On Election Day 2008, voters in
California approved Proposition Eight, a state constitutional amendment
defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Since then, gay
rights activists have protested and even boycotted those who voted for and even
donated to causes to help enact Proposition Eight.
Monday, November 17, Fred Taub, the President of Boycott Watch was quoted in an
article in the Sacramento Bee By Carlos Alcalá titled "Gay leaders
wary of boycotting Prop. 8's supporters." Later that evening, Fred Taub was
a guest on KVMR 89.5 FM
Sacramento's evening news call in program with Brian Bahouth, the News Director
for the station. The radio show also featured Bonnie Osborn, a spokesperson for
the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center.
In the show,
Ms. Osborn first stated that she did not sanction such boycotts. Mr. Taub made
the point that this was the first time boycotts were used to specifically
silent free speech based on the content of that speech, as the boycotts were
aimed at the owners of businesses who exercised their own freedom of speech, as
was as businesses who had employees who exercised their free speech in support
of the political initiative.
The fact is that this
great nation is built on the exercise of free speech, and these boycotts are
reminiscent of George Orwell's Animal Farm - all free speech is equal, but some
free speech, at least according to Proposition Eight opponents, is more equal
than others.
In the course of the interview, Mr.
Taub challenged Ms. Osborn to join him in a joint statement that boycotts
against businesses based on the content of their free speech are bad, but she
refused. Soon after, Mr. Bahouth, the host, jumped in to join Ms. Osborn to
reject the statement, removing himself from the role of objective interviewer
by taking a stance on the issue if his guests.
In
this case, these boycotts are based on the denial of free speech. Once again,
we remind our readers that Boycott Watch is in no way politically aligned, nor
do we take stances on issues. If you read our reports, you will discover that
Boycott Watch verifies boycott calls. The only time we take a side is if
something is blatantly anti-American or is in violation of US laws.
In this case, the purpose of these boycotts is to
silence free speech and to intimidate people from financial supporting and
publicly showing support for any future similar propositions. As such, these
boycotts are anti-American and should not be supported.
At the same time, political boycotts tend to have
backlashes - just as strong opponents to Proposition Eight are picketing and
boycotting, supporters of Proposition Eight will inherently support such
establishments, thus possibly canceling any boycott affect. In the end, the
people who wish to deny free speech will most probably discover that they
marginalized themselves. |
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