Mindful Consumption

boycotting DOES work.

So, I won’t lie to you guys, this post will probably sound a bit rant-like and was inspired by my annoyance with certain content creators. It may also make some people uncomfortable, but I hope this post can educate or enlighten others.

If you couldn’t tell from my author bio — or maybe you haven’t even seen it — I support Palestine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, Haiti, and other countries, but more broadly I support “land back”. Despite this intro, I am not going to write about the genocides and conflicts going on in the countries I mentioned (that could possibly be another post); however, I will share a link to a masterdoc of resources and educational materials for those countries and other regions.

What I really wanted to write about is the boycotting associated specifically with Palestine and the DRC. Two separate incidents on Twitter and Instagram sparked my anger and thus inspired me to write this.

But first, if you are not familiar with the boycotts related to them, I will introduce you to BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) first, an organization launched in 2005 and led by Palestinians for freedom, justice, and equality. It calls for:

“BOYCOTTS involve withdrawing support from Israel's apartheid regime, complicit Israeli sporting, cultural and academic institutions, and from all Israeli and international companies engaged in violations of Palestinian human rights.

DIVESTMENT campaigns urge banks, local councils, churches, pension funds and universities to withdraw investments from the State of Israel and all Israeli and international companies that sustain Israeli apartheid.

SANCTIONS campaigns pressure governments to fulfil their legal obligations to end Israeli apartheid, and not aid or assist its maintenance, by banning business with illegal Israeli settlements, ending military trade and free-trade agreements, as well as suspending Israel's membership in international forums such as UN bodies and FIFA.”

That is the bulk of the conversation, but there is a lot more information on their website that is very valuable for you to look at as a starter resource into why boycotting is effective for Palestine.

When the occupation intensified its oppression of Palestinians after October 7th, BDS posted this infographic:

These are the priority boycotts since targeted boycotting is a lot more effective. Again, more information is here on their website if you want to learn more and know why exactly these companies were chosen.

So this leads us to why I wanted to make this post in the first place. Now this might be a bit out of my target audience, so please bear with me lol. I used to play this game called “Genshin Impact” and I was very involved in the fandom, following a lot of content creators and joining communities. I stopped playing in 2022, but I still followed only a few content creators that I really enjoyed watching.

However, even that has declined as my interest in Genshin has plummeted due to the multiple controversies and problematic things the company, miHoYo, has enacted in the past year. I didn’t follow along with many creators anymore except for a select few, including one of the subjects of this post, named Companion Dish, or “Dish” for short.

On her Twitter, she had a tweet pinned where she said she would be working with the Palestinian Child Relief Fund (PCRF) and donating money to it. It was pinned for a very long time, and she has shown some support for the Palestinians. A few days ago, however, she had taken that pinned tweet down.

Why? Because miHoYo is apparently doing a collab with McDonald’s, one of the priority organic boycotts listed on BDS. They are hosting LAN parties in multiple locations, and who is going to the one in Los Angeles? Can you guess?

Yeah, it’s Dish. Along with many other Genshin content creators I enjoyed watching. She posted a tweet about it a couple days ago, and it’s gotten a lot of backlash. That, I am assuming, is why she took down her pinned tweet about the PCRF. Many people even approached her politely, saying that McDonald’s is being boycotted for Palestine and asking why she would go back on her support since she partnered with the PCRF. Her responses are extremely disappointing.

She made snarky replies saying that people on Twitter are “allergic to research” — which is very ironic considering she did no research herself. She isn’t responding to the people giving her correct information either. Dish claims that McDonald’s is “safe” because the McDonald’s franchises were bought in Israel, and some McDonald’s in other countries apparently have donated money to Palestinians.

I’m assuming that’s the extent of her “research” because BDS made a statement about the franchises being bought and has doubled down on their call for boycotts. The thread is here for more in-depth detail, but essentially, McDonald’s is even more complicit in Israel’s genocide and apartheid system by pouring more money into Israel’s military pockets. Palestinians have even spoken up about the collaboration and told her that McDonald’s should be boycotted, but she’s ignoring them as well. So much for her promise to listen to Palestinian voices.

