I feel sorry for young people coming of age right now. For many reasons. But especially because of what we're seeing with politics. I want to grab them by the shoulders and tell them, "It's wasn't always like this! Not everything in life was political!"
But with the historic win of Donald Trump to the presidency, we are poised for at least four years of the daily news and life being tinged with political motives.
That's not entirely Trump's fault. Being a high profile figure who's now in the White House, it's understandable that his supporters will be watching his moves on a regular basis. And talking about them, all day, online. And yes, he's only just got into office, so much attention will be put on him in the coming months, perhaps the entire year.
However, with the massive shift in the political landscape, both in Washington and around the country, liberals are left in a tailspin. One minute, they had a charismatic, progressive in the White House. The next, Trump is president, and they've lost control of much of the country.
While a reasonable person would retreat to regroup and lick their wounds, politicians (and political activists) are not reasonable. The left is determined to undermine Trump, even though they lack the power to do so.
But that's expected. I don't begrudge Democrats for trying to oppose policies they don't agree with. I do begrudge dishonesty, hypocrisy, and sheer stupidity.
That last one is largely the reason we are seeing politics bleed into everyday life.
The rhetoric against Trump seems to be stronger than previous conservatives. Sure, W, got his lumps, but he was struggling with a post 9/11 world and two wars that didn't go well. Trump hasn't even served for very long, but the left has many people convinced he's a sexist, xenophobe, and racist.
He's none of those things. You may disagree, but that's not what this article is about. The reality is, people believe he is- or at least want to exploit those who do- and we are seeing businesses and customers react in ways unseen in the history of our country.
Right after the election, we talked about the CEO of GrubHub sending a defamatory and discriminatory email to his people, attacking the then President-elect and everyone in his company that might have voted for him. Bad move. The CEO of Pepsi made similar public remarks.
Not long after that the Kellogg's company, a big sponsor of liberal causes, chose to withdraw their ads from Breitbart, firing a shot across the bow by saying the conservative news website wasn’t "aligned with our values as a company."
All these instances show how politics can influence what should be neutral companies. GrubHub, Pepsi, and Kellogg's should know that there are conservative customers using their products. There are many non-liberals in America, many of whom voted for Trump. Taking a supposed moral stance against the new president doesn't help any cause, it only alienates customers and potentially hurts business.
Not to mention, it spurs on the dreaded BOYCOTT.
Because of liberal companies taking shots against our president and other conservatives, many Americans are showing their support for their values by refusing to buy or contribute to these companies.
Perhaps the biggest was the one launched by Breitbart themselves, in response to Kellogg's attack.
Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alexander Marlow encouraged the boycott of Kellogg’s products, describing their war against Breitbart News as bigoted and anti-American: “Breitbart News is the largest platform for pro-family content anywhere on the Internet. We are fearless advocates for traditional American values, perhaps most important among them is freedom of speech, or our motto ‘more voices, not less.’... If you serve Kellogg’s products to your family, you are serving up bigotry at your breakfast table.”
To date, over 400,000 people have signed a petition not to buy Kellogg's products, and reports suggest the company's social media presence has been seriously hurt.
GrubHub's stock fell after advocates online called for a boycott. As did Pepsi's. You can see the ongoing sentiment among conservatives to avoid companies that seem to oppose the new administration.
But this tactic isn't just used by capitalist-loving conservatives. Liberals, incensed over the win of Donald Trump, have mounted plenty of campaigns to hurt his businesses.
Citing "conflicts of interest" between the new White House and Trump's existing companies, the #GrabYourWallet campaign is urging all liberals everywhere to boycott any business associated with the Donald and his family.
I'm sure you've already heard about Nordstrom's dropping Ivanka Trump's successful line of products. The company claimed that the choice was due to a decrease in sales, yet #GrabYourWallet is claiming it a victory for their cause.
Last November Nordstrom's said Ivanka's line “has grown to be a sizable and successful business,” according to Fortune Magazine. Today they've made a reversal.
This obviously political move has not gone unnoticed by conservative shoppers and shoppers sick of companies playing these games.
Retail department store Nordstrom’s decision last week to cut first daughter Ivanka Trump’s fashion line has sparked a tremendous backlash from consumers—especially women—who say the company’s move has led them to boycott the store and cut up their Nordstrom’s cards. (via Breitbart)
High-end stores like Nordstrom's depend on a small but loyal group of shoppers. They aren't Walmart or Amazon; most people can't afford to shop there. So they get by thanks to the wealthy elite- or those with big credit lines- to buy their overpriced products. Even a small number of women cutting their Nordstrom cards can bring a serious hit to the store.
This boycott sentiment doesn't just exist in the world of retail. Often when I write about Hollywood, I hear from readers who suggest we boycott the industry. When I mentioned how I enjoyed Marvel's recent Doctor Strange film on Gab, people complained that the lead actor was a "liberal cuck."
It's obvious that, at least right now, people are allowing their politics influence other decisions.
It's hard to blame them. When you feel so strongly about a cause, you take any contrary opinion as a personal attack. The natural reaction is to reject that company, product, or industry you feel is trying to undermine your deeply held beliefs.
Perhaps that explains why some people even rejected relationships over politics?
But what do I think about it? Should we boycott mean companies or refuse to see movies because an actor supports SJWs?
I like what this guy had to say:
