Remember when President Jimmy Carter led a multi-nation boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics when the Soviets refused to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan?
Sure, the boycott itself was ultimately a failure—and the commies ended up boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles games in retaliation anyway—but at least there were principles behind the president’s action. Nowadays, you can’t swing a cat without hitting some smug, self-righteous twit calling for a boycott for anything from holding an untenable political position to thinking Bad Thoughts™.
So naturally I was pleased to hear that Philip Pullman is bringing some respectability back to boycotting. If there’s one thing all literate people can agree on, it’s that the Oxford comma is good and noble, and should be preserved at all costs.
Down with the Brexit 50p coin!
by Katie