Boycotts should be common practice

Boycotts should be common practice

A boycott is a withdraw from commercial or social relations with somebody or something as a protest. Although boycotts are still used today, people have begun to pull away from them due to a lack of support or willingness to stand for what they believe in.

People have the right and should boycott if they want to.

Not all boycotts are successful or big. In fact, some boycotts are very small, but can still have the public’s eye and opinion on certain matters. For example, consider former San Francisco NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality. After being refused by all teams of the NFL, Kaepernick urged his fans to cut all ties with the NFL. Eventually, others joined in on his protest and continue to this day to support Kaepernick.

Some boycotts don’t highlight social issues, but rather the people’s discontent with something. Many Saints fans are boycotting the Super Bowl over a missed call against the Rams. Protests like these show that not all boycotts are serious in nature. The fans boycotting the game represents the people’s willingness to speak out for what they believe in. It’s ok to protest small things like a referees missed call.

People don’t like to be the only ones speaking out on a topic. There’s strength in numbers after all. What everybody has to understand is it only takes one person to make a change just like Kaepernick did in the NFL.

Now the question is does doing these protests have the desired results? When it comes to companies’ revenue the answer might not be so clear.

According to a study made by Northwestern University, boycotts affect a company’s reputation rather than hurt their revenue. We can have a big effect on how others view an institute and its beliefs, but not so much of an impact on revenue. Eventually, a bad reputation can lead to a loss of revenue. This means protests still result in something and we shouldn’t stop boycotting just because others think it’s     a lost cause.