OT: Interesting ebay fact

[dkostel]

I was very interested to read this article - http://www.ourchart.com/node/130. Oh well, that is one addiction I needed to give up anyway!

 

[tampaguys]

I dunno. I think we have to be realistic here. Not happy about it, mind you...just realistic.

CEOs of large national/multinational companies tend to be big-time supporters of republican candidates. This is because, of course, of the republican party's habit of passing laws and regulations which favor big business at the expense of average Americans in EVERY possible way (labor laws, minimum wage, whistleblower laws, workplace safety, taxes, etc). I don't doubt that some (WalMart, for example) also support the republican social agenda, but that is probably not a key piece of the puzzle for most of these businesses.

Few people realize that even Disney has a political action committee which employs lobbyists to protect Disney's interests. When the Copyright Term Extension Act was being considered, the Disney PAC donated money to 10 congressmen (7 GOP, 3 dems) and 9 senators (6 GOP, 3 dems), including such princes as Orrin Hatch and Trent Lott.

Choosing local small businesses over multinationals whenever possible is probably the best we can do at this point. But few of us live in a universe where Home Depot, Target, Sears, and supermarket chains can be avoided completely.

 

[dkostel]

I think it is a case of picking your battles. I haven't shopped at Walmart for 3+ years, and there is one in walking distance from my house, and yes it is cheaper on most household products. While Disney may have supported some VILE candidates, they also employ large numbers of gay folks and offer partner benefits. Ralph Loren (Polo) while appearing to be the republican casual day uniform, actually gave 100% of corporate donations in 2006 to Dems. (This has put several polo items in my closet).
I certainly didn't NEED anything I have purchased from ebay, so I will be avoiding them in the future (but I may be a bit of a dog with a bone. I still won't buy gas at Shell because they didn't observe the S Africa aparthied embargo waaay back when).

 

[tampaguys]

I think it is a case of picking your battles. I haven't shopped at Walmart for 3+ years, and there is one in walking distance from my house, and yes it is cheaper on most household products. While Disney may have supported some VILE candidates, they also employ large numbers of gay folks and offer partner benefits. Ralph Loren (Polo) while appearing to be the republican casual day uniform, actually gave 100% of corporate donations in 2006 to Dems. (This has put several polo items in my closet).
I certainly didn't NEED anything I have purchased from ebay, so I will be avoiding them in the future (but I may be a bit of a dog with a bone. I still won't buy gas at Shell because they didn't observe the S Africa aparthied embargo waaay back when).

I agree with you in large part, with one exception.

For reasons similar to those you stated, I wear a lot of Ralph Lauren and virtually always fill up my gas tank at Citgo because I like the politics of those companies.

Also like you, I haven't really needed anything I bought on ebay, but there are a lot of average Joes and Janes who make a living (or augment their income to make ends meet) by selling stuff on ebay, and I'm not inclined to boycott THEM to make a political point.

 

[dkostel]

Also like you, I haven't really needed anything I bought on ebay, but there are a lot of average Joes and Janes who make a living (or augment their income to make ends meet) by selling stuff on ebay, and I'm not inclined to boycott THEM to make a political point.

Boycott or no a couple of emails won't hurt Joe or Jane. The nutjob minority screams louder than the rest of us. I find, on occasion, I must scream back.