Scott Tibbs
We should not have a politically segregated economy
By Scott Tibbs, August 19, 2019
The decision by some conservatives to boycott Heinz ketchup in 2004 because it was partially owned by John Kerry's wife was one of the dumbest and most childish things I have seen in politics, and remains so 15 years later. The alternative? Why, it was "W" brand ketchup, of course. I am not kidding. The mentality leading us to a politically segregated economy has been with us for a long time, but it is worse now than I can recall in my lifetime.
Folks, if we are going to remain unified as a republic we need common spaces. It is not good for us to have Republican stores and Democratic stores, it is not good to have Republican movies and Democratic movies, and it is not good to have Republican gyms and Democratic gyms. Having common spaces free from divisive partisan politics allows us to see each other as people through interacting on shared interests.
Furthermore, it is extraordinarily vindictive to destroy someone professionally because you disagree with him politically, especially when he does not allow his politics to influence his business decisions. It is even worse to try to destroy an entire company because you disagree with an investor, someone on the board, or even someone who works there. Every time this happens and one side collects a scalp, the other side is motivated to collect a scalp to get "revenge." The downward spiral never ends.
Of course, what many people fail to understand is that when a business is targeted for destruction, the first people hurt are not going to be the millionaires and billionaires who provoked your wrath, but lower-level employees, as well as lower-level employees at the vendors serving your target. If the "woke" people boycotting on either side do recognize it, they see these folks as collateral damage.
So how do we solve it? Do not participate. Choose your products on who offers the best product at the best price without concern for what the business owners do in their free time. If you cannot resist participating in an online pitchfork mob, then close your social media accounts. Maybe you can even go out of your way to patronize a business being boycotted by your own political side. Do not feed the cycle of rage and bitterness.
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