Letters to the Editor: Is In-N-Out evil enough to boycott? Not even close
To the editor: Karen Stabiner argues that personally boycotting In-N-Out Burger moves society in a positive direction. Why does In-N-Out deserve to be boycotted? Because it prints Bible verses on its hamburger wrappers and “is proud of its conservative politics”?
I do get a whiff of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, but when I went online, I found no evidence that In-N-Out takes any action other than making donations to one of the two major political parties in this country.
I don’t vote Republican, but I’m not offended when a burger business speaks through its donations to lawful political causes and quotes the most consequential literature in the Western World. (The Bible, by the way, teaches us to care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger — that is, the marginalized.)
Stabiner has failed to persuade me that In-N-Out’s continued existence is a horror requiring opposition.
John Faucher, Oak Park
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To the editor: Stabiner’s excellent piece on the impact of one person’s boycott reminded me of an encounter I had as a physician in an emergency room.
A lesbian couple wheeled their child in a stroller heaped with take-out containers from Chick-fil-A, a businesses well known to be hostile to the LGBTQ+ community. I asked them if they were aware of the politics of the company. The women just shrugged and told me how good the food was.
This helped me understand that personal sacrifice for a greater good is, indeed, very personal. It made me proud of my own commitment to boycott Amazon, Hobby Lobby, Home Depot and other corporate giants that align with causes I don’t support.
In Judaism, the greatest “mitzvah,” or good deed, is done without anyone else’s knowledge. Like Stabiner, I’m a drop in the boycott bucket, but I will continue my quiet activism until the day I die.
Paula Glosserman, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Every time I eat at In-N-Out, I think there’s a right-wing, ultra-conservative homophobe somewhere eating a pint or two of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Works for me.
Ken Shields, Los Angeles
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To the editor: The Times’ Sunday paper was a downer.
There was an op-ed article by a mom who won’t, for some reason, let her kid go to In-N-Out, even when the burgers come to her school. There was a news article about attending summer school, what used to be a sign of failure — in some areas now, you have to pay to wreck your summer.
As a boomer who used to have fun while I went to school, I feel sorry for today’s kids. All this and a pandemic too.
Cheryl Clark-O’Brien, Long Beach
