So many of my well-meaning friends have tried to share with
me lists of local businesses I should support because they’re run by Asians or
blacks or women. I know they’re trying to be helpful, but it seems a bit
demeaning to me. It feels like there’s an unspoken message here; that these
businesses have no hope of succeeding without my charity. I’d far rather have a
list of companies striving for excellence: contractors who show up on time and
actually get the job done; mechanics who charge what they said they would; and clean
restaurants with better cooking than my own. Those are the establishments I want to
support. If it just so happens their owners have ancestors from Singapore, or
their skin has a bit more melanin than mine, or they have two X chromosomes, fine.
Choosing to do business with someone because of their ethnicity or gender feels
just as wrong as choosing not to.
Well said!
ReplyDelete