The act of announcing your boycott in a public forum would probably constitute enough of a protest, after all the intention merely needs to be public. I know I have discussed my dislike of the companies to follow with my friends and family. Particularly when another one buys a damn iPhone.Boemmel said:Maybe I am misunderstanding something, but wouldn't boycotting something not only mean refusing to buy something from a particular company, but also doing some form of protest against that company as well? Because that would be the way I understand and differentiate a "boycott" from a normal buying decision where you simply eliminate certain companies from you buying decisions based on your preferences.
For example, I see a large number of so-called "boycotts" against Apple right here in this thread. Now, if you would not only refuse to buy Apple products, but also for example protest in front of an Apple store or write letters to Apple detailing which behavior of Apple you are exactly protesting against, that would in my mind be a true boycott.
But if you are simply saying "meh, they are overpriced for me" and then go buy something else, or even if you have some sort of philosophical disagreement with the way Apple does its business, but do not formulate some sort of open or public protest, in my opinion that is not a boycott, that is simply a normal buying decision where you formulated and weighed your preferences and then made a decision for or against a certain company.
So for me, it is a little puzzling that so many of you seem to clearly state that they are boycotting something when in my mind, nearly all of you guys are simply doing a relatively normal buying decision based on your personal preferences. Then again, maybe I am just seeing it wrong
However, I do agree with you on the point that merely not buying a product from a company because you have no interest in said product is not boycotting that company. The reasoning being that if they made a product relevant to your interests you would probably buy it.
My understanding of the term boycott is that there should be some motivation for refusing a companies product.
As for companies that I boycott;
-Apple - I hate the monopoly they tried to implement with the fairplay system.
-Activision - enough said.
There's probably a few others that I have avoided for a while, but i figure now is as good a time as any to sling shit at the common villain.
I would agree with the boycotting of Bayer, however, as a pharmaceutical company is is difficult to ensure that you avoid the full range of their products. Additionally, one day one of their drugs just might save your life. That said their history is not a good one.
