What Companies to Boycott in Alabama and Missouri

I watched Vice on HBO covering the Alabama abortion law. They showed a Pro-Life supporter using a megaphone to shout, “Thou shalt not kill,” in front of a woman’s clinic that performs abortions.

Riddle me this, Batman. Why is it abominable to outlaw assault-style weapons that have been used in how many mass shootings, many at schools, to effectively “abort” lives –young and old alike– but it’s okay to tell a woman what to do with her body?

Hypocrisy at its finest.

I’m past childbearing years, but I’ve always been Pro-Choice. So, like many people who are outraged and appalled by Alabama’s anti-abortion law, I am too.

And now Missouri is jumping on the anti-abortion bandwagon.

Dawn of the Real-Life Handmaid’s Tale

Women better wise up. And they better start speaking up, or something like the Handmaid’s Tale could actually happen. Alabama’s and Missouri’s legislation is a huge step backwards for women.

Why the same people who go crazy about their gun rights being taken away are the same ones wanting to take away women’s reproductive rights makes no sense on me. If they cared about children that much, they’d understand why immigrants with kids are coming to the States: they want a better, safer life for their kids.

But, nope. Most Pro-Lifers oppose decent treatment of immigrant kids too.

Again, hypocrisy at its finest.

A popular rallying cry for the Pro-Life set is “Don’t tread on me.”

Well, you know what I have to say about that?

Don’t tread on my uterus!

And don’t tread on my fellow sisters’ vaginas or internal reproductive organs either.

If you’re not directly involved in the conception? Ain’t your circus, ain’t your monkey. Ain’t nun yo bizness.

If you’re a Pro-Lifer reading this thinking how wrong it is and unGodly and whatever other protests you have about abortion, you’re right. In your mind.

Unless you’re a man.

For Pro-Life Men

If it’s not your sperm involved, then you don’t get a say. Period.

Because you don’t get periods. You don’t have to deal with that monthly mess. Just like you don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting in pregnancy. A few squirts and you’re done.

You don’t carry the baby to term. Your emotions aren’t taxed by the ever changing and fluctuating hormones. You don’t suffer any of the physical indignities your body puts you through as it adapts to carrying the child.

And expecting a women to shoulder the burden of child rearing –especially in a case of rape or incest… Where do you get off imposing that sort of responsibility on someone? Talk about no regard for the mental or emotional consequences of all that.

Basically, if you don’t have to suffer the potential awkwardness of shitting yourself during childbirth, and if the money’s not coming out of your pocket to bring the kid into the world, STFU. (And if you don’t know what that abbreviation means, let me help you out: Shut The Fuck Up.)

For Pro-Life Ladies

For you Pro-Life ladies, let me put it in terms you might understand.

You wouldn’t like people telling you how you worship is wrong and banning it. You wouldn’t appreciate people telling you how to raise your kids. And you’re likely pro-gun, and you sure as hell don’t want anyone threatening those rights, so why are you imposing your beliefs on anyone else?

If there is a Higher Being that opposes abortion, those who have had them will have to answer to It. Not to you. Not to the government. It will be dealt with in its own time.

For Pro-Choicers, Especially the Ladies

But if you’re a fellow Pro-Choicer, let me break it down in super simple terms. Well, a sign really: $.

Yep. Money talks, bullshit walks. If you want to really end the anti-abortion bullshit, make your money talk.

Women account for over half the population. We also spend the most. We stop spending? They start hurting.

It’s called a boycott. But not just one. A massive one.

“But I…”

I’m going to stop you there. I already know what you’re going to say, “But I don’t live in Alabama or Missouri. What am I going to boycott?”

I wondered the same thing. I remember when there were gay rights fights and corporations became key weapons. Conferences were cancelled. Bans on tourism were called for. Businesses were going to move elsewhere.

When dollars are threatened, legislatures cave.

Gay rights were upheld and protected. If we want the same for women’s rights, we’ve got to get our shit together.

Who to Boycott

Tourism isn’t Alabama or Missouri’s top industries. At least not the top five. But that is one way. (And if you are a traveler, there are some hotel chains you could avoid.)

Another way is to boycott restaurant chains, retailers, and other companies who are headquartered in those states. Below is a list of them.

I guarantee if enough people pull their business from them, shit will get done. The harder and faster we pinch their bottom lines, the quicker they pinch the lawmakers into making more responsible decisions.

Alabama

Alabama is harder than Missouri, because not many consumer-based companies are based in Alabama. But here’s a few that are:

• Books-A-Million
• Gus Mayer
• Hibbett Sports
• Jack’s (formerly Jack-in-the-Box)
• Liberty National Life Insurance Company
• Mercedes-Benz U.S. International
• Saks, Inc.
• The University of Alabama – (Okay, so I’m not sure how you could boycott a university, but it’s graduates? What a statement that would make to isolate any ‘Bama grads.)

Missouri

• A.G. Edwards
• Adam’s Mark Hotel & Resorts
• AMC Theatres
• Anheuser-Busch
• Bass Pro Shops
• Dierbergs Markets
• Drury Hotels
• Edward Jones Investments
• Emerson Electric
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car
• Hallmark Cards
• Hardee’s
• Helzberg Diamonds
• Hostess Brands
• Nestle Purina PetCare Company
• O’Reilly Automotive
• Panera Bread
• Russell Stover Candies
• Save-a-Lot Stores
• Schnucks
• SeaWorld Entertainment

May the Force be with you. #TheResistance