Is a piece of food worth more than a life?
It’s shocking how many people say yes.
Amidst the Israel and Hamas conflict, many multi-billionaire companies have chosen to either stay silent or support Israel. To show said support, some companies like Walt Disney have even donated millions of dollars for humanitarian relief to Israel. They use their profit to support a government that’s actively participating in an ethnic cleansing movement. Yet, people continue to fund these causes.
It’s hard to hear someone say they support Palestine, but their actions don’t match up. While companies like McDonalds and Starbucks conjure up a craving for many, it’s contradictory to continue buying their products. I mean, is the meal deal really that good?
An excuse I’ve heard from many people is that boycotts don’t work, and people only do it as a limited form of activism. I think that’s both a very lazy and narrow-minded way of thinking. Even if at the end of the day, no significant change occurs, it’s the principle that matters. We must put emphasis on what exactly it means to continuously purchase products from a company that doesn’t use their huge profit towards good causes. You would expect people to donate to the area where 67,173 people have been brutally killed, but that isn’t the case most of the time.
So, to follow up with the question of whether boycotts work or not, let’s take a deep dive into history. One of the most prominent examples of one is the Montgomery Bus boycott during the Civil Rights Movement. Sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks, this event focused on African Americans choosing to stop riding the city bus. This protest against bus segregation ended up becoming successful, as the Supreme Court finally ruled it as unconstitutional in 1956. That being said, if this hesitant attitude people have now was used during the 1950s, it leaves me to wonder if bus segregation still would have been abolished. Instead of holding indifference towards the situation, their determination towards a greater cause resulted in a huge victory.
Even then, does it matter if a boycott is successful or not? Like I mentioned earlier, it is the principle that outweighs the outcome. It is important for us to unite against hateful actions, and too, against people who support said actions.
That being said, we have seen a decrease in sales for many of the companies that are on the boycott list. For instance, both McDonalds and Starbucks have had a major decrease in sales, leaving for them to close many of their stores. This impact can educate corporations on the importance of having empathy.
So, next time you’re buying something, remember the value of a human being. Boycotts do work, but can only be done if we work together.
