How a boycott America movement is starting to work against Trump
Coca-Cola. Netflix. Google. Apple. Amazon. McDonald’s. Starbucks. These are just a handful of the US mega-brands that many of us use or spend money on every single day. But for some Brits, that’s no longer the case. They might not be able to let President Trump know exactly what they think of his policies, but what they can do is put their money where their mouth is and boycott American companies.
Activist and content creator Caroline has been “actively trying not to support the USA for around a decade now”, after “learning about imperialism, capitalism, corporate giants and the fact that [the US] has largely monopolised the world”. She has been boycotting “big US brands” – McDonald’s, Amazon, Starbucks – for as long as she can remember, but after the recent events in America, and comments by the US president, she has noticed a real sea change in attitudes.
When she has previously expressed her opinions about it online, she’s been “met with ridicule or criticism”. But when she posted a now-viral TikTok video earlier this month about “how to boycott America”, “the vast majority of people agreed, particularly people within the USA”.
“Even Americans themselves are saying the best way to help them is to boycott,” Caroline adds. “We should listen to that.” Because “America is driven by cash”, she argues, “we need to speak its language. People think boycotts don’t work, but they do if we take collective action.”
For support worker Sally*, the catalyst was the heartbreaking image of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, seen around the world last week. The youngster, pictured wearing a blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack, was taken from outside his home in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers last week, along with his father, Adrian.
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/uk-boycott-us-products-donald-trump-b2908583.html?test_group=lighteradlayout
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