What’s the point in Boycotting?

[u/cacxte]

It seems like everyone forgot about standing against major corporations that eliminate DEl and supporting small businesses-only to turn around and go back a few days later for something like cheaper cake. What's the point of starting a movement if everyone abandons it so quickly?

[u/ferns0]

I promise you that your instagram feed isn't "everyone". I have so many thoughts i don't know where to begin...

1. I don't know who any of these influencers are, but it certainly wouldn't be new for an influencer to jump on whatever trend everyone is talking about to take advantage of all the positive attention that will come their way. As time goes on the dopamine hit will start becoming smaller and smaller as people get bored of this trend and social media will move onto the next thing. I do not mean to say that these aren't good people or that they don't have good intentions, but tens of thousands of likes sure have a way of messing with your incentives.

2. The scope of this particular boycott really feels like it misses the mark to me. I have never heard anyone say they are boycotting companies because they have no DEI policy and they never had one. If your measuring stick of an ethical company is DEI policy then are the companies who bend the knee more unethical than those who never had a policy to begin with? It's human nature to be drawn to the headlines, and high-profile cases, but most of the evil is happening where we can't easily see. What if the company with a good DEI policy gets products from a supplier with terrible environmental and animal welfare records? It's awfully hard to be a billion dollar company without negative externalities somewhere along the way. I am sure some are much better than others if you tally up the points, but the one thing they all have in common is they all want you to consume more.

3. Perfection is basically impossible unless you are a hermit living in the woods. Do not let perfection be the enemy of progress. Let's say you spend $100 every week on food, toiletries, clothes, etc. If you go from spending that all at Walmart to spending only $20 at Walmart every week that is something to celebrate - not something to flagellate yourself for. We have limited time, money, and energy, so focus your efforts towards the changes that are the easiest and will make the biggest influence. Basically the 80/20 principle) If you need to spend 10x as much at a small business for strawberries or to drive two hours away to a farm to get your eggs, or whatever else in the name of perfection to avoid shopping at some specific store then at some point you are just harming yourself by wasting your limited resources than you are hurting some multi-billion dollar corp. There is very much a point of diminishing returns that you'll hit before you hit perfection.. and that's okay.

[u/my600catlife → u/ferns0]

The fact that ending DEI policies in the face of an administration ready to sue over them is the straw that broke the camel's back when these corporations have been underpaying and mistreating employees for decades is astounding. People are hurting and being told that they have to pay many times more for everything from basic necessities to their kid's birthday cake because of DEI policies is certainly not helping the left to look any less out of touch.