Tag Archives: boycotts

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Daily Broadside | Rule #13: Pick Target, Freeze It, Personalize It, and Polarize It.

Hey, you don’t suppose THIS is why Target has gone full-on trans-maniac, do you?

In the wake of the controversy surrounding Target’s debut of pro-transgender clothing lines aimed at children, it has since been revealed that one of the senior executives in the company’s marketing department also holds a position with a pro-transgender advocacy group.

According to Fox News, the vice president of brand marketing for Target, Carlos Saavedra, is also a treasurer for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). GLSEN has pushed for schools across the country to enact policies that forbid parents from being made aware of their childrens’ gender identities at school, as well as pushing schools to include explicitly sexual books in their libraries.

GLSEN has written out its preferred policy for schools’ treatment of the parents of students, declaring that “[the local education agency] shall ensure that all personally identifiable and medical information relating to transgender and nonbinary students is kept confidential.”

“Staff or educators shall not disclose any information that may reveal a student’s gender identity to others, including parents or guardian,” the policy continues. “This disclosure must be discussed with the student, prior to any action.”

[…]

“Target donates to GLSEN every year, with the most recent one being roughly $2.1 million.”

So who’s making policy in our state-run schools — education professionals or sexual deviants? The answer is clear: it’s a collaboration with sexual deviants who “prefer” that parents don’t know what’s going on with their children. So grade schools, middle schools and high schools conspire with a Leftist activist organization to cut off children from those directly responsible for their well being — the parents.

Listen, GLSEN, I don’t care what you “prefer.” You have no standing to say what is or isn’t right for my child. You certainly have no right to conspire to keep me from knowing what is happening to my child. Get your filthy hands away from them, you sick perverts.

My friends, if you spend money at Target on the latest thing that has your attention because it is priced just right and is convenient to get to, be aware that you are financially supporting a gay activist organization that seeks to supplant your parental rights. And if you don’t have kids in public schools, have a heart for others and stop shopping there.

As I’ve written many times on this blog, all you NEED is a little air, water, food and maybe some shelter and a change of clothes. You don’t NEED to spend your money at Target. You don’t NEED to get that latest shiny object at Target. If they are going to cater to the gay lobby, then let the gay lobby and their allies shop there.

Stop giving Target money.

Target has lost more than $10billion in market capitalization in the span of 10 days – as it continues to face backlash for Pride-themed merchandise.

Prior to the controversy – which stems over a LGBTQ-geared clothing campaign that touts ‘tuck-friendly’ bathing suits and pro-trans T-shirts for kids – Target shares were trading at $160.96, giving the retailer a market valuation of roughly $74.3billion.

By the time The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closed Friday, the blue-chip stock was trading at $138.93 – marking a market valuation of 64,2billion, and loss of $10.1billion.

The sum, moreover, stands as the superstore’s lowest market value in an entire year – all achieved in a matter of days as customers swear off its products in response.

Of course, if you do that, you’ll be labeled a literal “terrorist.”

You’ll buy what we tell you to buy, dammit!

I don’t think the answer is to “boycott” Target. A “boycott” sounds temporary. The answer is to ABANDON Target. Forget they exist. Walk away. As Jesus said about the Pharisees, “Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14).

Here’s what I wrote almost a month ago when Tucker Carlson was fired and Bud Light was cratering.

If you want to know how to participate in the “culture wars”, ABANDON those companies that cater to the Left. Let them know by your ABSENCE that you won’t give them money to ruin your children and our society by promoting men who pretend to be women or that if they have such contempt for you that they’d rather cut the top-rated cable host in all of television than cater to your interests that you’ll go find your news somewhere else.

(See my recommendation for an alternative news source at the end of this post.)

It’s not easy to do this, but it’s not impossible, either. Unfortunately, there is an endless supply of companies that are adopting the woke attitude. The latest is a company that thousands of Christians defended when the work mob came for them in 2012.

“We have a problem,” wrote Joey Mannarino, a conservative host in highlighting Chick-fil-A’s prior announcement, on Twitter Tuesday morning. “Chick-Fil-A just hired a VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This is bad. Very bad. I don’t want to have to boycott. Are we going to have to boycott?”

He also wrote: “The Left is going crazy again over the Chick-fil-A boycott that conservatives are considering. They’re mad because we’ve FINALLY gotten effective at boycotts. Any company that is pushing the trans stuff on our kids or the DEI stuff, we are going to pick the worst offenders.”

