On Personal Boycotts...

I bought a banana today for the first time in a while. Not that I don't like bananas...I do. But every banana I come across is a Chiquita brand banana, and...well, I have a personal boycott of Chiquita Brand International.

So I'm reminded of my top 4 personal boycotts:

1. Wal-Mart (incl. Sam's Club) - generally for their policies and practices of union-busting, destroying small businesses, poverty-wages and corporate welfare

2. Coca-Cola - generally for their lethal union-destroying activities in South America, plus the fact that I am a Pepsi-man (as such, I choose to ignore any Pepsi-related controversies...so sue me!)

3. Chiquita Brand International - You need another reason why the so-called "drug war" is a farce, just look at Chiquita's associations with drug-dealing death squads. (See "Chiquita Fined for Colombia Payments")

4. Any and all American-based oil company - how often can you listen to so-called "experts" talk about how gas prices have to go up and then hear about these oil company's record breaking profits year after year without saying "ENOUGH!". With all their profits, I don't see them doing what Hugo Chavez and CITGO did with the Citgo-Venezuela Heating Oil Program (update on this program: Citgo suspends low-income oil program. Too bad, it put cheaper gas into allot of homes in the Bronx).
Propaganda move by Chavez to sway US public opinion? Perhaps. But if it were done by Exxon wouldn't it be great publicity? Who couldn't use that?

These boycotts are not strict. I have made purchases at Wal-Mart, if there is no Pepsi around I'll have a coke & my regular gas-station now is an Amoco. But for me, I practice my own personal boycotts whenever I can..."Whenever I can" would not have made the people victorious during the Birmingham bus boycotts, but right now, it's the best I can do...

- Vox