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\centerline{\hl BOYCOTT MILLER BEER!}

{\bf ``Phillip Morris, makers of Marlboro Cigarettes and parent¨
organization to the Miller Brewing Corporation, has been Senator¨
Jesse Helms' single largest corporate benefactor since 1977.

``Jesse Helms is the biggest enemy this country has to civil¨
rights and freedom of speech. He advocates government censorship¨
of the National Endowment for the Arts and leads the charge¨
against AIDS education, Gay and Lesbian rights, womens right to¨
choose {\it[abortion]}, the environment, and every other¨
progressive issue.

``We urge you to join this boycott and let your dollars send the¨
message that Jesse Helms must be stopped!''
}
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\centerline{\hl BOYCOTT MARLBORO!}
\line{\hfill\it -- ACT-UP/SF flyer, Aug 90}
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\lline{\bf THE MARLBORO/MILLER BOYCOTT}

Helms is a point man for the right-wing fascist movement in the¨
U.S. today. His hatred for anything gay/lez is almost¨
unbelievable. It's hardly just fag-bashing he's into though --¨
all non-white, non-christian, non-fearful consumers are his¨
targets. 

There is something you can do that directly affects him: the¨
Marlboro/Miller boycott. And it has been effective so far; Helms¨
has targeted ACT-UP/San Francisco and ACT-UP/Washington DC for¨
messing with his reelection campaign and contributions. (Which is¨
amusing, as ACT-UPs are all independent, and mostly 
consensus-run; hierarchy addicts like Helms just can't deal with¨
groups that have ``no one'' in charge!)

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\lline{\bf BACKGROUND INFO}

Because of the outright police oppression of gay people, bars as¨
safe places are a big part of gay ``culture''. (Most bars are¨
filled with men anyways; can you tell the difference between a¨
fag bar and a straight one?) 

Not since the successful 1978 Anita Bryant orange juice boycott¨
has there been a national gay-led boycott. If you heard of her as¨
a notorious asshole, when as an O.J. industry spokesman she¨
helped defeat gay-rights in Florida, it's cuz dykes \& fags made¨
her notorious for you.

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\lline{\bf WHY MILLER/MARLBORO?}

Helms lives in the tobacco industry's back yard; he supports them¨
with legislation, they support him with money. The idea is to let¨
them know it's no longer an easy, low-profile relationship. It¨
makes Helms less of an asset; he now has liability. This is¨
exactly what killed Anita Bryant's career; and while it won't¨
stop him directly, it sure will add to his burden of making¨
himself indispensible.

Miller beer and Marlboro cigarettes were chosen out of all the¨
Phillip Morris (P/M) products for a number of reasons. Beer and¨
cigarettes are high-profit items in bars. But because Miller¨
sponsors certain high-profile gay events in SF, such as Gay¨
Freedom Day Parade, some call Miller ``a friend of the gay¨
community'', and are against the boycott. This has deepened a¨
rift that's been growing for a while now, with (surprise)¨
yuppie/business/bar owners against the boycott, and most everyone¨
else for it. (The issue itself is called assimilationism, ie.¨
assimilating into ``mainstream culture'', whatever that is.)

But the pro-Miller crowd forgot a few things: one, corporations¨
are not anyone's friend, they exist for only one thing: {\it¨
profit}. Two, nearly every dollar given to gay entities by¨
``Miller'' has been from the independent local distributors, not¨
Miller corporate. Miller \& P/M brought out statistics claiming¨
they supported the gay community, but were quickly shown to be¨
not Miller, but P/M, for broad-based, non-gay AIDS services etc.¨
(AIDS does not equal gay, dears.) Three, people are not for sale¨
to the highest bidder. 

Whatever -- with few exceptions, it's harder to get Miller or¨
Lite in a gay bar in SF, with bar owner/operators joining the¨
boycott because they believe in it (the majority) or because of¨
pressure from customers.

Also, cigarettes and alcohol are on many peoples' shit-lists¨
these days, what with all the health concerns. It helps that P/M¨
is forced to defend products that are deemed harmful to their¨
users. (I'm not moralizing -- I drink beer and used to smoke, and¨
support everyone's right to do whatever they please with their¨
body \& mind -- but you have to agree this ``anti-drug'' nonsense¨
sure helps in this case. Stab 'em with their own knife for a¨
change!)

Vandalism against Miller/Marlboro billboards, signs, bus-stop¨
posters, etc has been great here in SF, and drives them crazy. I¨
know of a couple of billboards that don't last {\it one hour}¨
before they're wrecked by paint bombs (glass xmas balls filled¨
with paint, taped shut and thrown). 

%A friend works in a copy shop that does FAX. He called and told 
%me that today he'd handled a FAX for a rather uptight P/M sales 
%rep that said, in part:
%
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%
%{\tenpointsanserif\tt\raggedright
%
%{\obeylines\parskip=0pt
%IN-HOUSE MEMO
%FROM: K. H.
%}
%
%"... division 04 sales reps ... were only able to get only 23 
%independent and 16 chain {\it[cigarette]} accounts, and the they 
%are all pending. 11 accounts have refused initial distribution. 
%Most accounts are pricing Cartier 20-paks the same as Dunhill 
%despite our suggested retail of 25\% higher."
%
%}
%
%It went on to say that ``...Damage Control Team didn't act fast 
%enough'' to prevent the boycott from hurting Miller/Marlboro 
%sales, ie. they didn't try to make deals and offers to bars, 
%stores, etc to keep carrying P/M products. It also talked about 
%the vandalism of billboards and signs, but my friend couldn't 
%get to the xerox in time, and was only able to take notes, so
%other details are lost.
%
%One other thing he got was the FAX \#, so if you have FAXable 
%art, why not send 'em what you think: 415-463-3768.
%
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\lline{\bf ABOUT BOYCOTTS}

Corporations like P/M have so many products in so many different¨
areas that's its impossible to target them all. A boycott against¨
``all P/M products'' would be so confusing it would be better to¨
just skip it, especially when you consider all the other¨
companies that P/M owns. 

Picking a few high-profile products is far more effective.¨
Corporations are so greedy for profit and plunder that even if¨
Marlboro or Miller Beer was (say) 5\% of total P/M sales, they¨
would shit bricks to have it drop to 4\%. 

(You might be interested to know that the word ``boycott'' came¨
from an 1880's case of a fat-cat landlord charging outrageous¨
prices to immigrants. They organized and got others to not rent¨
rooms from him, forcing him to deal fairly. The landlords last¨
name was ``Boycott''.)

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