Definition of boycott by the Free Online Dictionary
Choice and expression

Quote:

Charles C. Boycott seems to have become a household word because of his strong sense of duty to his employer. An Englishman and former British soldier, Boycott was the estate agent of the Earl of Erne in County Mayo, Ireland. The earl was one of the absentee landowners who as a group held most of the land in Ireland. Boycott was chosen in the fall of 1880 to be the test case for a new policy advocated by Charles Parnell, an Irish politician who wanted land reform. Any landlord who would not charge lower rents or any tenant who took over the farm of an evicted tenant would be given the complete cold shoulder by Parnell's supporters. Boycott refused to charge lower rents and ejected his tenants. At this point members of Parnell's Irish Land League stepped in, and Boycott and his family found themselves isolated - without servants, farmhands, service in stores, or mail delivery.

If this is the meaning, Muscati has questions. What do you call it when you do not have a choice of whether or not to buy the boycotted item? Can you express your view, pro or con, if you do not have a choice? If there is no vehicle for expression then only the strong have spoken not the majority.