There have been a lot of discussions in the news and social media about various boycotts and protests and marches. What's okay and what's "over the line?" I thought I'd share some of my thoughts more in-depth. I've always said I'm okay with non-violent protests, but I'm NOT okay when it gets to the point of personal harrassment, destruction or violence.
Let's start with Colin Kaepernick. He's taking a knee during the National Anthem. I understand how some think this is disrespectful, but it's ok with me since its non-violent. I'm more disturbed (extremely disturbed) about how unarmed black people are being killed and how white criminals get lighter sentences than people of color (Brock Turner). Folks say he's a football player and should just play football. Well, he's not playing when the national anthem is playing, so it's not effecting his performance. It's a distraction to other players? That's their problem and I doubt that's really an issue to their performance. They are all human beings with personal problems (death in the family, sick family members, etc) and they still manage to play.
People complain about Meryl Streep giving her speech when accepting her award. It was short and didn't go long, so I had no problem with that. She's "just" an actress. Well, the new President is also an entertainer with no prior military or political background. If he can be President, she can voice her opinions especially since it is her right. Everybody has a power switch on their device and don't need to watch her.
Let's take Mike Pence as an example. When the guy on the Hamilton cast spoke to him, I felt he did it respectfully after the show was over. He calmly talked to him; there wasn't a whole mob yelling at him. Nobody including Pence had to stay and listen, anybody could get up and leave and they still got to see the performance they paid for. I think Pence handled it properly because he understands freedom of speech. He didn't send out an angry tweet. Now let's take the example of people going to his home and protesting loudly there. I'm not keen on that. It may have been legal and within their rights, but it's also disturbing the peace of his poor neighbors. He's a big boy and will have to get used to protests (just as Obama, Biden, Bush and Cheney did before him)... But residential neighborhoods should be off limits. By the same token, alt-right people have the right to have their meetings etc; but it is not okay to go to a person's home in KKK attire and torches. To me, that behavior is too similar.
As far as boycotts go, I believe everybody has a right to boycott whatever they want; but I personally am not that big a fan of it. One reason I'm not a fan is because it often has the opposite effect of what the boycotters want. For instance, let's take this LL Bean lady as an example. She donated to the Trump campaign, so a lot of people decided to boycott LL Bean. This hit the media, and of course LL Bean is seen as the victim to the conservatives who are now buying LL Bean products whether they particular need it or not. I'm betting that Ms Bean is actually making MORE money now because of the boycott.
Instead, I tend to support companies that do business in a manner I like. Let's take Target for example. It's like the flip side of LL Bean to me. Some Conservatives boycotted Target because they have restrooms for Transgender people. I, on the other hand, see no problem with this and support it. I don't believe that Transgender people are going to molest people anymore than heterosexuals. That's like saying, "All Catholics molest children because some priests have molested children." I've gone ahead and ordered my "You can pee next to me" t-shirt.
There's also been a lot of hoopla made about who's performing at the Inauguration or not. People are getting backlash if they perform for Trump. I'm not a fan of Trump, as you know, but I don't really care if somebody performs for whatever reason - if they like him or if they just think it's their patriotic duty. At the same time, I don't blame folks if they decline to perform for whatever reason - they don't like him, they don't have the time, whatever. Honestly, I won't be watching cuz I can't stand the guy and there are tons of other things I can do instead. The only inauguration I think I saw was Obama's first, and I think I only saw a little bit. I'm not big into pomp and circumstance or whatever it's called anyway.
While Obama (of course) and Hillary will be there, I hear a large number of Democatic leaders will not be. I can't say I blame them if they feel they are representing their constituency and they sincerely believe the Russians interfered with our election. I hear people complaining about Democrats like me who won't yet say Trump is "my" President. They say we're doing the same thing we feared Trump would say if he lost the election... but I don't see it quite the same. Hillary conceded the election; that's what we expected of him if he had lost. The recounts were spurred on by Jill Stein and Clinton's representatives were there to just help oversee. At this point, he needs to prove he can be the President for all people like he claims he will be. I was skeptical of Obama at first too; I'm even more so with Trump. I would expect the Republican citizens to be the same if Clinton had won. Like my step-cousin Tom Hanks, I'd be more than happy to eat my words in 4 years... but I am approaching the next four years kind of like I would prepare for an earthquake. I hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Now let's fast forward to the Woman's March tomorrow. I blogged already about the reasons why I am going to that. In addition, I really miss my friend Nicolle and she's driving a bunch of us. It will give us some quality time together, and I believe it will help kickstart me into my next step towards volunteerism/activism. When I first questioned my faith, I decided to find a church that does good things in my local community so that I knew that (if I found out I didn't really buy into the Jesus thing) I'd still be spending my time constructively. Thankfully, New Life Church succeeded in both serving the community and helping me to build a relationship with Jesus. Now I think I want to volunteer in an area of need which helps people regardless of political affiliation... Maybe Mission Solano? Food Bank? Feel free to give me suggestions. I'll keep you posted.
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