Case In Point: You Can't Be Consistent in Boycotting
| I did a little search and it seems as though Barnie’s Coffee was an Exhibitor at the 2005 GLBT Expo - Uniting the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community [Go Here]. Would Bob Jones advocate such a group? This is my point! If BJU was consistent they wouldn’t have Barnie’s Coffee at their campus either. I don’t think Christians should boycott other businesses because they affiliate themselves with things they don’t agree with. If they did they would have to start their own commune (which some have tried) in order to be consistent. |
posted by Matthew Wireman at 8:38 AM
Comments on "Case In Point: You Can't Be Consistent in Boycotting"
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R. Mansfield said ... (Sat Feb 25, 12:19:00 PM) :
post a commentThe worst thing about such boycotts is that it shows a lack of power from the group boycotting when the offending company ends up with no noticeable market loss.
This was the situation with the Disney boycott. MAYBE Disney would have felt it if every Baptist and every like-minded denomination had imposed the same kind of boycott. However, that wasn't the case. The reality is that just because something comes down as a resolution of the SBC meeting, doesn't mean that every church, let alone every church member is going to be in agreement. We're not the medieval Catholic Church.
I was at the Convention where the SBC boycott was proclaimed. It was supposed to be for Disney and all of its affiliates. The problem was that no one could accurately provide a definitive list of ABC affiliates before the vote was made. I had to sound conspiratorial, but I think that was on purpose. Disney controlled ABC, ESPN, and a host of other companies that are hard to avoid in the entertainment world.
That summer, those ugly bright Rush Limbaugh ties were popular. I saw them everywhere at the convention. After the vote went through, I asked a handful of pastors if they were going to quit listening to Rush Limbaugh and quit wearing the ties. They said they had no idea that was included too.
No, the best thing to do to change a company is not to separate ourselves from them, but to infiltrate them. Isn't this the same strategy that's in the Bible? I've noticed that here in Louisville, we have quite a few Christians--and quite a few seminary students--working in the Starbucks over town. That's a great start. The next step would be for a number of Christians to commit themselves to seeing the corporate structure of Starbucks as a mission field and work their way up through the ranks.
That's what we should have done with Disneyworld a decade ago. If everyone was upset over Disney hosting an unofficial "Gay Day," we should have encouraged all Baptists to go to Disneyworld on that day (perhaps leaving the young kids at home) and evangelized the heck out of them (politely, of course).
And if you want to make long-term change at Disneyworld, that means working your way up in the corporate structure there as well.
“I am not praying
that You take them out of the world
but that You protect them from the evil one.”
(John 17:15 HCSB)