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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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