10 Right Wing Companies That You Should
Boycott
Now that the mid-term elections are over we
will have to wait another couple years to make our voices heard through the
ballot box. But in the meantime there is actually a lot that we can still do to
fight right wing extremism in our everyday lives. One of the best ways to do
that is by going after major right wing donors and their businesses and hitting
them where it hurts….in their wallets.
You can actually use
your hard earned dollars to send a message that reflects OUR values and
priorities.
I’ve listed a few of the right wing companies that are either major
donors to extreme Conservative causes and candidates or that run their
operations directly against core Progressive values. Now this is certainly not
an exhaustive list, sadly there are many more, but this list of very common
brands is certainly a good place to start.
1. Chick-fil-A
This one is likely no
surprise to you because their anti-gay stance has been in the news quite a bit over
the past couple years. But not only are they completely against gay marriage,
they also are huge donors to extreme right wing candidates and causes.
2. Hobby Lobby
Hobby Lobby is another
business that has gotten a lot of media attention because of their extreme Conservative views.
Hobby Lobby is not only against a woman’s right to choose, but they are also
against birth control. After Obamacare was implemented they vehemently fought
against the employer mandate for birth control to be included in their
insurance policy. They actually took their fight all the way to the Supreme
Court….and won.
You know, the really
ironic part of this story is that Hobby Lobby and Conservatives claim that they
were fighting this mandate because they are so against abortion. But without
affordable access to contraception, there will surely be more abortions. I’m
not sure that they thought this one all the way through…..
3. Carl’s Jr.
Carl’s Jr. has been
notorious for objectifying women in most of their highly sexual and
controversial ads. But they also have been huge supporters of extreme anti-abortion causes. And if that’s not
enough reason to avoid this fast food restaurant, they are also totally against
gay rights.
As a matter of fact, gay rights groups actually started calling the
food “Bigot burgers” after the company’s founder, Carl Karcher, came out in
support for a 1978 proposition which would have allowed school boards to fire
any teacher for being gay or for advocating homosexuality. In addition Carl’s
Jr. is also a big time donor for Conservative Super PACs and the Republican
Party.
4. Walmart
Over the past several
years Walmart has consistently gotten into trouble for controversial practices.
It is widely known that they pay their employees extremely low wages and are
totally against any sort of raising of the national minimum wage. They are also famous for being anti-women. Many of their
female employees have continually spoken out about wide-spread discrimination.
In 2011 several female employees actually filed a class action law suit against
Walmart and took it all the way to the Supreme Court.
EDITOR’S NOTE: if Wal-Mart’s mistreatment of its
workers isn’t a good enough reason for you to boycott them, how about cruelty
to animals? Click here to “Walmart Cruelty” which features a video that is
very difficult to watch. I bailed after less than 30 seconds. Consider yourself
warned: you need a strong stomach to watch the video. - WC
5. Marriott Hotels
Marriott, along with
their subsidiary Ritz-Carlton, are major donors to Conservative Super PACs and
extreme right wing candidates. Their chairman, J.W. Marriott Jr., has
contributed more than a Million dollars to Mitt Romney’s Super PAC,
Restore Our Future.
6. Waffle House
Waffle House is
another restaurant run by extreme Conservatives who are major donors to right wing causes and candidates. As a
matter of fact, 100% of all of their donations went directly to Conservatives.
Waffle House’s CEO, Jim Rogers Jr., has been a big supporter of Republican
causes for a very long time. In 2006 he joined the finance team for Mitt
Romney’s Super PAC, Common Wealth PAC.
7. Angel Soft, Brawny,
and Dixie
Angel Soft toilet
paper, Brawny paper towels, and Dixie cups are all subsidiaries of Koch
Industries, headed by the Koch brothers. And they donate Millions of dollars every year to groups like
The National Rifle Association, The National Right To Life Committee, and
Grover Norquist.
8. Exxon
Exxon Mobil has a very
long history of fighting against the LGBT community. As the Huffington Post reported in
2013, Exxon “has been fighting for years against non-discrimination protection
and equal benefits coverage for their employees.” Moreover, as IdentitiesMic reports – “before Exxon acquired Mobil in
1999, Mobile had ‘policies to protect discrimination against gay men and
lesbians, and even offered benefits to same-sex couples,’ but Exxon took that all
away, according to LGBT news site the Dallas Voice.”
9. Cracker Barrel
Cracker Barrel is yet
another company who has had a long history of racist and anti-gay practices. They have been
known to fire employees who did not appropriately display heterosexual behaviors.
In 2004, the U.S. Justice Department declared that the restaurant had
discriminated against both employees and diners based on the color of their
skin or sexual orientation.
10. Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters has a
very well-known reputation for being both anti-women and anti-gay. In 2008, the company’s president
and founder, Richard Haney, decided to back one of the Presidential nominees.
And of all of the choices out there he felt he most aligned with the homophobic
Rick Santorum. And in addition this company is also a major donor for extreme
Conservative causes and candidates.