Trump/MAGA Boycott Thread

[Greg Bernhardt]

What products, companies, and services are you boycotting?

I'll start with the obvious brands that align with Trump/MAGA or contribute to the decline of liberal democracy

Tesla
Meta
Amazon
X

Here some good resources:

Ethical Consumer

Your personal ethical consumer guide. Independent product guides, research, information and analysis since 1989.

www.ethicalconsumer.org

https://www.forbes.com/sites/conorm...-all-the-companies-rolling-back-dei-programs/

Companies that donated heavily to Trump (and only to Trump) | RSP Guild

I'm not big on boycotts in terms of them making meaningful change, but I'm still going to avoid these companies out of pure spite. Luckily I don't buy from most of these companies as it is, so moving away from them will be easy. So here we

boardgamegeek.com

7 Companies Being Boycotted Over Trump Policies - WTOP News

It's been less than two months since Donald Trump took office as the nation's 47th president, but some of his administration's policy changes have landed like thunderbolts on the political stage.

wtop.com

 

[fresh_42]

Well, there are three main areas where I encounter US-American products: the Internet, television, and grocery stores.

Internet: I am too used to using Google, and too lazy to replace their services. It is easy for me to ignore X as I already found Twitter annoying. And some attempts to register while I was looking for sources failed dramatically. No loss. I keep using FB as it's entertaining for me and I don't care what they do with my data. They are more or less useless in my opinion. I faked my location and birthday anyway, which led to strange birthday wishes every now and then. I am also a confessing Kishon fan and adopted some of his Zionistic opinions which gives Zuckerberg a certain bonus. I am also not particularly focused on American media. I often use German or British sources, or CNN, although I have to supersede that they are located in Georgia.

Television: It is hard to ignore US-American shows and movies, the TV is crowded with them. I have long been a fan of the, admittedly very propagandistic shows from Bellisario, like JAG or NCIS. That changed. I do not follow them anymore. I watch a lot of documentaries, and to be honest, I avoid US-American ones as they are too biased in my opinion and often just bad, e.g. those moderated by Freeman. However, I generally do not pay much attention to where TV productions have been created. I used to watch CNN International, but they turned into a pure US-American news channel filled with US-internal politics since 2010 or so. They simply lost their value to me. Plus there is a delay between hearing and watching certain politicians and my capability to switch channels. So I reduce that gap by not exposing myself. I can't stand him for a second!

Groceries: I began to look up where and by whom products come from and avoid anything US-American. You want tariffs, no problem, I change my habits accordingly. Peanut butter? Not US-American anymore. It is a bit harder to avoid KraftHeinz but I will manage this, although I really liked Heinz Ketchup and their beans in tomato sauce. But I can abstain from Ketchup, it's too sugary anyway, and the beans have good alternatives. I think I will stay loyal to Tabasco - too addicted. Cargill will be harder to even figure it out. But most products here are from Nestlé or Unilever, so avoiding US-American products should be doable. Mondelez and Mars will be a challenge as Ferrero becomes a bit expensive. Coca-Cola dropped off my list for a long and Pepsi never was. I occasionally get weak when showing up at McDonald's now and then. I'm not yet sure how I will deal with that issue. What I note while I am typing this is, that I pay much more attention to producers than I ever did before.

I am simply thinking: "The USA tariffs European products, so why in the world should I still buy US-Amercian ones?"

 

[Klystron]

I am also a confessing Kishon fan and adopted some of his Zionistic opinions which gives Zuckerburg a certain bonus. I am also not particularly focused on American media. I often use German or British sources, or CNN

Presuming this refers to writer Ephraim Kishon, then

[Kishon] was one of the most widely read contemporary satirists in Israel and was also particularly popular in German-speaking countries.

Thanks for this recommendation. I'll look for English translations of Kishon's satires plus watch his movies in a more political light. I saw some of his films -- "The Policeman" and a later film about a sabra war veteran -- but more like "Hey, Israel, cool." than understanding complex social satire.

I know next to zero about Zuckerberg and care less. I retain a FB account to stay in touch with distant family members who use it.

Likewise concerning American TV. I watched "Ice Road Truckers" with my late younger sister because she loved TV, but that may have been Canadian. I do like some premium channels such as HBO, now MAX, and NetFlix but mainly series and international programming.

 

[fresh_42]

Presuming this refers to writer Ephraim Kishon, then ...

Yes. Born in Budapest, he escaped the Holocaust as a young man. He was very popular in Germany and used to say that his German sales were his personal triumph over Hitler. I was always happy to be able to contribute to that victory by buying his books. I've also seen some of his interviews, often in German, which he said he learned from his Austrian translator. So it's not just his books that have shaped my opinion of in particular Israel. The only subject I disagree with is modern art, which I like. He called it a rip-off. I think his son studied in Germany.

Here is a quotation that describes his kind of humor:

If the British are giving us a country that doesn't belong to them, why couldn't it be Switzerland?

 

[fresh_42]

P.S.: I always carry one of his paperbacks with me. They are perfectly suited for doctors' waiting rooms. Entertaining and not so difficult that you miss your call. And I like to make a stand against anti-Semitism. Although I'm afraid that many people won't get that subtle sign.

 

[EricDMMiller]

Everything US, as far as I am able.

Oranges are rotting away on the shelves of my local supermarket.

 

[fresh_42]

Everything US, as far as I am able.

Oranges are rotting away on the shelves of my local supermarket.

Would be an interesting question whether a boycott of US-avocados and US-almonds would actually be more beneficial than damaging.

 

[placebo]

About my only decision related to Trump was quitting my subscription to the Washington Post when Bezos decided to suck up to Trump. For years, I had already been avoiding companies like Facebook and Google for privacy reasons and limiting my use of Amazon to products I can't seem to find elsewhere.

 

[Klystron]

...And I like to make a stand against anti-Semitism. Although I'm afraid that many people won't get that subtle sign.

That (antisemitism) should be a topic for another thread. From my limited experience especially as a war veteran, the battle against antisemitism in America, once almost relegated to the pages of history, now appears lost.

I have come to dread the question, "Are you Jewish?" asked recently by nearly everyone I know. Friends, respected colleagues, extended family members, even previous girlfriends ask this with no other reasonable explanation or basis. Now I understand how the character in the satire "Watermelon Man" reacted after waking up transformed.

 

[fresh_42]

That (antisemitism) should be a topic for another thread.

If it even fits in a single thread. This topic has so many levels, especially for me as a German living in a town with a significant Muslim population, my personal view on what I consider my cultural heritage, as a historically and politically interested person, and last but not least as a mathematician.