pplwatching
Full grown man
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2003
- Posts
- 2,353
I have a dilemma and would like to hear other people's thoughts. I frequent a particular local small business. I like the owners, their products, and their staff. I have always wanted them to succeed. I've recommended the store to friends, and have even payed a premium for a product in their store rather than purchasing it at a discount at a “big chain” down the street.
I have friends with whom I disagree on any number of topics, but we respect each other and our views. I have always respected people's positions, even when they are opposites of mine. Businesses are a different matter. I feel like every time I hand a store my cash, I am casting a vote for the business and what it's “corporate culture” stands for. I know people boycott Wal Mart and oil companies because they disagree with company practices, so I'm not alone.
The small business in question has publicly taken a stance on a somewhat polarizing issue. The issue has nothing to do with their products and services. It's political. The owners have (IMHO) decided to use their business as a mouthpiece for their personal views, including e-mailing everyone on their mailing list.
My dilemma is that I am a very loyal person, to a fault. I now feel like if I make a purchase at this store I am endorsing the store's position on the issue. I still feel a perhaps misguided loyalty to the owners, but I can't endorse their position on the issue. It's something that I feel strongly about.
The owners have always held these views. I think that patronizing their business was proof that I respected them as individuals and their right to their own views, anyway. Now I feel like they've publicly come out against those of us who disagree with them. Maybe I was naive to expect business to be separate from their personal politics in the first place. Either way, I feel somewhat betrayed.
I don't want to say what the issue is, their position, or mine because I don't want replies to be a debate about the issue. Since we're all anonymous here, I'd like to know if you vote with your wallet? Would you boycott a store who publicly took a position that you disagreed with? Would your personal relationship with the owners make any difference?
Thoughts?
Gooble Gobble
I have friends with whom I disagree on any number of topics, but we respect each other and our views. I have always respected people's positions, even when they are opposites of mine. Businesses are a different matter. I feel like every time I hand a store my cash, I am casting a vote for the business and what it's “corporate culture” stands for. I know people boycott Wal Mart and oil companies because they disagree with company practices, so I'm not alone.
The small business in question has publicly taken a stance on a somewhat polarizing issue. The issue has nothing to do with their products and services. It's political. The owners have (IMHO) decided to use their business as a mouthpiece for their personal views, including e-mailing everyone on their mailing list.
My dilemma is that I am a very loyal person, to a fault. I now feel like if I make a purchase at this store I am endorsing the store's position on the issue. I still feel a perhaps misguided loyalty to the owners, but I can't endorse their position on the issue. It's something that I feel strongly about.
The owners have always held these views. I think that patronizing their business was proof that I respected them as individuals and their right to their own views, anyway. Now I feel like they've publicly come out against those of us who disagree with them. Maybe I was naive to expect business to be separate from their personal politics in the first place. Either way, I feel somewhat betrayed.
I don't want to say what the issue is, their position, or mine because I don't want replies to be a debate about the issue. Since we're all anonymous here, I'd like to know if you vote with your wallet? Would you boycott a store who publicly took a position that you disagreed with? Would your personal relationship with the owners make any difference?
Thoughts?
Gooble Gobble