I've been hearing a lot about boycotting Russian Vodka because of Russia's treatment of gays. But I'm not sure if this makes sense.
I mean, what dent is this going to make, right? And when I read this piece from a Russian gay activist, Nikolai Alekseev, it really didn't inspire me to get on board.
Alekseev, in the heart of fighting against the homophobic law, described the boycott as a ‘symbolic gesture doomed to failure’.
‘To be honest, I don’t see the point in boycotting the Russian vodka,' he said.
'It will impact anyone except the companies involved a little bit. The effect will die out very fast, it will not last forever.’
Alekseev added: ‘And what is the aim of this boycott? The producers, even if they become bankrupt because of the boycott (which is unlikely) will not be able to influence Russian politics and President Putin as well as the decisions of the State Duma.’
The human rights campaigner said if people around the world want to do something that will actually help Russian gays, then they should target the homophobic lawmakers.It sounded nice, but I agree with Nikolai.
True, but it's all we can do. We can't walk into Russia, straight bash some skinheads and slip into the night. We also can't get involved in their elections, either.
ReplyDeleteI don't think boycotts work at all. There are too many people who don't pay any attention to them.
ReplyDeleteIt's just too general; I don't see the effect of it at all.
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