Or you could continue to boycott, because you don't support the rest of their policies.
Tempting. Would many Americans want outsiders to boycott Republican stronghold products? Are Americans strongly opposed to the Trump administration boycotting products from Republican strongholds?
If the answer to both questions is YES, then I might have to reconsider. Otherwise, the siren call of good American bourbon is hard to resist. Kinda like good-looking, smart, independent American women.
Fair enough. I seriously considered not visiting the US next month because I didn't want to support their economy. My parents wouldn't visit Spain while Franco was in power. It was just their personal boycott.
I believe you shouldn't take your morals too seriously...
haresfur: Well, ever since the Sept. 11th attacks in 2001 and the resulting hyper-vigilant mass hysterical reaction of the American public and state, I rarely go to the USA. It is a time-consuming hassle. I would guess that our trips have dropped to 1/10 or less of what they might have otherwise been.
Taking one's moral and ethics seriously is fine. But perhaps it is important to maintain a bit of humility in regards to the effectiveness of individual political gestures and what is often 'virtue signaling'.
Moreover, I personally tend to favour authoritarian, oppressive regime tourism. Why? It affords learning opportunities for the tourist and then it creates opportunities to conduct conversations about the living conditions in the tourist's home country (and possibly around the world depending on the kind of tourist).
Behind or underneath awful leaders are typically found a large number of innocent victims.
In the late 1970s, I spent a lot of time going back and forth between Chile and Argentina while both countries were under brutal, repressive military dictatorships. (In passing, it was great because northern hemisphere tourists were almost 100% absent. :-) ) In doing so I learned a lot about the history of both countries and learned much about how left-wing militants think. It is rather amazing what you can learn when you actually talk to people who do not look like you or think like you.
Anyhoooow, all this to say, I am really looking forward to a glass of bourbon. I will likely toast the American brothers and sisters who look upon the Trump regime with as much fear and horror as I do. I might sneak in a little toast for the independence and power of American institutions that have so far prevented the Trump regime from going completely off the rails.
The final toast will be to better days ahead and then by that time I will be no longer thinking about politics. -hehe-
Or you could continue to boycott, because you don't support the rest of their policies.
Tempting. Would many Americans want outsiders to boycott Republican stronghold products? Are Americans strongly opposed to the Trump administration boycotting products from Republican strongholds?
If the answer to both questions is YES, then I might have to reconsider. Otherwise, the siren call of good American bourbon is hard to resist. Kinda like good-looking, smart, independent American women.
Fair enough. I seriously considered not visiting the US next month because I didn't want to support their economy. My parents wouldn't visit Spain while Franco was in power. It was just their personal boycott.
I believe you shouldn't take your morals too seriously...
Or you could continue to boycott, because you don't support the rest of their policies.
Tempting. Would many Americans want outsiders to boycott Republican stronghold products? Are Americans strongly opposed to the Trump administration boycotting products from Republican strongholds?
If the answer to both questions is YES, then I might have to reconsider. Otherwise, the siren call of good American bourbon is hard to resist. Kinda like good-looking, smart, independent American women.
Yeah, I looked at the Wiki article; seems it's basically Irish moonshine.
It is. Precursor to all distilled spirits, or so they say. There was a period in the 1700s (?) where bootleg moonshine (I guess that can be a thing) caused some deaths, leading to some early temperance movements and the eventual outlawing of it. IIRC. I have a book, I think it's the one on the Provos, where the IRB was financing their war with their bootleg operations with it.
Yeah, I looked at the Wiki article; seems it's basically Irish moonshine.
It is. Precursor to all distilled spirits, or so they say. There was a period in the 1700s (?) where bootleg moonshine (I guess that can be a thing) caused some deaths, leading to some early temperance movements and the eventual outlawing of it. IIRC. I have a book, I think it's the one on the Provos, where the IRB was financing their war with their bootleg operations with it.
