"I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand”
It is tough living in America these days. There’s a crippling
feeling that nothing matters.
We protest; they ignore us. We vote; they ignore us. We push
back; they ignore us.
It can feel hopeless. I’ve felt hopeless at times since the
horrific election of Donald Trump in 2024. As everything collapses exactly how
we knew it would, the air is thick with depression and desperation.
I’ve tried hard to keep myself sane, even if every action I
take feels inconsequential.
I can only focus on what I can do. I can’t sway Congress as
a single voter. I’m not a billionaire or a CEO, so government officials don’t
care what I think.
But I am a consumer. In a capitalist society, there’s only
one surefire way to fight back. That’s to prevent your money from going to the
worst people on Earth.
Some say there’s no such thing as ethical consumption in
late-stage capitalism. Maybe they’re right.
Regardless, I can take a stand. It’s good to remind yourself
that. The decisions you make can have an impact beyond you.
These are all the things I boycott. I encourage you to make
your own list.
Amazon
I have not spent a dime on Amazon since 2020. The breaking
point was stories about workers being forced to piss in bottles since they
weren’t allowed proper bathroom breaks. How is that even possible?
Subsequent stories ranging from union busting to Jeff Bezos
personally destroying the Washington Post has only strengthened my resolve to
never use Amazon again.
This one-person boycott has the benefit of added impact by
involving my family. Whenever they want to send me a gift, for Christmas or my
birthday or for moving, they know not to use Amazon. When they send me links
for stuff they want, they will purposely avoid sending Amazon links.
Alternative: So many other sites; Amazon does not
have a monopoly on online ordering
Uber
My Uber boycott is almost a decade old now, as I quit using
their apps in 2017 when then-CEO Travis Kalanick was caught on camera arguing
with one of his own drivers over falling fares.
The driver confronted him, saying Uber’s price cuts were
ruining livelihoods. The CEO responded by insisting the driver take
responsibility for his own struggles. Even though Uber got rid of that CEO for
being a dumbass, it seemed a pretty insightful window into that company.
To be fair, I mostly used Uber for food deliveries as Lyft
had already been my preferred rideshare, so Uber Eats quickly got replaced.
Alternative: Lyft, DoorDash,
Instacart, etc. etc.; Uber does not have a monopoly on deliveries or ride
shares.
Spotify
In 2022, #DeleteSpotify became a viral hashtag after the
company went all-in on podcasts and paid Joe Rogan an ungodly amount of money.
Unfortunately, it appears my wife and I were the only two people on the planet
that actually followed through.
To make it even worse, right after we deleted Spotify, my
brother-in-law got a job producing podcast – non-Rogan division. I never had
the heart to tell him I quit Spotify, but he thankfully soon got another job.
Alternative: Tidal; haven’t worried about it since
Facebook
One of my earliest boycotts, and by far the easiest. Though
I had mostly stopped using Facebook by the 2016 election, it was the fallout
that caused me to leave.
Yes, it was very annoying to have family members and “friends”
lecture me on how I was wrong about Trump (of course I was right) but that
wasn’t the reason. The actual reason was Mark Zuckerberg allowed Russian
disinformation to be spread across his platform.
My Facebook deletion did spark one of my favorite
conversations ever with my mother. She asked, “How will you see pictures of
your friends and family?” and I responded, “They’ll text me” as she sat
there in silence. It dawned on her, in that moment, how Facebook did not
provide any unique service.
Alternative: Twitter then; Bluesky now.
Target
Target is not the only cowardly company to pull back on DEI efforts. But no company was as pathetically embarrassing and small about it. While this was not my boycott, it didn't take long to get on board. The subsequent comments from leadership in response only confirmed I made the right decision.
In recent months, Target has tried to win back customers, but nothing I've seen to date has sparked any interest in returning to shop there. At this point, the boycott has lasted long enough that my shopping habits have permanently changed. Much like Amazon, I didn't actually need Target in my life.
Alternative: Other stores.
WWE
I’m embarrassed by how long it took me to completely quit
WWE. Throughout the 2000s, the product got progressively worse as the company
also acted progressively worse.
There were so many reasons why I should’ve quit before I did.
Even though I was only watching 1 or 2 shows per year by 2018, I still paid
attention. That stopped with the Saudi sportswashing shows. Even thought I
didn’t give WWE a dime, I could not give them time after that.
The years since have revealed WWE to be an even more
disgusting company than we thought, from Vince McMahon raping his employees to
execs ignoring it to the full embrace of Donald Trump. It’s a garbage company.
Alternative: So many other pro
wrestling companies, namely AEW.
CBS News
The newest entrant on this list
thanks to the Paramount takeover by the MAGA racists known as the Ellison
family. As soon as they installed Bari Weiss as news director, I knew my time
paying attention to them would be done.
The final straw was Scott MacFarlane leaving. He was an
excellent local reporter in Washington, D.C. who rose to prominence, especially
in the District, through his impeccable reporting on January 6, 2021, and the fallout.
When CBS refused to air his 5-year retrospective, which aired in full on the BBC in the United Kingdom, it was clear I no longer needed to acknowledge CBS
News.
I can’t say I was a huge consumer of CBS News, but I
followed Scott on social media and watched 60 Minutes on Sundays in the fall
after the NFL. I won’t be doing that anymore.
Alternative: MediasTouch after they hired Scott
MacFarlane
Twitter/X
The most depressing boycott of my life. I left the platform
in November 2024 and deleted my account early 2025. I thoroughly enjoyed
Twitter for so long, but X turned into something vile.
I cannot tell you how nice it is to post on bluesky and not get troll replies. I even had someone from X (a WWE fan) email my employer about a pro wrestling tweet. Blessedly, my CEO laughed about it, and everyone at my company spent 10 minutes at a team meeting mocking WWE fans, but it was a horrifying experience.
Since I left X, Elon Musk has somehow become even more racist, and the platform, fueled by AI, has produced millions of nonconsensual sexual images. Truly disgusting.
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