What really angered me about this situation is that she sold her morals for 60 primos (the in-game Genshin currency) and decorative wings for the characters (which is a very shit deal, by the way) and doubled down on her support for the collab. She didn’t do any actual research, wasn’t open to educating herself on the issue further, and has not posted anything else about it. I have since unfollowed her and other creators who have posted about the collab.

I wanted to bring this up because a lot of people, especially since October 7th, have been saying that boycotts don’t work and that McDonald’s taking its support from Israel won’t help Palestinians. Both are false. Firstly, boycotts do work and have been working for years. I think what people really mean is that they don’t see immediate consequences to the company being boycotted and think that it’s a waste of time. That’s an issue. Boycotts don’t cause an immediate reaction in a lot of cases.

One of the most famous examples I can think of is the Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted 13 months before the U.S. ruled segregation on public buses unconstitutional.

Another example that is much closer to the Palestinian movement is the boycott of South African apartheid. The consumer boycott movement lasted 35 years. The academic boycotts sparked by protests on university campuses started in the 1960s and ended in the 1990s. These things take time, something that is usually not acknowledged by Zionists or other anti-boycotters.

Secondly, here is a video that also explains how Israel’s economy is being negatively affected by these boycotts. If you are still skeptical of the effectiveness of boycotts on Israel, it is a must-watch. BDS has been operating for years now; they have been successful in many cases. Even the McDonald’s boycott has been successful. They have lost a lot of money and, even though buying the franchises was not the best cover-up, it is still a response.

So yes, these boycotts do help Palestinians, indirectly and directly. I also find it very interesting that McDonald’s ceased operating completely in Russia after being pressured to leave because it invaded Ukraine. It is possible to do the same in Israel, they just have a very clear bias.

The second part of this post is a bit harder for me to talk about. I say this because it’s usually hard to articulate the reasons for boycotting certain technology for the DRC without some people saying, “Well you’re writing this on your phone!! Hypocrite!” and they don’t actually understand the point. I am not ‘hating’ on people who have phones, or laptops, or iPads/tablets, or Apple watches, etc etc. In the society we are in, it is pretty much impossible to not have some kind of device.

The boycott is for any new technology that you absolutely do not need. For example, you probably (most likely) do not need the new iPhone 16. The camera is not that much better (if there’s a difference at all) and the phone you have is perfectly fine. If it isn’t, and you genuinely need a new phone because it doesn’t work anymore, buy it second-hand. You’ll get a perfectly fine working phone for a lot cheaper whilst being more sustainable. There is a lot of information about the Congo on this website, they are a great organization and raise awareness around the world.

The incident that made me want to write this portion was on Instagram. I have been recently following these digital influencers who post a myriad of things like studying tips, using planners, vlogging their days, cozy gaming content, etc. Not really an account you’d expect to post political content, surely? So why should I care?

Influencers are, well… influential. They influence you to buy things, to do things, or whatever it is their content influences you to do. This influencer specifically sells templates and other things for digital planners and such. She recently posted a video of an iPhone 16 unboxing video. I’m not completely sure if it was a partnered video, but it was definitely influential because there are already a few comments saying how pretty it looks and that they want to buy one as well.

Maybe the creator doesn’t know about the boycott. Fine, I will give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she really doesn’t know that Apple’s (and many other tech companies’) products rely on the slavery of Congolese men, women, and children. I’m not saying she should get all the slack for promoting the new iPhone, that definitely goes to the corporations, government, and people like Elon Musk. What I am trying to convey here is that we, as a community, should be promoting more mindful consumption.

Buying refurbished phones is a lot more environmentally efficient. It “emits 91% less CO2 than a new smartphone” (Antonia, 2024). It reduces the amount of cobalt that has to be mined by the Congolese people. If you’re thinking of purchasing the new iPhone 16, or any other new device, please think twice and think if you really, actually need it. Look and see if you can buy a better alternative, and educate yourself on the horrors the Congolese people go through just to put that iPhone in your hands.

I really hope this came off more informative than rant-y and if you learned something new, all the better. I hope we can keep each other accountable when showing our support for the Palestinians, the Congolese, and all other oppressed peoples.