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by phaemon 4715 days ago
If you think a company has behaved badly, why are you under any obligation to be fair to them?

It might be extremely difficult to boycott every company involved, so why not choose one to make an example of? The idea that you must boycott all or none appears irrational.
2 comments
vacri 4715 days ago
A boycott is supposed to carry a sheen of justice, and this suggests at least a nod towards being fair.
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phaemon 4715 days ago
It's as though you're being bullied by two people, and when you try to deal with one of them, you're accused of being unfair because you can't deal with both!

It sounds very much as though it was the bullies who decided what was "fair" in this instance.

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vacri 4715 days ago
The boycott request was a call to community action. You're reframing it as a single individual's struggle for survival, which isn't the same thing.
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phaemon 4714 days ago
I see; you think it's right for the individual but wrong for a group.

Why? What changes?

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vacri 4714 days ago
I didn't say it was right, I said it was different and that your reframing wasn't appropriate.

What changes? For a start, the more people that are involved, the less each knows of the situation. A single individual being bullied is aware of each incidence and what it going on at all times. A group doesn't - witness mob justice as a clear counterpoint. A group is highly susceptible to hearsay and misdirection.

As for why it's unfair - if we expect the judicial system to be fair when it acts on our collective behalves, it is dissonant to not expect other group action to also be fair in how it's meted out.

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phaemon 4714 days ago
So you don't think it's right for an individual?

I don't see why a group being "susceptible to hearsay and misdirection" is a good reason for their ire to be directed at more companies rather than just one.

I also don't see any reason why a group fighting against the injustices they can tackle, obliges them to take on the ones they can't.

EDIT: To take your example of the justice system - if I steal from someone, it would not be a valid defence to point out that other people had not been successfully convicted of stealing, therefore I should not be prosecuted.

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nbevans 4715 days ago
You're an idiot if you can't see why this would be unreasonable.
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