This is my mom's account that I am writing in. I am thirteen years old, and this is my first diary and so PLEASE don't be mean in your comments! I would really appreciate some thoughtful responses and I am open to changing my views, but this is where I stand today.
My mom shared with me tremayne's diary about how he believes that a boycott of Whole Foods would be a good thing that might help spur real health care reform. I am also a big supporter of the public option, but I do not support a boycott of Whole Foods.
We have two Whole Foods near us, maybe with in a twenty minute drive from one to the other. Our family are not regular Whole Food's customers because of their EXTREMELY high prices, but we do stop into their store occasionally to buy some of their nice produce, and because I am a vegetarian, to try some of their interesting vegetarian options. I like their store, and I think they do a good job supplying our community with good produce, and I support their green options.
I was very surprised to hear that the CEO of Whole Food does not support the public option and had fairly conservative, though not loony, views on health care. Whole Foods seems like the type of place progressive people would run, not a libertarian. However I support Mr. John Mackey in putting his views out there, even if it might not have been a very good business move. People seemed to react very strongly to Mr. Mackey's Op Ed, and were immediately ready to get down to business and boycott Whole Foods Market because of Mr. Mackey's views.
What I think people have not stopped to think about is that Mr. Macky is the co-founder of Whole Foods and has helped bring you the grocery store that so many people love. To me, it does not seem right try to get him to resign because of his views on health care, rather than his views on the groceries he brings you. My mom agrees with the boycott and tells me that his way of thinking will have a big effect on the store, and so it does. Well then how come so many progressives love his stores?
It does not seem right to "fire" the CEO of a GROCERY store because of his views on health care. If I worked hard and became the CEO of a company with mostly republican customers, and I expressed my views, it would not seem right to give me the boot, or try to cut down on my business.
Most progressives would agree that religion should not be a part of politics. You could also say that politics should not be a part of business to a point. It is true if someone is treating their employees badly, or is not an Eco-friendly company, then it is not a good idea to support that company. But what if you were perfectly happy with the company until you found out the CEO's views on health care? I don't think its right to turn your back on the store because of something unrelated to the store itself. We would not agree with a Christian owner firing a Jewish employee because they have different views on religion,when he was a perfectly good employee. I think the same thing applies when it comes to politics. My Mom's point of view was that because we do not share his views, why should we support his store? But the Christian manager could say the same thing about his Jewish employee.
A boycott of Whole Foods market will also effect negatively on the many Whole Foods employees, not just Mr. Mackey!!!
Mr. Mackey has a right to share his opinion and we should not punish him for doing so.
Again, I know many of you will not agree with me on this, but I am open to friendly comments opposing me. I was also wondering if anyone knew if Whole Foods treated their employees well?
Thanks for reading and tell me what you think!!!
In future posts (after one week) I will have my own account and will be dayzee.