“So Chick-fil-A has a diversity, equity and inclusion division,” added columnist Todd Starnes on Tuesday. “Well, that explains the fried cauliflower sandwiches and kale salad.”

Chick-Fil-A has apparently had a VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion since 2020, but conservatives have just discovered the fact. I’m not sure I want to boycott the fast-food chain, especially since they’re not actively promoting the indoctrination of children or celebrating Pride Month by pushing rainbow chicken in our faces. But the fact that they have a DIE officer means the fox is in the hen house and it might be only a matter of time.

In the last book he wrote before he died, “Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals” Saul Alinsky lays out 13 “rules” on how to successfully run a movement for change. The last of these rules is, “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.”

When we talk about boycotts, we’re talking about institutions, not people. It’s harder to bring down an institution because an institution is impervious to personal attacks. And conservatives, especially conservative Christians, are loathe to engage in the politics of personal destruction.

However, there’s an interesting angle here. Robby Starbuck makes the observation that what made the Bud Light boycott work is the personal side of associating with the brand.

“Men like us made it socially unacceptable for other men to be seen with a Bud Light.” He says that women are doing the same thing with Target right now. Perhaps we’ve stumbled on a way to apply Alinsky’s rule to the Left.

Regardless, don’t allow these companies to influence you with their cheap prices and even cheaper products. It’s a way to take a stand against the Marxists who’ve infiltrated every institution at almost every level across the country.

It will be a long term effort.

  • I subscribe to and highly recommend The Epoch Times as an alternative news source to Fox News, CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, or any other online or cable outlet.
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Daily Broadside | Fox News and Anheuser-Busch Deserve To Be Left By Conservatives

Happy Friday and happy Cinco de Mayo. According to Wikipedia, the holiday “generates beer sales on par with the Super Bowl.” That’s unfortunate for Bud Light, which is going to miss out on that annual bonanza!

Bud Light has hemorrhaged sales in recent weeks after executives partnered with Mulvaney, a biological man who claims to be a woman, and chronicled his purported gender transition on social media. Doukeris told analysts that social media users are spreading “misinformation” about the nature of the partnership, according to a report from Fox Business.

“We need to clarify the facts,” the executive for the Belgian conglomerate remarked, adding that the controversy is about “one influencer, one post and not a campaign.”

Sales for draft beer products marketed by Anheuser-Busch InBev nevertheless fell in the immediate aftermath of the partnership and continues to decline weeks after the controversy as beer enthusiasts search for alternatives. Doukeris revealed that Anheuser-Busch is now “providing direct financial support” to delivery drivers, sales representatives, wholesalers, bar owners, and other workers affected by the boycott.

Doukeris is minimizing the partnership with Mulvaney, dismissing it as “one influencer, one post and not a campaign.” Gosh, good thing it was only “one post” — no telling what a full blown campaign would’ve done!

This is the kind of tone deaf response that corporations flirting with wokeness toss out in their defense. Does he actually think that consumers care whether it was “one post” or a national campaign? It was the violation of the brand bond that sunk them.

But it’s even worse than that as they ignored—or are ignorant of—a key feature of the beer drinker, the incredible bond the consumer has with the product.

Not all products have the same level of bond with their consumers as others. But the beer or booze you drink, the vehicle you drive (as an example, Ford, Dodge, or Chevy pickups), and back when it was acceptable, the cigarette you smoked, all said something about you.

Thus, these types of products have a much higher customer bond than say the bathroom cleaning products you use. Few products have a higher bond than beer.

They have thousands and thousands of interactions with the brand every year . . . for years. Parties, birthdays, going to bars, football games, NASCAR, just sitting around at home watching TV, and through good times and bad with a friend who’s always there for you.

This brand bond is a reflection of what consumers perceive themselves to be. And having a role-playing guy who says he’s a woman sitting in a bubble bath and crowing about becoming the brand ambassador of your favorite beer is not what these consumers view themselves to be. It is a jarring affront to their perception of reality. It was an almost universal, WTF moment for all Bud Light drinkers.

Thus, ABI violated this bond and set off a firestorm like none before in the beer world, most likely forever changing the beer competitive landscape.

Most analysis focuses on the guy playing a gal, but that is where they are wrong. It’s not fundamentally about Dylan Mulvaney. It’s about the violation of this bond. And the stronger the bond, the greater the feeling of betrayal.

Worse yet, Doukeris is blaming “social media users” for “spreading ‘misinformation.'” Got that? It’s your fault that this happened. But Anheuser-Busch is confident it can overcome it’s consumer’s mistakes.

