PugJesusErika rules
grueOkay, but giving Sony money is not the most effective way to express that sentiment.
I mean, what’s the reverse of a boycott?
Boycotts don’t work either, for that matter.
It’s weird that we so often see political/social problems and think “I know, I’ll help solve this by giving (or withholding) my money from some for-profit corporation and hope the influence will trickle down to the cause I actually care about!”
Instead, you know we could just support activists working to advance that cause (or outlaw that bad corporate behavior) directly, right?
Boycotts worked in protesting apartheid South Africa. Boycotts have also had tangible impact on Israel’s economy, and given that it seems that internationally, the tides have changed in terms of countries actually recognising the genocide.
You’re right that it’s more powerful to identify what activists are doing and to join in their efforts, but this isn’t an “either/or” kind of problem. I agree that it’s not productive if people boycott a thing and go no further — we do need people pushing back in more active ways. However, boycotts can have an impact if enough people do it. Furthermore, I think that boycotts can act as an easily accessible first step towards more active support of a cause, as well as a way of keeping an issue in people’s minds.