As has been widely reported, Jimmy Kimmel returned to the air in the USA last night.
Disney, which owns the channel that produces his show, restored it after the attacks on it by Trump and others on the far right. The indefinite suspension they thought they had secured lasted a week.
So what happened?
Disney's stars turned on Disney and made their feelings known publicly.
The media across the world were outraged by Disney's actions.
So were all those who believe in freedom of speech.
And vitally, many of them cancelled their Disney subscriptions.
Disney got the message.
At least on this occasion, in the battle between fascism and freedoms, freedoms won because the consumer had the power to hit Disney hard by withholding their custom, and that is what they did.
We sometimes feel powerless. And sometimes we are. However, this series of events shows that small, individual actions can have significant consequences.
We do not need to give in to fascism. We need to act against it, however, and whenever we can.
I am mildly encouraged. There might just be some hope, after all.
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I’m encouraged that a politician like Ed Davey of the LibDems has realised he can raise the party’s profile by going after Farages policies and the morality of them. Starmer too is reported as deciding to take this tack although the lack of morality in his own policies undermines his credibility in doing so.
The lib dems have found a way to marry the one nation tory exiles with the moralistic pro-EU centre left who are disappointed by labour’s soft nationalism. Both coalitions are revolted by Farage. They do agree on something after all. And the Lib Dems are that voice. Just don’t mention university tuition fees or David Cameron.
It shows that the solution is not appeasement. It is action.
“indefinite suspicion” – suspension?
Grrrr….spell checkers
Thanks
I cancelled my Disney+ subscription but it wasn’t in solidarity with Jimmy Kimmel whose show I have never watched. I cancelled because freedom of speech was being suppressed. There’s not much I can do to prevent fascism as an individual but when I realised there was one tiny protest I could make I took the opportunity. I was surprised that the outrage was so widespread.
Who would have thought individuals withholding small monthly subscriptions could lead to a $5 billion effective reduction in market value of a massive company practically overnight.
Thanks
There is absolutely no doubt from the historical evidence that boycotts work. Indeed, the boycott of the original Charles Boycott worked – the primary aims of the Irish National Land League were largely won within a year.
I learnt this from watching Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, which I came across due to a post on here. Good news; it is indeed encouraging. People not in positions of influence may think twice about protesting en masse, and we cannot know what letters and other individual actions from everyone add up to, so seeing something like this is heartening.
Trump will now use his minions to destroy Disney and ABC, with the good assets left in the hands of cronies. Dissent must be punished to encourage the others, with the added opportunity to make a profit.
Robert Reich has also commented that America is finally waking up, comparing this to the sudden collapse of the McCarthyite era. But when it’s a matter of deleting your Disney account, this can be a world wide reaction. Heartening.
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-sleeping-giant-is-awakening?utm_source=substack&publication_id=365422&post_id=174307576&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=nz0er&triedRedirect=true
I think that I wanted to say something like this other day.
What has made the far right so powerful – Neo-liberalism included – also has the power to unmake it all.
We might very well end up being surprised and in being so, get deeper insights.
Unfortunately, this kind of action only works when consumers have a choice. That’s why capitalists like monopolies. They look for choke points that they can sit on and extract rent. Water and power companies for example. It’s why I am so disheartened by the push for nuclear in this country. There are benefits to nuclear, but our government is setting us up for another choke point. Wind and solar, particularly solar, are the democratisation of power, affordable enough for the individual to generate their own energy. Pushing nuclear power just means another energy consortium extracting rent and dragging on the economy. The private money behind these new stations will want a return on their investment, and the high energy prices and capture of the regulators in this country means they can get a good return. If anyone objects, they can just fund a right wing mouth piece to take power.
These fascists are digging their own graves by pursuing what are obviously fascist policies. Being labelled a fascist is about as insulted as a person can be. They cannot escape from it. When it talks like a fascist and acts like a fascist, as Trump evidently does, it’s…..a fascist, and about as popular as a bout of diarrhoea. The reckoning is coming very soon for these people, I believe. As soon as they are identified for what they are. Trump, Putin, Netanyahu and poor old Nigel who has strapped himself to these people.