Interesting, and I’ll have to say, somewhat encouraging, even though that would mean hardships on all of us, it needs to be done to say to the U.S.: You are not an island, and not untouchable. Live and learn.

The Role of Boycotts in the Fight for Peace

Sporadic and spontaneous boycotts, local in form, have been taking place in cities throughout the globe. National Public Radio (U.S.) reports that thousands of Europeans, repulsed by the election of Bush, are refusing to buy American goods. One placard in a Paris window says: “Promote peace. Don’t buy American.” According to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh, Europe is simmering. “You’re going to see American profits disappear. American corporations are going to be in big trouble. It’s going to be a mantra not to buy American. All our major manufacturers are reporting major slowdowns in Europe. You’re going to see the dollar disappear.”
The boycott is spreading. Greenpeace is already involved in a boycott against Exxon-Esso and Mobil Oil. Fermiamo La Guerre, a coalition of peace groups in Italy, called for a boycott of Esso when the U.S. invasion commenced. Sales of Pepsi and Coca Cola have plummeted in the Mideast during the occupation, and Islamic nations are creating alternative cola drinks called Zam Zam and Mecca Cola. Iran banned ads for U.S.-manufactured goods. South African protesters in Cape Town demanded that Denel, a South African contractor, cancel all its contracts to supply military components to the U.S. war machine. The people of South Africa are well aware of the power of boycotts. As South Africa Indymedia put it: We must “take aim at the only thing that can bring Bush to his knees—the American economy.”

In the capital of Pakistan, the bustling Jehangir restaurant has taken U.S. soft drinks off the menu. “We only serve Pakistani drinks,” one waiter said in an interview with Inter Press Service. “We don’t serve Pepsi or Coca-Cola or any other American soft drinks anymore.” Fast-food chains—Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken—are under a boycott in Pakistan. As one member of the Islamist Party said: “We must stop buying anything American or British. We must hurt American interests as much as possible.”