Politically driven boycotts of consumer products and pressure on companies to stop advertising on controversial platforms have been a hallmark of the Trump era, but boycotts in America go back well before the 45th president. The Onion takes a look at the history of consumer boycotts in the U.S.
1960s:
To protest segregation, wealthy Americans boycott use of public transportation.
1965:
Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers lead the Delano grape strike, successfully convincing millions of Americans to continue not buying fresh fruit.
1970:
Antiwar protests encourage housewives to find household alternatives to Dow Chemical’s napalm.
1980:
President Jimmy Carter calls for boycott against the Moscow Olympics in effort to escalate conflict in Afghanistan.
1986:
U.S. boycotts South African products over apartheid on the grounds that systematic racial segregation was more of a 1960s thing.
1997:
Local mother Diane Travers stopped taking her family to Applebee’s because she heard a guy at the bar say “cocksucker.”
2010:
Outrage over the company’s role in a massive oil spill spurs a boycott of BP gas stations, which everyone seems to have forgotten about now.
2012:
Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy declares his opposition to gay marriage, leading millions of gay rights advocates to continue eating Chick-fil-A.
2018:
Apparently Kyle’s ex works at Jimmy John’s now, so we have to start going to the Jersey Mike’s on South 15th instead.
2019:
People boycotting SoulCycle over CEO’s support of Trump going to be floored when they find out about rest of country’s ultra-wealthy business owners.