Anybody up for boycotting Barilla Pasta?

No, I'm not spiteful. I simply have a choice and I choose not to spend my money in certain places. And no, I haven't bought any of those General Mills products lately (Mr B does buy Progresso soups occasionally). And, no, I haven't eaten at Macaroni Grill, Chili's, or Maggianos. Nor do I purchase Monsanto products -- any of them -- or the foodstuffs made from them.

It takes a bit of an effort, but it's easy to find alternatives.

ok, fair enough...

What do you want Barilla to do to make this right?

Barilla is a company whose CEO made a huge blunder, imo. If the CEO was representing his own opinion (which I think he was) then the board of directors gets to decide if his publicly expressed opinion is one they want to continue to endorse. It's nothing to me either way. I've moved on. Gone. There are other imported pastas in the world. I don't really care what Barilla does. I don't want his head on a platter, and I don't want their pasta on one either. Too many options to worry about how they handle it from here. Done. Gone.

One of the points you were making was the point about the employees (some of them potentially gay) being hurt by a boycott. Not boycotting a company who violates a personal ethic because it might cause a reduction in staff is like saying we should all shop at WalMart because they hire so many people. Won't go there either.

So you're saying there's nothing Barilla could do to win you back as a consumer?

That there is nothing they can do to make this right, even if you don't come back as a consumer?

If it's nothing to you either way, why stop buying it?

Is that what I'm hearing?

Let me put it another way. Companies are not people too. They are companies who compete for my discretionary spending. Period. Dot. And that's all they are. I will accept an apology from a person. A company can't apologize.

This wasn't a point I was trying to make....just saying that it's not right for anyone to lose their job over a comment made by one person. It stands to reason some of the fall out would be bad for all employees, across the board.

People need to think twice about taking an action that could result in injury to innocent parties.

So the person in the company has apologized. The company had no control over this person opening his mouth.

Companies are made up of people. They are made up of the people who work there.

This is mixed up so much I'm having a time wrapping my head around it....

What I'm hearing you say is...

A PERSON in the company said something "wrong".....The Company did not say or do anything wrong. (the Company couldn't have done anything wrong because it is not a Person.)

The Person in the Company apologized.....The Company can't apologize....but the Company did nothing wrong, because it's not the Person who made this statement.

The Company has to suffer your boycott....but that may mean People in the company suffer and may lose their jobs.

There's nothing the Company can do to right this....because you've "moved on"....whatever that means to you. Seems to me if you moved on you'd be thinking an indiviual who made a mistake apologized, and the person isn't the Company, so you can now feel free to move on and buy their product, if you enjoyed buying it up to this time.

So, the bottom line is for you....Barilla can do nothing to right this.

Yeah, I'm with chai and firefly I'm this. He didn't come out to make a statement, he was responding to a question. He's honest. He could have said, "perhaps", but he didn't. He said he was focussing on mothers. Men could take offence at this, too... Don't they make dinners too? Lol. Tempest in a teapot. Just because your marketing plan doesn't include gays doesn't mean you're against gays.

In traditional Italy, it's about the mama, so i get his plan.

God yes.

One individual making a choice is not going to effect a corporate bottom line. 100s of thousands of individuals making the same choice may. I'm sure there are many people who like the advertising, price point, easy availability, etc well enough that they may buy another brand this week but stock up again during next week's sale. Different things motivate different people. My decision to buy another brand may or may not last forever. My crystal ball doesn't go out that far. If I find another brand that I like just as well then there's no reason for me to ever purchase Barilla again. As the spokesman for the corporation he should have kept his mouth shut. He's entitled to his opinion. He's entitled to express it. The directors are entitled to decide if he keeps his job. I'm entitled to spend my money elsewhere.

To back up on Chai's question though: What, in your personal ethic, constitutes a good reason for you to boycott a company and its employees? And what, if anything, constitutes a good reason for you to stop boycotting? Your actions have consequences for people. And unless your personal ethic is exclusively about making yourself feel holier than us, there has to be some point in your ethical universe where these consequences make a difference. Where is it?

I think we're talking about brand loyalty. I'm trying to think if there's any brand that I'm loyal to to the point that I'm not willing to move away from it when something happens to violate my moral or ethical code. Can't think of a single one.

What the **** are you talking about? It's a ******* box of noodles, Thomas. Get over yourself.

Here's my bottom line. I probably spend all of... I don't know... $20/year on Barilla products. I'll be spending that $20 elsewhere. Jesus!

Get over myself? Me? You're the one who transfigured this box of noodles into a showcase of your personal ethic. I am simply taking your personal ethic seriously by inquiring into its nature. If it was a mistake for me to take your personal ethic seriously, my bad.

I'm not showcasing anything. Tsar opened a thread about boycotting a product. Chai said that people are fickle and this is this week's whateverthewordsheusedwas. I said I tend to make permanent changes and that I don't have anything that I would consider brand loyalty when I have a choice that I can make. My moral ethic is what allows me to look in the mirror and like the person I see. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with any kind of "holier than thou" showcase. I have NEVER come here and told other people how they should spend their money. Nor do I parade around the town looking down on people who make choices that are different than my own.

I can't take your posts seriously, so I have to make jokes. Sorry if they are over your head (or panties).

look around, is anyone else trying to be funnyman here?

take what you can use and ignore the rest, and save your lame attempts at humor for the not serious threads.

Good post, chai. On "was jim nabors a goy" thing, I couldn't believe the direct and personal insults made against one or two of our members. A bit of the thread lives on in my sig line.

No one is going to answer this question Thomas.

They're just going to ignore it. Why, I can't really say. In my mind, if I'm going to have an issue with something in my personal life, I want to formulate a solution for myself, rather than just complain.

I'd be asking myself what it would take to make things better, and then ask for that to happen.

I'm wondering how many people who want to boycott this product need to go on facebook or twitter so they can be told by others how they are supposed to feel, or what it would take.