“We believe we have the experience, the resources and the partners to manage this. And our four-year growth outlook is unchanged,” Doukeris said. 

“We want to reiterate our support for our wholesaler partners and everyone who brings our great beers to the market. I can tell you that we have the agility, resources and people to support the U.S. team and move forward,” he added.

“We will continue to learn, meet the moment in time, all be stronger and we work tirelessly to do what we do best: Bring people together over a beer and creating a future of more cheers.” 

That sounds just like another corporation that deliberately torpedoed it’s brand by firing its top broadcast personality. Fox News has lost nearly half its audience in what used to be Tucker Carlson’s 8:00 PM slot.

Ratings for Fox News have dropped considerably in the wake of popular anchor Tucker Carlson departing from the network.

During its 8 p.m. hour, the network has dropped from a three million viewer average to a 1.65 million viewer average since the departure of Tucker Carlson; the hour was previously filled by Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade, which will then be filled by Fox News personality Lawrence Jones. Per the Washington Post:

The disparity was most stark on Wednesday, when Kilmeade’s 8 p.m. hour received an average of 1.3 million total viewers, compared with the 3 million Carlson received a week earlier — a decline of 56 percent. Overall, the network experienced a 45 percent viewership decline last week without Carlson in the host’s chair.

When Fox announced Carlson’s forced departure April 24, the network said that “rotating Fox News personalities” will fill in until a permanent 8 p.m. host is selected. The network did something similar with the 7 p.m. hour, after it was vacated by anchor Martha MacCallum, and ultimately settled on Jesse Watters as the permanent host. “Jesse Watters Primetime” has been a major success for Fox News, and Watters, who also co-hosts “The Five,” is considered a possible candidate for Carlson’s old slot.

Beyond the 8 p.m. slot, the network has also seen a sharp decline in the 25-54 demographic in the 6 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9 p.m. time slots.

Imagine Tucker Carlson as Bud Light and Fox News as the parent company, Anheuser-Busch. Now imagine A-B cutting off production of its top-selling beer without explanation, and you begin to get a sense of what Fox News has done. Just as the abandonment of Bud Light consumers has created a halo effect on other A-B brands, so has Tucker Carlson’s firing affected other shows, notably Hannity and Ingraham, which have both lost about a third of their audiences without Carlson’s lead-in.

“The demo” is that audience bloc of 25-54-year-olds coveted by advertisers. It’s the key metric that analysts watch to gauge how well a show is doing.

Like A-B, Fox News issued a cheery and defiant statement to address concerns over the fallout of its decision.

“For more than 21 years, Fox News Channel has been cable news’ most-watched network in all categories with more Democrats, Independents and Republicans now tuning in than either CNN or MSNBC,” the company said.

“Attracting more than 50 percent of the cable news viewing audience with the top 12 programs in cable news, Fox News’ powerhouse team of journalists, analysts and opinion hosts are trusted more by viewers than any other news source,” it added.

Not if conservatives abandon the network.

So both Fox News and Anheuser-Busch are hemorrhaging consumers. I consider that good news. In fact, I want conservatives and other like-minded adults to not just boycott, but to ABANDON both companies. They need to hear from us.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the life blood of any company is money. Unless they suffer a significant financial loss that sticks, they won’t change their behavior. It’s great that by mid-April A-B had lost some $6.5 billion in value since their ill-advised attempt to break from their “fratty, kind of out-of-touch” consumers. But A-B is a beverage juggernaut with a net worth of $130.73 billion.

Fox Corporation, parent company of Fox News, lost $1 billion, or about 5 percent of its stock valuation following its announcement canceling Tucker Carlson’s show. But they, too, are a corporate behemoth, with a net worth of $16.26 billion.

Neither of these corporations are going out of business, but they need to hear from conservatives. Leftists take off the gloves and throw their weight around, demanding that companies toe their woke lines or that they fire any employee that doesn’t. Corporations fear the woke, but they don’t fear conservatives because we tend to be kind, be reserved, mind our own business, and despise hurting anyone or anything.

If Fox News loses its audience in the 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00 PM slots and they don’t come back, that sends a message. If Bud Light loses its consumers and they don’t come back, that sends a message. The message is that “we’re not going to take it.” But if consumers have a fit of pique then return to the beer or the program, that sends a message, too. The message is, “we’re offended, but also we love our beer and whatever replacement bobble head you give us.”

Other corporations will take note and act accordingly.

