Does Our Dry Cleaner Need to Share Our Politics?
Dear Leading Ladies,
Recently, we’ve been grappling with some of the finer points of being an ally to the marginalized among us. The new book, “Say the Right Thing,” by Kenzie Yoshino and David Glasgow, NYU law professors and founders of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, offers us reminders about the importance of standing up when we hear and see things; of what not to say because it may sound hollow, patronizing, or have the exact opposite of the intended effect; how to engage in respectful disagreement; and more.
But the question we want to raise this week is where should we draw the line to show our allyship, either with people of color, those in the LGBTQ+ community, the Jewish or Muslim community, those with disabilities, or others we hear or witness degraded, disparaged, or in any way diminished?
Voicing our values with our dollars
To be specific, we don’t usually ask our dry cleaners or hairdressers about their politics, but what if they offer them? And what if what they say is offensive to our values? Should we stop patronizing those businesses, assuming and fearful that they may very well be donating to causes that are antithetical to our beliefs and, to our way of thinking, harmful to the wellbeing of others? And if we stop doing business with them, should we explain why?
To be clear, we support everyone’s right to their own beliefs, as well as their right to express them. That is not the issue. But we all have the right to patronize whatever businesses we wish, supporting them with our business, which may, in turn, enable them to donate to charities and causes that further their values.
So, if we know the owners of the local deli support the NRA and oppose gun control measures, and that point of view is unethical to us, should we get our pastrami somewhere else?
Is this akin to trying to buy only from stores that use recyclable packaging or sell responsibly sourced food? Or is it something different? If we decide to try to take our trade and buying dollars to businesses whose owners have kindred social and political attitudes, does that mean we are going to start asking small business owners where they stand and listen when they make revealing statements. Do we rely on public information about large companies such as Walgreens which, for example, is reportedly refusing to sell Plan C medication abortion pills in 20 states?
The rights of individuals vs business owners
And, if it is okay for consumers to choose not to patronize businesses that might support causes that offend them, how does that differ from businesses refusing to sell to customers that support causes that offend them?
In fact, there is a large difference between consumers refusing to patronize businesses refusing to serve customers. It is against the law for a business to refuse to provide service or sales to a customer if doing so would discriminate against a member of a protected class. Federal protected classes include race or color, national origin or citizenship status, religion or creed, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, or genetic information, or veteran status. Some states have additional categories, including marital status, medical condition, political affiliations, and sexual orientation and gender identity. All that said, a business can refuse service to customers who are barefoot or shirtless, ostensibly for health reasons.
Clearly, it is an individual’s prerogative to choose where to purchase goods or services, whereas it is not a business owner’s prerogative to choose whom to serve. These personal decisions lie in a different realm from politically motivated consumer boycotting, which is generally a group effort to change policies and right a wrong, such as the bus boycott to integrate mass transportation during the Civil Rights Movement. Historically, this type of boycott has been protected by the First Amendment, though in recent years some court rulings have threatened that status. Boycotts motivated solely to harm a company’s financial standing are not legal. Yet, an individual can stop patronizing any business and always be within her legal boundaries.
Do individual stands matter?
Obviously, individual efforts to stop purchasing from a business whose politics or social norms we disagree with are not the same as boycotts. These acts are not meant to change a business’s practices. What, then, are the goals? If we don’t tell owners why we are no longer patronizing their businesses, what are we achieving? We are preventing our dollars from becoming their dollars, perhaps to be used to support causes we find reprehensible. And perhaps that is enough. Can we agree with their rights to their opinions but justify our right, and in fact, our obligation to our own values, in order to not help them support causes we think are dangerous and abhorrent? Maybe so. In the many ways we try to live lives that are true to our values, perhaps this is one more small way to do so. Yet others may say that since we can’t, nor do we have the right, to know the attitudes of all the owners of the businesses we patronize. And what about the employees who may not hold the same beliefs and depend on their jobs? So, should we leave the issue alone and take our buying dollars where the products and services are best? In other words, just buy the best pastrami from whomever sells it.
These are tough questions, and we’re really interested in what you think about them. Email your thoughts to ladies@leadingladiesvote.org.
Thank you for thinking through the tough questions with us.
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Mackenzie (she/her/hers)