Boycotts and More

For John, BLUF:  Of course the big corporations are doing it because they think in that direction is the money.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Mr Ed Driscoll, writing at the Instapundit asks the reverse morality question, linking to this blog post at This Ain't Hell, "What gay-crusading corporations in North Carolina don’t get".

Before we start out, I believe those who will not bake cakes for homosexual wedding celebrations are failing to show mercy.  They are wrong, although I believe they are standing on their principles.  On the other hand, to paraphrase Groucho Marxs, why would a couple want a wedding cake from a small business that doesn't want to bake one for them.♠

So, here is the lede:

If you’re tired, like me, of being bulldozed by political correctness, especially when it applies to gays and the transgendered, then you just have to cheer for North Carolina Governor, Pat McCrory, for standing up to the corporate extortion against his state for passing commonsense legislation to deal with the issue of who can use what bathrooms.  Unlike Georgia’s Governor Nathan Deal, who caved in to the out-of-state pressure and betrayed his constituents, McCrory showed some spine and nicely told all the corporate extortionists where they could stick their threats of jobs and tax losses.

Is this just a case of my morality is better than your morality?  Here is how the original blog post ends:

Here’s my conundrum:  if it is immoral, even criminal or civilly liable for these mom-and-pop Christian businesses to deny services based on their fundamental beliefs, why is it not also immoral or legally actionable for large corporations to refuse their services to the citizens of those states where those who govern choose to pass legislation to protect the religious freedoms of their citizenry?

If I’m a huge professional football fan living in Atlanta and the NFL people remove my city from contention for a near-future Super Bowl because they feel my state is discriminating against the transgendered, am I not the victim of discriminatory business practices on the part of the NFL?  What about those organizations and corporations that cancel annual conferences and business meetings because of the actions of my state legislature?  Aren’t these big corporations refusing to do business with my state simply because they consider our practices immoral, just as those bakeries, florists, and photographers see gays as immoral?  Other than scale, I see little difference.

I hope we are not moving to a place where those who do not acknowledge the political (or moral) positions of those in power are punished.  That would not be good, but it has happened within the last 100 years, thankfully not in this nation, very much.

On the other hand, if you wish to send me to Coventry, that is OK with me, but not very charitable.  If you want to convert me to your views you will probably have to talk to me.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Basically, Groucho wrote to the Friar's Club of Beverly Hills, "Please accept my resignation.  I don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member."