LETTER: When the talk turns to boycott, be careful what you wish for

                  When I was attending college back in the mid 1960s I learned a valuable lesson in business and politics.

                  As anyone who lived through that era will recall it was the pinnacle of political protests. Hardly a day would go by when someone was not picketing or boycotting or generally beating their chest over some issue or another.

                  While I found this dawn of new political awareness fascinating, as a struggling design student I had very little time to participate. That is until one day someone came to me with a problem that as luck would have it, I had a solution. No self-respecting protest could take place without protest signs to signify its reason for being.

                  And so I found a rather lucrative sideline to my studies painting protest signs. I soon realized that success in this endeavor depended on two things, my ability to paint and my willingness to support any and all causes regardless of personal bias.

                  It is with this knowledge that I applaud Mr. Branen’s business prowess and his willingness to provide a service to this community with total absence of malice and without political bias. He should be commended for both his willingness to set aside any personal agenda to serve the communities’ needs and his candor in the matter.

                  However, it seems that there are those in this community who feel differently. They seem to feel the need to chastise Mr. Branen and suggest that they and others boycott his business simply because they feel the need to advance some sort of political agenda. I personally find this appalling that anyone, particularly in these tough times, would deliberately attempt to undermine a local business simply because it does not meet their view of political correctness no matter how contrived it might be. To me this is no less than political persecution.

                  While I strongly disapprove of such shenanigans and the precedent they might set, it proposes an interesting scenario that should give pause to those who might suggest it. If we all chose whether or not we did business with an individual simply based on whether or not we agreed with their politics where would we start and more importantly where would it end.

                  I can full understand how an individual or a group can delude themselves into thinking that they command some sort of political predominance simply because they surround themselves with like-minded people or because they scream so loudly that they confuse the sound of their own echo with the voices of the multitude.

                  The truth is in these politically charged times the entire state as well as this community finds itself passionately and politically divided right down the middle. Line up 10 people from the general populace and you are opt to find five who are diametrically opposed with the others.

                  Realizing the door swings both ways, I ask those who subscribe to this sort of political bigotry in business, where would you begin? Would you begin with the most vocal? Would it effect your decision on where you would buy, let’s say, your insurance?

                  Would you go for the most visible? Would you suggest we boycott a car dealer who hires cranes to post giant political posters? Or how about the most influential? How about a newspaper who some might feel lends too much credence to these matters? (“Group’s film showing spurs talk of boycott” – Newsworthy? Perhaps.  Story on the front page? Really?)

                  I, for one, full intend to support these and other local businesses whenever I can. These are families and our neighbors who work hard, especially in these tough times, to provide products and services to this community. To those who would suggest otherwise I believe you are wrong, however, I would offer a small piece of advice – be careful what you wish for.

Jim Bousman

Burlington