There is talk of countering boycotts of French and German products with the opposite, that is actively buying them for political reasons.
I think that is a natural idea. Actually the original boycott might easily backfire.
Those who say "don't buy French and German" on their blogs say so to readers who think like them. By doing that, they obviously risk that everyone else will do the opposite. Which might be a good idea if "everyone else" is a small group.
The opposition to war might be weaker in America than in Europe. But there are still large numbers of Americans who don't want this war, especially if it is started illegally without UN support.
For example Volkswagen would probably be ecstatic to get extra attention from more than 50 percent of the American population, at no cost for advertising.
But actually I would like to comment on the same question from a German (my) point of view.
I did not really appreciate being called a "weasel". English is not my first language, so maybe I missed the point. However, if that insult is intended to mean that Germans are cowards, it seems to be misguided. Iraq is much weaker than the US, so the cowardly and opportunistic position would be to follow orders from the White House.
And I feel that it is extremely dangerous for world peace that the most powerful nation on the planet starts waging illegal wars of aggression.
So I might be tempted to hate America and stop drinking Coke. Have a Perrier instead.
However, I am not going to lose to that temptation. Others might, but I won't. In fact, just as the good people who counter the boycott of French and German goods, I want to do the opposite of taking an anti-American position. I want to call for sympathy for America.
Actually, I like America.
While the present American government wants to start an illegal war, I know that America is more than that government. Eventually Americans will have the chance to vote Mr. Bush out of office. I hope they'll be able to fix their voting machines until then.
And with President Bush hell-bent on kicking of operation "Big Mistake" in the next few weeks, Americans will be in need of sympathy from their few remaining friends.
They will have to pay alone for the cost of the war, as well as for the cost of bribing other nations to make them willing. And for the cost of rebuilding Iraq after the destruction. The EU won't pay this time.
That money won't be available for the Americans themselves.
And many are those who think this is operation "Hostile Takeover". Or, in the words of Mark Twain, operation "Robbing Expidition".
I don't think so. I actually hope that this is not about the Iraqi oil. But that perception is spread wide and far.
So I expect a sharp decline in American good will world-wide after their government actually starts bombing Iraqi kids.
But I refuse to ride on that wave. I know that there is more to America than operation "Big Mistake".
Posted by Karl-Friedrich Lenz at February 20, 2003 09:56 PM | TrackBack