Boycott Group Spokesman: Boycotts Are Economic Terrorism

The American Family Association has launched dozens upon dozens of boycotts and other forms of pressure campaigns, typically targeting a company or organization over its alleged support for the LGBT community or failure to use the word “Christmas” in its advertising.

The AFA has targeted Home DepotPetSmartTargetHoney MaidPlanet Fitness and Girl Scout cookiesamong many others. Most recently, the AFA launched a boycott of Angie’s List after the online consumer review company cancelled a planned expansion in Indianapolis in protest of Indiana’s new “religious freedom” law.

Of course, if a company criticizes Indiana’s “religious freedom” law, arguing that it will negatively impact its ability to hire and retain employees and undermines its values, in that case the company is committing “economic terrorism.”

At least according to Sandy Rios, the group’s director of governmental affairs, who on her radio program this morning heartily endorsed an email she received from a fan who said that businesses that came out against the Indiana law were using “economic terrorism.”

This is from Jim, this is good, he said: ‘I listen to you every morning and you get me motivated.’ And here he talks about, I think he is referring to what happened in Indiana, and he talks about the phrase ‘capitalistic-cronyism,’ but he said he thinks that what just happened in Indiana and probably Arkansas was economic terrorism. ‘These companies are using their financial clout to scare politicians into voting the way they want and to me that’s what terrorists do, and if I remember correctly the fundamental thought our representatives should act on is one should not negotiate with terrorists.’ That was excellent, Jim, excellent, excellent.