Universal, a French company who also happens to own Universal Studios, Seagram’s, and other companies who’s products I no longer purchase. Now, the fact is that I had already started boycotting Sci-Fi and USA before the war because of the way in which Farscape was cancelled, but I have expanded it since. Belgian chocolate and other products no longer come in my door.

Admittedly, my personal efforts are going to have little effect, as has been pointed out to me in forums and in e-mails. I accept and acknowledge that, and simply state that it is my way of exercising my responsibilities to society at large, and most of all to myself and my code of honor. My honor demands that I do no less.

That others also feel this way is becoming obvious, and the French and others are feeling the heat. Let’s pour it on and show them what true heat is. As individuals, let’s exercise our power. Go to sites like Boycott French Products and take the time to do it right. Buy your gas at stations that don’t import much oil from the Middle East. Tell your gas station why you buy from them and not their competition, so that the message is heard. You can make a difference.

What scares some people right now, very badly, is that you may realize that you can and should make a difference. That you can think for yourself, that you can and do have power, and that you can and will live according to a code of honor scares some people very, very, badly. Let’s make this into their worst nightmare, and at the same time make ourselves felt in Paris and elsewhere. Let’s change the world.

-30-