(This is being posted simultaneously to my technical blog , my Queer Politics blog , and my Amazon blog . )
Here’s what I’d like to discuss over the next few posts
- Is it appropriate to mix business and politics?
- When does it become inappropriate?
- What price do you pay (loss of sales, etc.?)
Let’s start with some arguments in their most stark terms:
Argument one: There should be a wall between your business and your politics, and the business should never reflect your politics. Your clients don’t care, they don’t need to be exposed to your politics, and you do yourself (literally) immeasurable harm. We’ll call this the Church&State argument.
Argument two: While it is not necessary for every client to know all my politics, I am an activist in a cause that benefits from being not only “out” but “ in your face ” and failing to integrate these two aspects of who I am is an opportunity lost. Let’s call this the Out&Loud argument
There are many intermediate positions, but these will get us started.
I have chosen, over the past few years, to let my politics bleed into my business presence, and as that continues to grow, I think it is worth discussing whether or not it is a good idea (my family and friends have an easy answer: “no.”)
Example 1: I have a page on my business web site called “Articles and Publications” – There you can find links to my articles both print and on-line. I’ve added a section for my political articles printed in my local newspaper . Argument in favor: Writing is what I do for a living. Argument against: this is a technology business site and these articles are not about technology.
Example 2: I had repeated requests for recommendations on technical books by readers and students. I created a Recommendations page on my business web site (click on Books, then click on Recommendations). Over time, I received requests to go beyond technical books (“what fiction do you like, what else are you reading?”) On the one hand, what does that have to do with business? On the other hand, reinforcing that Liberty Associates, Inc. is me, a real person, not a part of a large conglomerate is part of what I bring to the table.
So I started adding recommendations. For a while this was apolitical (lots of literature) but then I got into a spurt of reading political books, and so now the non-fiction section is divided into categories: “ Queer ,” “Evolution,” “Neuropsychology,” “Philosophy, Politics and History.” It is the first category that dovetails with my other politics.
Does having a section on Neuropsychology diminish my site? What about evolution? What about Queer? Why would one be more problematic than the other. Of course, the answer to that question depends on whether you are asking “what is appropriate” vs. “what is likely to lose more business?”
We’d all like to believe that we do now let money affect our deeply held political and identity positions, but when you have two children and a mortgage, reality intrudes.
Covering
One of the more interesting trends in Queer theory is the concept of “Covering.” Two recent books, The Long Arc of Justice by and Covering by Kenji Yoshino. Covering is the process of coerced hiding of crucial aspects of one's self. The assertion is that there are four stages that marginalized groups and individuals go through: conversion (assimilation), passing (the closet), covering ("just keep it to your self") and acceptance.
The question I'm raising today is wheter separating one's politics from one's business identity is a form of covering if the politics are assocaited with a group that is struggling with covering or passing in general.
This leads to two different branches of discussion: (1) would this issue arise if your political cause was unrelated ot issues of identity (e.g., if you were an anti-war activist) and (2) is there a special obligation if, like me, you are both bisexual and happily married to someone of the opposite sex (in which case passing is the default unless you go out of your way to continually declare otherwise).
Dialog
I invite your participation in this discussion, through comments and replies to these posts.
12:20:07 PM 
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