If you want to know how to participate in the “culture wars”, ABANDON those companies that cater to the Left. Let them know by your ABSENCE that you won’t give them money to ruin your children and our society by promoting men who pretend to be women or that if they have such contempt for you that they’d rather cut the top-rated cable host in all of television than cater to your interests that you’ll go find your news somewhere else.

It has to be done.

Have a good weekend.

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Daily Broadside | 3 Ways You Can Fight the Social Marxists Without Losing Your Job

Daily Verse | Ezra 9:13
“What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this.”

It’s Friday and while we can take a deep breath as we move into the weekend, we must not forget that the domestic enemies of the American people continue to work furiously around the clock to consolidate their gains and move their malicious plans ahead to make half the population Public Enemy Number One. Namely, anyone who supports historic, traditional American values, including personal responsibility and hard work, the U.S. Constitution, and anyone who questions the legitimacy of the junta now in Washington, D.C., whose figurehead is an incompetent blathering dementia patient propped up by Obama acolytes.

The most frequent question I’ve been asked is, “What can we do?” about the sad state of affairs we find ourselves in. I’ve asked that question myself many times and have expressed my frustration with opinion leaders and journalists who provide great depth and analysis on the situation in general and specific examples in particular, but don’t give us a list of practical actions and tactics that citizens like you and I can take to counteract the poison wending its way through our society.

Today I’ve got an article written by Trevor Loudon, an author, filmmaker, and public speaker from New Zealand who wrote a column for my current go-to news source, The Epoch Times. His commentary is called, “A New Zealander’s 9 ‘Starter Steps’ to Save America From Socialism.”

While the article is behind a paywall, I think it’s worth reflecting on a couple of the steps that might be useful for patriotic Americans to engage with. You may want to know what a New Zealander has to say to America about our internal conflict. Here’s how Loudon introduces his topic:

Though I’m a New Zealander, I know America and its people well. I’ve traveled to every state in the Lower 48 and have addressed more than 500 audiences across this amazing nation. My message has always been the same: The United States is heading toward a brutally tyrannical socialist revolution—and if America goes down, every free country follows.

Well, now it’s here, people, unfolding before our very eyes.

So, what can be done? Can the Republic be saved? Honestly, I don’t know.

However, I can suggest some steps that would at least give this country a fighting chance.

New Zealand is one of those free countries that will “go down” should America collapse, so he has a vested interest in America succeeding in its freedoms. That’s why he lays out his nine steps and writes some substantial commentary about each. Here’s the list:

  1. Face Reality
  2. Stop All Violent Rhetoric
  3. Restore Election Integrity in All Red States
  4. Close the Republican Primaries Immediately
  5. Organize a Compact of Free States
  6. Republic Review
  7. Form a Multi-State ‘America First’ Popular Alliance
  8. Boycott/Buycott Bigtime
  9. Remove Malign Foreign Influence at State Level

I obviously can’t reproduce the entire article here, but I don’t think I need to. What I’m interested in is what individual citizens can do without being a member of the political class. As I read it, there are three things he lists that we can do.

“Face Reality“
After explaining what the Democrats are trying to do (enfranchising illegal aliens, abolishing the Electoral College, voting “reform,” i.e. stealing elections), Loudan says,

“We’re undergoing a Marxist-Leninist revolution driven by China—right now, in real time. The military can’t save us, nor can Trump. On the contrary, it’s up to patriots to protect Trump and the Armed Services from unrelenting Democrat/communist attacks. When enough Americans face the unpleasant truth, then, and only then, can we talk about hope.”

This seems obvious. But, as I’ve written many times before, it took me some time over the last several years to come to the conclusion that the Democrats are enemies of the people. They, not patriotic Americans, are the domestic terrorists who weaponize not airplanes and cars, but the levers of government to oppress and control us. Refuse to entertain any guilt about questioning the integrity of the 2020 election; refuse to ignore the weaponization of the FBI, DHS, IRS, DOJ and other alphabet agencies that actively subvert our Constitutional rights; be vocal about it with those in your relational circles (without being a jerk) and don’t back down no matter the peer pressure they bring.

Unless you allow yourself to accept our bind as the reality, you will only fret and complain rather than taking action. If you’re not convinced, identify the questions you have and ask yourself what more it will take to convince you that normal Americans are under assault by an increasingly strident Marxist ideology.

