Boycott Madness

Psst... did you know that drinking a coffee at Starbucks is the same as drinking the blood of Lebanese and Palestinian children?

The Big Satan

Don’t you just love it when people suddenly turn a geopolitical conflict into a leftist anti-globalist tirade? Here’s what Hawzers wrote in response to my photo essay:

Mustapha I cant believe that you still consume products from companies that are actively and generously supporting zionist settlers kick people from their homes in Palestine, and who have just bombed YOUR country to bits.

This from Harry:

Mustapha I thought you were more sensible than choosing McDonalds or Starbucks. I hope you come to your senses! I hope you all boycott those establishments to express your anger at US support for the bombing campaign.

My problem with people like Harry and others who swear by Naomi Klein and José Bové is that they got their arguments backward. Starbucks didn’t force people to come and buy their coffee; neither did Mc Donald’s. People willfully chose to go to those places because they believe they have superior (better value) products. If you don’t like their political affiliations, fine, make a better product and compete with them. Ask yourself why are the Lebanese as far as Africa begging for Mc-Donalds burgers to be shipped to them?

It is politically cheap and convenient to find a bête noire. What’s much harder is to create an environment where a competing product can thrive.

It is beside the point whether or not Starbucks' CEO is a Zionist. What matters is that Howard Schultz is a great businessman that we can all learn from. And by the way, his book is a real page turner. We Arabs love to personalize the issues. Take Carlos Ghosn. He is Lebanese, he loves Lebanon and visits Lebanon often. Does that mean that all the Jews and their supporters should boycott Nissan and Renault?

The other problem I have with Hawzers is that he’s not congruent with himself. He doesn’t mind paying tens of thousands of Dollars to study in the American University of Beirut, but if you drink a $5 Double Tall white Mocca or eat a 2$ Mc-Flurry, you’d be selling your soul to the Americans.

Go Figure.

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