History of Boycotts

Throughout history, the boycott has become a common way to harness popular energy before it dissipates, a way to broaden mass participation in a cause or movement.

A typical example of a boycott is the refusal of aggrieved employees and their supporters to purchase the goods or services of an employer.

The practice was named (1880) after Capt. Charles Cunningham Boycott, an English land agent in Ireland whose ruthlessness in evicting tenants led his employees to refuse all cooperation with him and his family.

Ironically, the American Revolution began with a famous boycott -- the Boston Tea Party.

In the United States, the boycott has been used chiefly in labor disputes. However, consumer and business groups have also resorted to the method. For example, the Southern Baptist Convention maintains an economic boycott against The Walt Disney Corporation because of its support of gay and lesbian employees.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott launched the U.S. civil rights movement. Led by Cesar Chavez, the United Farm Workers were unionized through arduous national boycotts of lettuce and grapes.

Other societies have used the boycott to gain equality and freedom. The non-violent movement that brought down the British Empire included Gandhi's Indian boycott against British textiles. Gandhi's guidelines for boycotts:

• Keep the moral high ground. There should be no distinction between ends and means.
• Stress non-violence. Be willing to absorb evil from the other side, but always maintain non-violence on your side.
• Keep the focus of the event narrow. Keep the goal simple and clear.
• Use the media wisely and carefully. The media are as essential as any other part of the event.
• Pay attention to details.
• Keep it cheap.
• Create your event in such a way that the other side will show its true colors.
• Rely on a core of people (but be happy with a large group).
• You have to have local people in your group.
• Aim for changing the hearts of your opponent, speaking to the members of the group, not the leaders.

In the midst of the hardship of the Montgomery Bus boycott against U.S. segregation, when the days of civil rights were still dark, Dr. Martin Luther King said: "The arc of the universe is long, but bends toward justice."

Time is on our side. Gays and Lesbians have made great strides towards tolerance in the past twenty years, but we shouldn't settle for tolerance. Our goal is full acceptance and participation. Let the boycott begin.

(Adapted from World Wide Words and Economic Blowback, by Paul Rockwell, AlterNet)