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 Saturday March 16, 2002 04:41 by true american
 It is up to you. Why the World Must Boycott the United States It is with sadness that, given the world-endangering direction of the Bush administration, we must demand a worldwide boycott, an embargo, of the United States: a total boycott of U.S. products and of travel to the United States, refusal to ship goods to the U.S., removal of funds from U.S. banks, refusal to invest in U.S. stocks, bonds, or other economic instruments (divestment--so succesful in changing South Africa). We must each call for this action--call to our governments, to our unions, to our bankers and our media--and call with, where applicable, the help of any well-placed or powerful friends. Call and write and email. Of course, this is a desperate action, one that will ruin, economically, many of us, and only desperation can require it. But the current world-threatening insanity of the Bush government--moving to destroy, one after another, potential enemies (called "rogue states") through, quite possibly, nuclear weaponry--can only multiply such enemies, annihilate fragile friendships with such countries as Russia and China, and risk the definite possibility of pre-emptive nuclear strikes--including quite possibly against the U.S.--by one power or another, with consequences too awful to imagine. It is up to each of you--you especially who live outside of the United States--to prevent this. An economic boycott, an action to which "nukes" are least likely to be a reply, seems perhaps the only feasible way. (Yes, we in America can call for impeachment, too.) And be clear--it is not that there is no clear real danger to the United States--for whatever reasons--from real terrorists. But the nation's disproportionate, undelimited reaction to 9/11 has made the U.S. into (what some argue it already was) the world's most "rogue terrorist" state, as it demands world domination and is de facto threatening world catastrophe. In its panic, the country cannot see this. Fearful, people here cling frantically to a belief in a protective government. The left is weak and divided, even more than before. While there are demonstrations and there is opposition, the censored media do not report these. Nor will the Congress or Senate act against Bush. And of course the Supreme Court, which after all hijacked the presidency for the Texas dynasty, is packed. It is up to you. Remember, once it did not seem possible to stop or even slow the Vietnam War, but we, the whole world, did. Now the entire world is in danger. Boycott the United States; email your contacts; speak out for boycott now. |
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Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4Hi,
What you call for is just totally impossible to setup or even conceive to setup!
Not all Americans (as you have proved) are for this campaign of terrorism that American military might is waging against the rest of the ‘rouge’ world (incidentally started back in Regan years according to Naom Chomsky!).
Unless we stop going to the bank, the shop or using the Internet then we can’t stop using American produce or American facilitation of technology.
Post some concrete suggestions please…
I have been playing around with the idea of a boycott for quite some time and am warming to the idea. I'm not entirely sure that the target is a useful one because in the multinational consumerist world, 'America' is a difficult target.
Why not try to establish a list of corporations that are linked more closely with supporting the current regime and foreign policy etc. If we start there we could expand the process more widely.
Most obvious is of course the oil companies. Now, ideally everyone would abandon their cars and go everywhere by bike. One up for the environment, one down for the US oil giants. However, not everyone will be willing to do this t=straight away, so are there any non-US oil companies that actually have a decent human rights record? I wouldn't know where to find this out.
If a website had a message board where people could discuss possible companies for boycott and exchange information then we could compose a useful list. Is there such a website that is designed specifically at focussing on arguments in favour of boycotting certain organisations? If we developed it well and the list was comprehensive enough then your total blockade of the US would become plausible. Individual consumers would be able to abstain from the process which produces the wars which we are seeing today.
At the same time, individuals who happened to have more economic weight could refuse to transport freight to the US and things like that, but the average consumer would struggle to do this.
For the first time I am beginning to get an idea of how the whole thing might work.
I think it is impracticable to boycott the whole of the US. But we could focus on some specific aspects of the American economy.
The car industry has particularly close links to the arms industry, and in fact I think EVERY car manufacturer also manufactures arms. Similarly, other arms manufacturers hide behind innocuous-sounding names such as Ericsson. So it takes a little bit of research to identify the arms manufacturers in which we have invested.
And before you protest, "But I haven't got any shares at all!" please ask yourself where the money you pay into your pension scheme goes.
For further information, try searching in Google for "ethical investment".
Beir bua agus beannacht.
Doc.
Hello readers! I strongly urge those interested in some form of boycott to pursue this tactic as a way of influencing U.S. policies. The critics of a boycott make some good points. However, I believe, as imperfect as it is, it could have some influence. Travel to the U.S.A. is one good idea for a boycott. For example, people could not only protest the unbridled militarism of the USA but also the disgusting, uncivilzed, and vengeful death penalty. So, don't go to the death penalty state of Florida on your holidays. Stay away from Disney in Florida! By the way, how many messages would be sent on that one?! The U.S. Government and the American people in general may only pay attention to an economic kick in the balls! So, please, consider a boycott of some kind. It will send a message. Furthermore, the vast majority of Americans are so inwardly focused its pathetic. Because of this and the corporate controlled news media most Americans have no idea of how they are perceived by the rest of the world. A boycott could be a wake up call to pay attention and reevaluate U.S. policies. Cheers! And Boycott America!