7-Eleven's Political Grandstanding

Dear Louis,
    Since the mid-Nineties I have been purchasing virtually every gallon of gas from 7-Eleven because of their purported ties to non-Middle Eastern oil. That's right ... I was anti-Middle East oil when anti-Middle East oil wasn't cool. Many times I have passed Chevrons and Exxons while flirting with the “E” on my gas gauge, in order to “vote with my dollars” at a Citgo station.
    Words cannot express my disgust and feeling of betrayal while reading the Sept. 27 announcement that 7-Eleven Inc. has decided to drop Venezuela-backed Citgo as its gasoline supplier of more than 2,100 locations. The official tripe from spokesperson Margaret Chabris was: "Regardless of politics, we sympathize with many Americans' concern over derogatory comments about our country and its leadership recently made by Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez."
    Whether or not I agree with Mr. Chavez's opinions of an egocentric power monger who used gerrymandering, media manipulation, and voter fraud to steal the last two elections, I certainly defend his right to express those opinions. If I choose to personalize them and let them affect my purchasing habits, that is my decision to make; it does not need not be imposed on me by the corporation that has been accepting my hard-earned dollars for lo these many years, without once asking me for my thoughts on anything.
    I expect that sort of Dixie Chick-CD-burning mentality from backwoods Arkansas or rural Ohio, but I certainly do not expect to see it exhibited in a boardroom in Dallas. I only wish that there were something else that I purchased from 7-Eleven, so that I could boycott them.
    I hope that Chronicle readers will be able to identify this political grandstanding by 7-Eleven Inc. as opportunistic and juvenile and will vote with your dollars. A quick search will get you on their Web site, and venting to customer relations is slightly cathartic.