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?

Of course not , because there are no progressive 🌈🍾🥇🥇🏆 for them.

OP , you might like to consider that the TRAmovement is doing real harm to gay children, or do you think irreversible surgery and pharmaceutical treatments are just fine?

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen you might like to consider that the MAGA movement is doing real harm to all women, the poor & children, or do you think banned abortions, the gutting of the federal state, and extreme inequality in healthcare are just fine?

Why do posts like these always all sound the same?

Are you saying that unless you can do grand things you shouldn’t do anything at all?

I've recently increased my spending on US products and services, thus cancelling out the impact of your boycott.

Agree, women have died through the abortion laws. Including those who wanted the baby but miscarried and were unable to access appropriate treatment as a result - not that that should make a difference. Children have been raped and unable to access abortions.

Can I ask why?

Ah, the tribalism of politics these days. Always an entertaining read. Just people shouting at each other and nary a constructive debate to be seen

I literally, in the post before yours, politely asked for someone's reasoning.

You, on the other hand, just criticised everyone without adding anything.

Oh yes but you still don't have to use Boots or their pharmacies or the ones the group owns. I used a local independent one. If you look into you can do quite a bit locally, it depends if you are already an ethical shopper anyway.

You better purchase some multivitamins at the same time then seen as most American food doesn't possess any!

Yep, they tend to be my store of last resort, anyhow as they're generally shit and overpriced. I used the last of my advantage points on something I needed that no one else in the town centre had in stock, yesterday. Massive queue for the pharmacy and there only seemed to be one person dealing with it.

The family prescriptions come from a mix of the local independent pharmacy and the coop/well pharmacy which has been brilliant at sourcing an item that had been subject to shortages in recent years. It's not the easiest to get to due to poor parking but is run like clockwork so we have stuck with them for DS1.

Oh, I agree and I definitely sometimes go for convenience and tbh, cost now.

As has come up on a lot of these threads; you cannot realistically avoid every product or service that has some American ownership, but nor do you need to.

Personally:

• We now do all our shopping at our local Canadian owned supermarket (we previously alternated between it and an American-owned chain).

• We are checking labels, prioritizing Made in Canada products. If one is not available, we will pick a product from a different country over an American-owned one. Happily, due to the large number of customers participating in the boycott, the supermarket chain itself has since started to make it easier to participate, by adding prominent "Made in Canada" stickers to shelves.

• Same with alcohol and, like supermarkets, liquor stores are also now heavily pushing Canadian-owned products.

• When we are eating out, or ordering takeout, we are avoiding the American chains (so yes, no Dominos or McDonalds).

• We have cancelled all of our subscriptions to US companies.

• Not a personal action exactly (though I suggested it), but my workplace do provide refreshments and have also switched to Canadian products.

We would still buy or use American products or services where there is no reasonable alternative, though this has only come up once when grocery shopping so far (and, in that instance, it was a pre-prepared item and so we home-cooked instead).

From your list, I do still have a Facebook account. We also still have an Amazon account though we have cancelled Prime and gone from using it frequently to using it for one item, that we were unable to buy locally, in the last month.

Turns out that a lot of our regular brands were US owned. We haven't made any major purchases since this started, but I'd estimate that we've so far spent the equivalent of around £1,500 on Canadian products where we would previously have used American. That'll be higher in months where we do make major purchases.

We will certainly be avoiding travelling there, despite living very close to the border (and a planned-but-not-booked trip will not be going ahead).

One thing I'm very happy to see is how many people from accross the political spectrum are participating. Although the comments on here seem to suggest it's a left/right thing in the UK, it certainly isn't here.

One of the benefits of Trump suspending USAid is that it is going to take a heavy toll on the numbers of Trans activist ngo's.
Why the American taxpayer was ever forking out money to Stonewall UK to push their twisted Trans agenda is beyond me.
Someone earlier accused me of misogyny, that person couldn't be more wrong. I want women's spaces and sports to be male free zones, a man in a leotard or dress is still a man. It's the Trans supporters who are the misogynists.

Yes, I agree, when you look into it, it doesn't actually take that long to determine what supermarkets to avoid due to share ownership. Product examples listed above by another poster aren't familiar to me anyway, it isn't the kind of food I buy. I have an old VW car. Clothes wise, I don't buy loads but when I visit family I prefer to pick up Scandinavian brands.

It's a bit strange.

Maybe it's because the threats against Canada have been more direct but, here, most people (regardless of voting habits) are motivated to support their country and it's interests where they can, regardless of whether they happen to like some of Trump's domestic policies.

More than 70% of our Conservative voters say they are participating in tbe boycott to some extent (the number is much higher among left and centre voters, but that's still a large majority on the right).

Can you show the source of the figures you have quoted.

"More than 70% of our Conservative voters say they are participating in tbe boycott to some extent (the number is much higher among left and centre voters, but that's still a large majority on the right)."

Really?

As @OneLemonDog says. Politics is funny. Trudeau had an approval rating in the toilet. A couple of tweets about the hockey, and American threats to Canada, and he's popular again.

A common enemy unites people. And unless you're a millionaire, more specifically Putin or possibly Xi Jinping, he's your enemy.

'The right' in Canada is typically pro-US. But they are also patriotic. And the Canadians are typically patriotic anyway. Musk saying Canada isn't a country, and Trump saying it should be the 51st state? That's an excellent way of uniting all political 'sides'.

I posted it on the last page.

(Although, tbf, I'm including those who are "buying more Canadian products" in my 70%+, on top of those who are also actively avoiding Anerican ones).

Tbf, although he has had a significant bump, I don't think you could reasonably call Trudea popular again.

His party, though, are certainly enjoying a boost. The Conservatives had been looking like shoe-ins for an absolutely huge landslide at the next GE. Now the polls are showing a virtual tie between them and the Liberals (based on the frontrunner, Carney, winning the leadership race).

Carney is definitely the logical choice. His special skill is steering countries through shitty economic times. Goodness knows why he enjoys it, but he does.

I really struggle with people who want to boycott the US but are completely comfortable with using Chinese products. Yes, Trump is deplorable, but China has concentration camps and forced labour.

I think there's a pretty obvious explanation for us in Canada; Trump is starting a trade war with the intention to crush our economy, and with the ultimate goal of annexation. It'd be absurd for us to not stand up for our economy, country, communities and people against an aggressor, on the basis that some other countries have more deplorable governments than the US's.

In the UK, I'd say that one justification for boycotting the US and not China is what you can hope to achieve with it. The US is (hopefully) still a democracy, and voters tend to punish the incumbent if the economy is doing badly. A boycott of US products is far more likely to cause political change than one of Chinese products.

On top of that, the UK is a more significant export market for the US than it is for China, meaning that a boycott of American goods is more likely to cause a material economic impact.

Well it's influencing me. I will try to boycott as well.