Chicken and Craft stores and OPEC, Oh my!

I’ve seen this one a few times, and it makes me really mad. I’m pretty well done thinking about that fried chicken place, but in the light of the recent calls to boycott Hobby Lobby, this particular meme seems to be enjoying relevance again.

It’s a ploy by conservatives to dishearten liberals who already have first world guilt, and make us feel that our efforts are never enough. My feelings about people who manipulate others like that is a whole other post, so we’ll stick to the repugnant e-card. The argument is multiply fallacious. “Boycott OPEC for Logic” stems from four falsehoods.

1) That all OPEC Countries are Muslim.

2) That all Muslims are anti-christian terrorists.

3) All Muslims believe all areas of sharia law must be enforced and/or take part in that enforcement.

4) If one wishes to do good, one must do ALL of the good – “some good” is not enough.

Rebuttals:
1) Ecuador and Venezuela are part of OPEC, and they are largely VERY Christian. (from geography and research)

2) No more than all Christians are Ruby Ridge/Huttaree hate groups.

3) Once again, we cannot define a whole by the actions of a few, some, or even most of the members of the whole. (both 2 & 3 are examples of a composition/division fallacy.)

4) Just as when going on a diet, it is impossible and/or impractical for most people to throw away their whole lifestyle and start over, so it is with our philosophical work. Incremental and possibly only partial change can be enough to get results. The fact that you didn’t get rid of your cream of wheat doesn’t negate the fact that you stopped eating Captain Crunch and switched to wheat bread. Just because you aren’t taking on EVERY issue that deserves attention does not devalue the ones you are taking on. (Once again, a composition/division fallacy.)

These arguments taken as a whole also represent appeals to emotion (in anti-islamic sentiment), and a “baby with the bathwater” mindset. By applying the argument to other things, we can see how spurious it is. If we aren’t going to boycott OPEC, we should also not boycott companies that we know use slave labor, because we aren’t fixing all the things, so why fix any? Or to take it even further, “I cleaned the kitchen today, but I didn’t clean the bathroom, so my clean kitchen doesn’t count.”

Choosing your battles doesn’t make you weak; it makes you human. (Here’s a post that goes more in depth on that..) Sure, boycotting a restaurant or a craft store is easier than not ever using a petroleum product again, but it also has impact. It also starts discussions, particularly in my sometimes very backwards red state, and that is well worth it.