Do Boycotts Work?

We have had members drop out of the Yahoo Group because of the “chatter”. It was decided that only “need to know” information would be posted to the Yahoo Group. “Nice to know” information would be posted to the Ning site.

Recently, one of our members posted to the Yahoo Group about Citgo changing their name to “Petro Express”. Some people do not buy Citgo gas because of Venezuelan ownership.So, they changed the name. I considered that “need to know” information.

In response to the Citgo posting, I received the following link: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_citgo_boycott.htm  The article doesn’t deny the name change. It does question the effectiveness of boycotts. Rather than send the link out to the Yahoo Group, I felt it would be better to post it here for discussion.

On a personal level, I do not buy Citgo gas. That is my choice.

I recently purchased tires for my car. I paid a premium of $20 per tire ($80 total for the set) to get American made tires. The salesman tried to talk me into the cheaper Chinese made tires, but I could afford the extra charge, so I did.

I found out that my “financial advisor”, Ric Edelman, supported (still supports) Obama. He no longer handles my 401k.

Progressive Insurance owner, Peter Lewis, is an ultra-liberal that has donated $8.5 mil to the ACLU. Will he ever handle my insurance? NO.

None of this makes me better than anyone else, nor do they effect Citgo’s ability to sell gas, the Chinese ability to sell tires, Edelman’s ability to make money, or Lewis’s ability to sell insurance.

Do boycotts work? I don’t know. But, I will continue to vote with my dollars as well as the polling place as long as I can afford it.