Recently, on RetailWire, an interesting question was posed. In fact, it was a two-parter: first the general “should retailers take a stance on social issues? “, and then the specific, “Do you see a split between younger and older generations in their reactions to what brands should stand for? “.

Responses were very, very mixed.On one level, the first is the harder question of the two to answer.As you might expect, I have a point of view on both.

Under ordinary circumstances, over my lifetime, we haven’t thought a whole lot about the social positions retailers take. There was one exception. In all honesty, as a Jewish kid growing up in Brooklyn somewhat soon after World War II, it was hard for me to buy German products, but at some point that changed.After the ice was broken with the purchase of my first Krupps coffee maker, I moved on to driving BMWs and buying other German products and services without a second thought.It helped that I’d met a lot of Germans and understood that the world of the late 1930’s and early 1940’s were not the current era. And that was the last I thought about that for a long time. I’ve never been uncomfortable with that issue again.

Sometime in the past decade, a pretty big shift happened again.I started to really care where retailers stood on issues that mattered to me a lot.We were making a lot of progress on social issues like gender equality, reproductive choice, same sex marriage and other LGBT topics.On the import front, I’ve not been a fan of our all-China-all-the-time retailing sourcing decisions, but understand that retailers have chased the lowest cost providers for my entire lifetime. And that you cannot change that in an instant.

As a resident of Miami who has seen our streets flooded every April and October with the King tides, and whose electric bill has risen with the rising temperatures, I care a lot about climate change. And, RSR in general felt that store Thanksgiving Day openings were bad for business and bad for society.

So, am I glad when a retailer says these things matter to them?Yes I am.Do I avoid spending money at retailers who take very public stances against those things that matter to me?I do.And I will. I’m happy to shop at Nordstrom, who never wavered on Thanksgiving store openings. I shop at Target despite issues with their bathroom policy. On the flip side, I suppose there are as many people who still shop at Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fli-a, as those who won’t. That’s the great part of a free and open society.If something matters enough, you vote with your wallet, along with your actual vote.

Am I unique among Boomers? Honestly, not among my group of friends, but I know there are others who think differently than I do.

But let’s look at the second question: “is there a generational split between younger and older generation in their reaction to what brands should stand for? “That’s the more interesting question because it talks to the future of retailing. The answer is a resounding yes.There’s a lot of anecdotal data that tells us Millennials and Generation Z care very much about how products are made, who and what gets hurt in the process, and how much companies should care about the world they operate in.

In this new world, I see a desire for change. I also see potential for a lot of risk.Still, when Apple, General Electric and Walmart see fit to publicly disagree with the president of our country, I think we have to take notice.Our society is very, very polarized.If the largest retailers in the world decide to take a stand, they must have very good reason.

There’s going to be more of this. And more importantly, the younger generation is going to expect these companies to put their money and efforts where their mouths are. These are very, very tricky times.My best advice to retailers is to make sure if you’re going to take a stand, you’re prepared for the backlash.And to make sure you mean it.