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Boycott a Product ?

I was talking with someone about car smells the other day. One of my fathers' friends loved Jaguars and he had an XJ as well as an E Type. And they were older models. I was young, maybe pre-teen or early teens. I remember going for rides in those cars and one thing that always stuck with me was the unique smell of those Jags. I loved that smell of a mix of aging leather, funk and god knows what else.

We want the FUNK!

 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
PETA showed some horrific pics of badger farming in China. I accept that my boycott will have no effect, I can only take note when some of the major cosmetic and shaving brush manufacturers are taking the same line as myself and boycotting badger hair from China.

I accept that Japan suffered although you may be interested to learn that my neighbour has just come back a tour of Japan, the tour guide was very critical of the US and its bombing, no sense of wrongdoing on their part.

In my case the treatment of my family at the hands of the Japanese was personal. My grandfather was part of a tiny defence force in Singapore when the Japanese invaded, they were armed with little more than sweeping brushes and stones, the Bristish government didnt think that the Japanese would invade. The Japanese soldiers didnt even waste their bullets and killed all the men with a bayonet. My grandmother was captured with her new born baby, my great uncle. She was taken into a house to provide services for the Japanese officers, tragically the baby was a nuisance to them so they strapped her breasts and gambled on how long the baby would live without mothers milk.

It is not easy to forgive and forget and my boycott of Hondas and Seiko watches doesnt even register in Japan but means something to me
Again, never forget.
 
I've occasionally thought about not buying badger brushes. As mentioned in one of my earlier posts in this thread, that's one of the things that I need to examine more closely to see if it bothers me enough to make me change my buying habits.

As for the Japanese, I think that we can argue that they got thumped pretty good (two atomic bombs). There's also the internment camps in Canada and the U.S.

Nobody really wins in war.

There was an engineer by the name of Vannevar Bush, who in WWII recommended that incendiary bombs be used against Japan. He was also involved with the Manhattan Project. Have seen a reference that said he would awake screaming at night because he "had burned Tokyo." He apparently didn't have the same reaction to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Looking back, we tend to focus on those two cities, but there were things that went down that haunted contemporaries more.
 
OK, my personal experiences with regards to Starbucks and Japan.

First, Starbucks. I don't drink coffee. Never have, never will. But my youngest son has been working at Starbucks for about a year or slightly longer. I am very happy with how they treat their employees. They provide benefits well beyond what most places of similar employment offer, including free online tuition to Arizona State University. This will allow my son to pursue his education while continuing to work and provide for his own needs. For this I am grateful. I don't for one second think that Starbucks is institutionally racist because of something that happened in one or two separate locations.

Second, Japan. I had the privilege of living in Japan on two separate occasions, the first time for almost two years and the second for about four months. I absolutely loved living there. Japanese people, on the whole, are polite, considerate, intelligent, educated, and thoughtful. It is delightful living among them. They also happen to make some of the best razors/blades, etc. in the world (my opinion).

I can't imagine that there are any countries anywhere in the world that don't have a history of atrocities. It would be impossible to boycott all products made in countries with a history of atrocities; one literally couldn't buy or own anything. Not in any way to belittle or minimize the experience of the family members of our friend Vacumatic (great user name, by the way; I'm assuming a fountain pen afficionado), but merely to point out that horrific and cruel treatment ("man's inhumanity to man") has a long and sordid history involving many, many countries and spans the course of recorded human history.
 
I boycott all badger hair brushes because of cruel badger farming methods in China

That actually played a role in us clearing out our badger hair brushes just two months ago. We stock only synthetic now. I will say that would not have happened two years ago - synthetics have come a long way since then.
 
That actually played a role in us clearing out our badger hair brushes just two months ago. We stock only synthetic now. I will say that would not have happened two years ago - synthetics have come a long way since then.

I applaud you for that. I understand that there is a growing list of manufacturers who are taking the same view.
 
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