Looks like the wine is out in Bush country. Gore country is a concrete jungle.
Posted on 03/15/2003 8:49:07 PM PST by southernnorthcarolina
Boycotts, it seems to me, are more a province of the political left than of the right. I have no way of knowing whether boycotts led by liberals are more successful than those led by conservatives, but there sure seem to be more of them; or at least, they get more publicity.
Boycotts led by or on behalf of unions, enviro-wackos, peace activists, human rights groups, animal rights groups, gay groups, civil rights groups (remember, the whole STATE of South Carolina is being boycotted, albeit to no discernable effect), womens' groups, the religious left, and so forth -- seemingly, there's no end to it.
On the other hand, boycotts rarely seem to get organized on the political right. I expect that's because we are, by and large, more "grown up," and tend to harbor the impression that boycotts are a little silly, if not childish. We are reluctant to "cut off our nose to spite our face," as the old saying goes. And I will admit to having purchased ice cream made by socialists, albums performed by anarchists and produced by sociopathic radicals, novels written by gays, beer brewed by union thugs, and boxer shorts imported from Communist countries, among many other sins.
Up till now, I haven't spent much time worrying about what kind of people made the goods I was buying. One can argue that I should have, but in fact, I've been lax in this regard, as have most conservatives, I suspect. But everyone has his limit. I've reached mine.
My gut feel is that the DIXIE CHICKS and the whole damn country of FRANCE will soon feel significant effects on their bottom lines in reaction to recent events.
I can't do much about the Chicks. You can't boycott what you don't use in the first place, and country music makes my skin crawl. But I can, and will, refrain from buying products produced by their concert tour sponsors. It's my understanding that they're beginning a big U.S. tour on May 1 in Greenville, SC, about 95 miles from me. I can't imagine a more unfortuitous (for the Chicks) beginning venue. It'll be interesting to see ticket sales, actual admission counts, and -- maybe -- some tour stop cancellations.
If I can't do much with regard to the Dixie Chicks, I can by damn put a hurting on France, all by myself. I went to my friendly wine merchant yesterday, and purchased three cases for my sadly depleted cellar. A few months ago, perhaps 18 to 24 of those 36 bottles would have been French. No more. Zero. I've been to France -- Provence and Paris -- only once, enjoyed it, and hoped to return some day in the not-too-distant future. Today, you couldn't drag me. Not if it were free. France's decision not only to veto our motion in the UN, but to send diplomats to various African capitals to round up votes against us, was all it took for me to arrive at this decision.
If we conservatives boycott less than do liberals, my guess is that we boycott better. Our efforts will be more focused, rather than spread over dozens of "causes." I think we can make a real economic impact here.
Anyway, about the boycotts, there is a big difference between a "conservative" boycott and a "liberal" boycott. The liberals will boycott somebody because of their political views only. That is why they are usually unsuccessful. The recent campaigns to silence Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and now Michael Savage are but a few examples.
But conservatives don't boycott somebody just because they are liberal or have a different point of view. They boycott for specific reasons. For example, some of us have decided to boycott the Dixie Chicks not because they (or she) disagrees with Bush's decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power but because they made a disgusting remark about our president on foreign soil. And many of us are boycotting France not just because they also disagree with us on the war, but because they have actively sought to undermine us and betray us on the world scene.
Do California wines come from red counties or blue counties?
Looks like the wine is out in Bush country. Gore country is a concrete jungle.
I am rarely in downtown Houston on a Saturday night. But tonight was an exception. I and a friend were looking for a place to have dinner; we noticed that 4 or 5 popular restaurants within walking distance were jammed, with 1-to-2 hour waiting lists.
Then we noticed a popular French nightspot in the same block, and we couldn't help but notice that the place seemed almost empty. We peered in and counted only about 10 tables out of 60 tables with customers.
There is no other way to account for this -- except that Houstonians tonight, in their own way, were showing their displeasure with ALL THINGS FRENCH.
I think what you witnessed was a Democratic "strategery" meeting. Either that or the Dixie Chicks are back in town with their entourage.
Dunno exactly, Sam. And I probably shouldn't have been so quick with a broad-brush indictment. I only know that if I'm scanning through FM stations while on the road, and the scanner stops on what I associate with "country," I can't change the station fast enough.
Maybe it's a Southern thing, or more to the point, a subconcious defensiveness about being Southern. Or a guilt complex about my native area inflicting country music, along with stock car racing and TV preachers, on the rest of the country. If growing up with Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks' banjo-pickin' and faux-hick accents (we don't really sound like that, do we?) in Charlotte wasn't enough, four years at Vanderbilt with the Grand Ole Oprey's sequins, slide guitars, and embarrasing corniness practically within earshot finished me off.
Well, San Luis Obispo wines anyway...
I'm actually a transplanted northerner in a way. My father was born and raised in Alabama and relocated up this way after his discharge from the Navy. I grew up in Boston but spent nearly all my summers on the family farm in Alabama and now my folks are retired down there so I visit once or twice a year. Most of the rest of my family lives down there too. So I have experienced quite a bit of the South. I like it down there except the fire ants and the brutal heat from May to September.
I tend not to listen to country music on the radio. I download a lot of MP3s of the new stuff and buy what I like while dumping the rest. I do have a good collection of older country albums by artists like Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Johnny Cash and others. I got a good bluegrass collection too with a lot of Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and Allison Krauss. But like you, I never went in for the "brassy" pop country like Glen Campbell and Kenny Rogers with their sequin suits. Too much like Vegas.
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