This is an incredibly complicated question/topic. Are you bringing this up because you actually want to understand the thought process behind it? Or are you just looking for like-minded people to make you feel ok about your purchase? Because with all due respect, it kind of reads like the latter, but I'll take a swing at the former.
If you had posted this 2 weeks ago, I would have said this:
We vote with our dollar, and the only reason Scott Rudin is able to do what he does is because we give him the money to continue being a powerful person in the business. So yes, if you're knowingly giving money to perpetuate injustice, maybe some guilt is in order.
Of course, so much of our capitalist framework is unjust in so many ways. It's incredibly difficult to be a totally ethical consumer, when there are so many companies are unethical in such a wide variety of ways and degrees. So on some level, it's impractical to beat yourself up over every purchase.
But that can't be used as a catch-all excuse to get out of having to make difficult decisions and sacrifices. All of us should be making an effort to be ethical consumers, even if we will never be perfect, and even though it will mean making things more difficult for ourselves sometimes. I think it makes sense to pick your battles, but those battles should be weighed between (1) the severity of the injustice at play (2) your willingness to sacrifice your morals for something you REALLY want. If you feel that skipping Music Man will be so painful, so soul-crushingly disappointing that it outweighs your role in supporting Rudin's abuse, then that's your decision to make. And I can't claim that I haven't made decisions like that in the past that went against my morals.
You also should weigh those things against your ability to create tangible change. Before this month, it was highly unlikely that returning your Music Man ticket would've made any difference. But once the movement got momentum, there was a much more urgent need for a credible threat of boycott, otherwise Rudin wouldn't have pulled out. If everyone had just gone about their business and said "well, I'm excited to see Music Man, so everything should just go on as usual." Then nothing would've happened.
^^^^And of course, EVERYTHING I said above is complicated by Rudin's recent decisions. At this point, it seems like his reputation and power have been reduced enough that his opportunities to cause harm will be much lower, especially if the industry maintains its public scrutiny as is necessary. So at this point, it's unlikely, but still remains to be seen, whether giving money to Music Man will function as a perpetuation of his abuse of power, even he still makes money from it.
It's something I'm still thinking about, and still waiting on, before I make a decision about whether I'll see the show. And I would encourage everyone to put in that same degree of thought, and not just say "guilt = bad, therefore I'll do whatever I want!"
Updated On: 4/24/21 at 05:51 PM
