• Comtief@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    6 hours ago

    Also, I’m pretty sure it got called Buy From EU because they wanted to create some sort of tribal attachment and appeal to a broader cultural connection, therefore highlighting the cultural divide between Americans and “Europeans.” Culture, culture, culture… Huh, I wonder what ideology has such a focus on culture… Bingo!

    Yes I’m sure it’s a “marketing” thing, to be catchy. I don’t think its about divide, though. I still don’t dislike americans or think that europeans are superior somehow, I just think this year has shown as that USA as a country can’t be relied on and it would be dangerous to continue to do so. Hence why avoid their products. I don’t like that youtube has no alternative and literally everyone and their grandma around me are using facebook messenger, for example. If everyone here stopped using these (not going to happen btw), it wouldn’t be because of nationalism, I tell you that.

    And please, the goal is not to “avoid USA products.” That’s not what this is about, and if you make it about that then it’s not a question of if nationalism will creep in; it’s a certainty. Make it about supporting EU-businesses, about strengthening the regional economy, and about showing that great products and services can be produced outside of monopolies!

    I’m a bit confused why you think this isn’t about avoiding USA products and why you say it with such confidence. The president of USA said/did bad things, the movement started/skyrocketed to avoid USA products, its not rocket science.

    Make it about supporting EU-businesses, about strengthening the regional economy, and about showing that great products and services can be produced outside of monopolies!

    Yes, I think that’s it.

    • gon [he]@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      5 hours ago

      I just think this year has shown as that USA as a country can’t be relied on and it would be dangerous to continue to do so. Hence why avoid their products.

      Well yeah, you’re a reasonable person. I really don’t trust the average consumer to be a reasonable person, though. Hey, call me paranoid!

      I’m a bit confused why you think this isn’t about avoiding USA products and why you say it with such confidence. The president of USA said/did bad things, the movement started/skyrocketed to avoid USA products, its not rocket science.

      I’ll be upfront. I say it like that because I think it needs to be that.

      This movement started out protectionist; you’re right about that. It was about culling imports from the US, and it was jump-started by negative feeling regarding the US and Trump’s policies, namely the tariffs. Protectionism is nationalistic, by the way. But boycotting is fickle and vapid, for most. Coca-Cola, Nestlé… They get boycotted occasionally, but it never works. The same would be true for a US boycott. That’s why this can’t be a boycott, it needs to be something else, which is why I want to push that perspective and that sort of approach. Now, this movement already has some other characteristics: it’s pointing out alternatives rather than just showing what not to do, it’s focusing on internal benefits (GDPR, warranty, consumer protection) rather than a rejection of foreign goods, it’s uniting people rather than dividing… So it’s already become quite different than when it started. I remember seeing “Boycott US” flyers, but now I see “Buy From EU.” I saw American flags with a cross over them, now I see EU flags. At this point, I think it’s not so much aspirational on my part, and just accurate to say that it’s not about boycotting the US.

      I didn’t meant to make it sound simple or obvious… Or event that I’m particularly confident. I don’t want you to read this and think that I’m talking down to you or something, I’m really just saying what I think. I just feel like these paragraphs I’m writing sound a little conceited, sorry about that!