Stop All Violent Rhetoric
What Loudan means by this is that violent rhetoric will only lead to defeat in a violent confrontation with the government. Here’s how he puts it:

“The left is praying for ‘right-wing’ violence. It will give them an excuse for a massive crackdown on patriotic Americans. This country will be saved peacefully or not at all. If significant violence breaks out, it’s over.

“Having said that, the Second Amendment must be preserved at all costs. An armed populace is at least some check on tyranny, even if useless in the face of biological warfare or nuclear attack. Americans should keep their guns and work every day to ensure they never have to use them against their own people.”

I’m not sure I agree with him that we can’t win a violent confrontation with the government. What I think he’s saying is that government forces will quickly stomp those who engage in violence and do to them what they did to the protestors on January 6 and charge them with inciting an insurrection. That was a bogus charge, to be sure, and we wouldn’t be free men if freedom didn’t include the right to challenge our government. The government has no intention of acknowledging that right without a fight; to assume the right to question our political class is to incur a cost that many men (and women) won’t want to make.

Regardless, I agree that we should stay away from violent rhetoric, but we should not back away from strong and candid language concerning the abuses that federal and state governments are engaged in. And if the resistance does go hot — again, see what’s happening in Portland and in parts of Texas — make sure you’re locked and loaded.

Boycott/Buycott Bigtime
I’ve always been a little mixed on boycotting for the simple reason that as woke orthodoxy makes its way through the culture, the boycotters begin to paint themselves into a corner. When all the telecommunications companies and all the home improvement box stores and all the technology companies and all the retailers go woke, where does that leave us?

To operate in today’s society, there are some things that we find essential to have and can’t avoid paying some woke behemoths for their services.

However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have options. For instance, I no longer shop at Target. I no longer buy Gillette razors. I no longer watch any movie starring or co-starring Robert De Niro (and I certainly wouldn’t pay for it if I did). I gave up Fox News and only watch Tucker Carlson occasionally (I mostly watch his monologues online). I don’t watch the NFL, NBA or MLB anymore, nor do I buy their merchandise. I used to watch U.S. Women’s Soccer, but I don’t anymore after Rapinoe started getting loud about how unfairly they’re treated (they’re not). I’ve given up Facebook and Twitter (although I have accounts, they’re both dormant — and I’m close to closing them both for good). While I still use Amazon for convenience, my wife and I are starting to think about buying more locally. I use Google and Chrome sparingly and prefer to use Brave as my browser of choice (they’re supposed to have a search engine coming soon that will compete directly with Google).

And guess what? I’m fine. Really.

Says Loudan,

“Patriots should be abandoning Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. for more honest platforms. They should also enthusiastically support efforts by DeSantis to heavily fine Big Tech operators who “cancel” patriots. If 25 or 30 free states did the same, Big Tech would soon be little tech.

“Patriots need to organize nationwide boycotts of unpatriotic companies and buycotts for loyal American companies like My Pillow and Goya Foods.”

The reason is that money talks the loudest to any organization. Why do you think the Left tried to “cancel” My Pillow and Goya Foods? If some company like Gillette, for instance, gets woke and starts churning out social propaganda that throws in with the progressive Left, my thinking is, “Let the progressives support them. I’d love to see how far they get subsisting on just progressive money.”

Loudan goes on to say,

“Imagine if 80 million MAGA patriots resolved to begin a nationwide boycott of one such company, starting now. The boycott would go on indefinitely until the target company was broke, or it apologized for “canceling” patriots. If applicable, every MAGA family could simultaneously commit to buying at least one of the canceled person’s products this year.”

That is some awesome purchasing power.

Here’s the reality: there are only a few things that we really “need.” Food. Water. Clothing. A roof over our heads. Almost everything else is discretionary. Start with those things, then wean yourself off of indiscriminate consumer spending. Then, be very specific about the companies you purchase from. An example I mention above is that I subscribe to The Epoch Times for a monthly fee rather than depend on Fox News or some other source for the latest news.

Also, don’t forget that advertising contracts are based on the number of eye balls they can get in front of. If you watch the NFL, for instance, you’re helping them negotiate contracts with advertisers that, in turn, gives them millions of dollars to operate an organization that has made standing proud for the national anthem a controversial act. Don’t do it. Starve them. Make them operate on the cash they can get from woke organizations and the progressive Left.

There are certainly other ways to fight back, like homeschooling your children. (Yes, it’s a sacrifice, but millions have done it, including me, and there are colleges that reserve slots for homeschooled kids.) But the three I mention above seem to be easily accessible to everyone. Start with those, and build from there.

Have a good weekend.