3 ms·

I fail to understand why a coffee shop should be taking sides on geopolitical conflicts.

asadm 1y ago
I agree. No idea why Starbucks, McDonalds, Zara etc. came out shouting support for Israel out of nowhere. Requiring a boycott from sane people.
- idontwantthis 1y ago
  Is that a thing that happened?
  - asadm 1y ago
    yes. prompting listings/apps for finding brands to boycott, one which i use very much: https://www.boycat.io/ https://www.boycat.io/
  - onetimeusename 1y ago
    McDonalds did not officially endorse Israel. The franchise owner of all the McDonalds restaurants in Israel did. McDonalds corporate did not approve the message although it seems like it did not really matter what the facts were. (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/05/mcdonalds-israel-franchise-boycott https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/05/mcdonalds-i...)
- adastra22 1y ago
  > Requiring a boycott from sane people. It sounds like you don't agree.
  - asadm 1y ago
    i guess we don’t agree on sanity itself.
growzontreez 1y ago
[dead]
thornewolf 1y ago
everyone takes a side on everything. explicitly or implicitly. intentionally or unintentionally. due to the interconnected nature of the world, it is impossible to construct a true-neutral position. the appearance of neutrality becomes more difficult the more important an issue is to those you interact with. so, it's not really well-defined to ask whether or not a coffee shop "should" be taking sides, it will take one in all situations. it is a (slightly) more tractable question to ask "how should a coffee shop take a side?" Given how difficult this question is to answer still, I like to answer it with, "doing good is generally aligned with the long-term profit-motive." this is also why boycotts are actually useful! though collective action, you can align the profit-motive with "good" clearly. this makes it easier for a coffee shop to move in-line.
- thornewolf 1y ago
  I'm actually surprised this went negative, I thought HN was gonna love this
mingus88 1y ago
Because all businesses are run by people and everything is inherently political Coffee production by itself is already mired in geopolitics. And as a customer, where we spend our money matters. It’s often the only voice we have. Take a look at Black Rifle Coffee Company. Their brand attracts a certain type of customer. It’s a market differentiator.

I agree. No idea why Starbucks, McDonalds, Zara etc. came out shouting support for Israel out of nowhere. Requiring a boycott from sane people.

idontwantthis 1y ago
Is that a thing that happened?
- asadm 1y ago
  yes. prompting listings/apps for finding brands to boycott, one which i use very much: https://www.boycat.io/ https://www.boycat.io/
- onetimeusename 1y ago
  McDonalds did not officially endorse Israel. The franchise owner of all the McDonalds restaurants in Israel did. McDonalds corporate did not approve the message although it seems like it did not really matter what the facts were. (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/05/mcdonalds-israel-franchise-boycott https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/05/mcdonalds-i...)
adastra22 1y ago
> Requiring a boycott from sane people. It sounds like you don't agree.
- asadm 1y ago
  i guess we don’t agree on sanity itself.

growzontreez 1y ago

[dead]

thornewolf 1y ago

everyone takes a side on everything. explicitly or implicitly. intentionally or unintentionally. due to the interconnected nature of the world, it is impossible to construct a true-neutral position. the appearance of neutrality becomes more difficult the more important an issue is to those you interact with. so, it's not really well-defined to ask whether or not a coffee shop "should" be taking sides, it will take one in all situations. it is a (slightly) more tractable question to ask "how should a coffee shop take a side?" Given how difficult this question is to answer still, I like to answer it with, "doing good is generally aligned with the long-term profit-motive." this is also why boycotts are actually useful! though collective action, you can align the profit-motive with "good" clearly. this makes it easier for a coffee shop to move in-line.

thornewolf 1y ago
I'm actually surprised this went negative, I thought HN was gonna love this

mingus88 1y ago

Because all businesses are run by people and everything is inherently political Coffee production by itself is already mired in geopolitics. And as a customer, where we spend our money matters. It’s often the only voice we have. Take a look at Black Rifle Coffee Company. Their brand attracts a certain type of customer. It’s a market differentiator.