Boycotttjng US Products and Services

[CovenOfCheeses]

Several of my friends have started a local campaign to boycott all US made goods and services. I have also started to do so because of the attitudes of the President to the rule of law and international co-operation. I have stopped buying from Amazon and have deleted my social media accounts and stopped using US made products. I feel that a country that is so antagonistic toward us should not be supported by our cash.

My eldest daughter is gay and has been saving up with her friend to go to the Dinah Shore weekend in the US. I said I would contribute some cash but now feel reticent to do so. She argues that she is going to support the people who are being attacked by Donald Trump, but I think that we should not give money to a country (even though it was only 50%) who twice voted for a menace to international order and the rule of law. I feel that during apartheid, it was only due to the economic boycotts that the system ended. It hurt the people who were in the country who did not agree to the system, but the economic impact forced the system to change. I think that by making a stand and making the people aware of how their president in impacting the world. Am I being unreasonable in withholding cash for her trip?

The death of the high street illustrates the difference that small changes in habits make. They're not full of nothing but vape shops and nail bars because everyone stopped buying any clothes at all in town centres, all at once. All the shops that have gone bust or moved out of town because fewer people were shopping in those stores.

The same applies here. People can make small viable changes in habits of they want to and if enough people decide they would rather spend their £10 on a European alternative to an American product, it starts to have an impact over time.

I would like to add that many say that the downfall of apartheid in South Africa was helped in no small way by a group of very dedicated employees in Dunnes Stores in Mary Street in Dublin when they refused to handle products that came from South Africa and protested it. They went out on strike as a result.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunnes_Stores_strike

Nelson Mandela commented on it, as did Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

You can have an impact, many miles away from wherever something is happening by protesting in your own way.

If you think Trump is great you need to give your head a wobble.

Attitudes like yours stink. How will change ever come about with opinions like that.

I actually think that the less we buy from any of the big multi-nationals the better. When I needed a new TV I wanted to buy one that wasn't made in China. I did manage to but it limited the choice and, in any event, most of the components were probably produced in China.

The big social media companies are so powerful and I really need to try to wean myself off them.

I try to buy local and directly from small companies where possible but that can often be more expensive which is fine if you can afford it but not always possible for everyone.

Absolutely nothing wrong with boycotting American made goods and services but I think your daughter is a separate issue.

As others have said you promised her the money and I think it would be unfair to go back on that now. Sure, discuss your feelings with her but if she was relying on that money I think it would be very unkind to refuse to give it to her now.

Bots have entered the chat.

I would be discouraging my dd from going to a large event in America. Gun violence is out of control and I can well imagine a big event of queer women being a target.

"The longest journey starts with a single step".

The OP's point was that major changes can be effected when ordinary people start by making a personal stand and then gave examples of this. Why such a hostile response?

America is pretty low on the list of countries I'd boycott, but if you feel strongly enough about it and are prepared to go "all in" then it's fair enough for you to try to minimize any revenue the Americans generate from you.

It's difficult to boycott a country because you have to try to boycott anything with a link to that country. So if you want to boycott the US, you need to boycott products and services from Ireland, Mexico, Japan, China, the EU and so on. They're all enablers, they're all complicit.

Which says more about you than the OP 🤷🏻‍♀️

Americans are not regretting their votes. Harvard-Harris, a left-leaning pollster, found that the American people overwhelmingly support what Trump is doing.

https://harvardharrispoll.com/press-release-february-2025/

Honestly your little avoidance of it is not going to make a minuscule of difference to anything. If it does make you feel better then go ahead.

@DutchEmerald why do you think that ‘nobody cares’ ? Really, where do you get that idea from? Lots and lots of people care about this. Very much.

Trump has a gay woman, Tammy Bruce, in his cabinet. MAGA doesn't have an issue with LGB. It's the T in women's spaces and in the military that MAGA has a problem with.

DS was due to go to the US this year to study…. I’m v relieved that he’s going to Canada instead. I feel very much like the OP re the US but if DS had ended up in the US we’d have supported him (while holding our noses). I will not be travelling there - but don’t imagine that the orange turnip will notice!

Trump's win was only 1.5% of the popular vote so very many Americans did not vote for him, and for those that did many are now regretting it. They did not know what they were voting for such as having their insulin prescription rising in price from $6 to $80. Trump said he was not going to implement project 2025 because he knew it was unpopular, but now he is doing it. Trump has said he loves the poorly educated and you can see why.

OP, I think it's fine if you want to boycott American products, but you can't force others to do the same. Your daughter was counting on this money, which you promised her and you are now pulling the rug out from underneath her. If you don't give her the money you promised, then you are boycotting your daughter and not the US.

yes, but people in their tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions do make a difference. And lots of people ARE boycotting. US will start to feel the pinch soon. Just look at Tesla sales dropping so much recently.

This subreddit has funny examples of Trump supporters starting to voice regret.

www.reddit.com/r/LeopardsAteMyFace/

@CovenOfCheeses , would you boycott Israeli products and services? Chinese? Russian? No you wouldn't. And in the case of Israel, I doubt you'd know what is Israeli and what isn't.

Give her the money and live life.

Elon Musk has donated literally hundreds of millions of dollars to charity.
In 2023 he funded almost $140 million to build a school.
The charity is of course very "tax efficient" but that doesn't alter the fact that he has indeed financed a large number of projects including housing for people on low incomes and a food organisation for people in need.
You may not like the man but you are very wrong to say he has not given anything to charity

Good for you, OP. I would honour your commitment to your daughter but admire you for changing some of your shopping habits in protest at what’s going on the USA. Small changes do make a difference when enough people make them. I don’t understand why some of these posters are so offended by your shopping decisions.

https://fortune.com/2024/03/11/elon-musk-tesla-billionaire-charity-donation-non-profit-foundation/

"Half of Elon Musk’s charitable spending appears to benefit tycoon’s empire, including a tiny nonprofit school full of his own children"

So only Europe matters? China threatening to invade Taiwan repeatedly (as recently as 2024) doesn’t matter because that’s Asia? Or China threatening war against the UK if we didn’t give up Hong Kong?

yes, I said it was very tax efficient.
The school you reference was one of many , including building a whole new school.
I'm no fan of his ( don't despise him either) but he has given 100's of millions

100s of millions, half of which benefits his business interests. This seems a tiny proportion of his overall wealth (largest in the world).

Bill Gates has given away comparatively over 100 billion!