I was talking to my sister and she asked me if I had seen a sketch by Chelsea Handler. My response was, “No. I don’t watch her. She’s an anti-vaccinationist.” I could hear the eye roll over the phone. Typical Leslie in action.
There has been a lot of op-ed, blog posts, and talk in general about “separating the art from the artist”. American celebrities are so outspoken about a myriad of issues, each of which will be extremely personal to someone, somewhere. Because so many actors, musicians, politicians and otherwise public figures demand to be more than vessels through which their work travels, choosing entertainment has become an exhausting task.
As a lunatic liberal I am really not trying to take away anyone’s freedoms. I just think society in general has to have a structure where we don’t have to suffer from extreme socio-economic imbalances, we can choose to opt out (or in) of religion, and to generally not be exploited by assholes. I just want everyone to be safe, happy, healthy, to not be discriminated against, and free to do whatever he or she wants.
Living in San Francisco, the city of recreational outrage, it’s easy to stray from that central dogma. I get so distracted by boycotts, protests, and media frenzies. My family on the other side of the country is all too familiar with my tendency to reject something based on a disagreement in politics or thought. Maybe there is such a thing as going so far left that you come back around to the other side full circle. In other words, if I disagree with so much, eventually I’ll be confined to my house forever having shut everything down by my thought police tendencies.
Here is a list of people, places, and things I have avoided in the past, present or both:
-Scientologists (Tom Cruise and his movies)
-Anti-vaccinationists (Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey, Chelsea Handler)
-PETA members (basically everyone in Hollywood)
-Creationists
-Rape apologists (re: Roman Polanski and the recent amendment proposed by Senator Franken)
-Prop 8 Supporters (there is a database of who supported this financially that I have referenced several times)
-Misogynists (American Apparel)
-Racists
-Restaurants that serve foie gras
-Disrespectful Pro-Lifers (pro-life people don’t bother me. People who think its okay to kill abortion doctors do)
-English-Only movement supporters
-Birthers
-Health care reform opposition
-Sanctimonious vegans (Natalie Portman who compares being okay with eating meat to being okay with rape)
-Anti-union (Whole Foods, starbucks)
Not all of the above can be associated with businesses to not give my money to, but certainly if I caught wind of affiliation I would prevent further patronage. I know that can’t be everything I’ve gone off the deep end about. They are just the issues I can think of off the top of my head. While a lot of them are no-brainers (who would support known racists?) listing everything I disagree with makes me feel like the most intolerant person in the world, which is the opposite of what I am trying to achieve here.
I’m interested...what have/do you avoid(ed) with your wallet for political reasons?