I’ve often pondered how awful being related to a prominent political figure would be. My presumptions have recently been confirmed since retail companies like Nordstrom, Burlington and Neiman Marcus dropped Ivanka Trump products.
Retailers blamed sale drops, but behind the sale drops is Shannon Coulter, a business woman from the San Francisco Bay area, responsible for starting the #GrabYourWallet boycott. The boycott targeted all Trump-related products and spread like wildfire on social media. Coulter was quoted saying she would not have gone after Ivanka if the woman had not supported her father during his campaign. She labeled the boycott’s victory over Nordstrom as her greatest accomplishment.
Granted, if getting a retailer to drop Trump’s daughter’s brand is your greatest accomplishment, you must lead a rather unfulfilling life, but there are also a few more issues with the integrity of the boycott.
Many designers not only live deplorable lives, but take advantage of sweatshops or child labor to manufacture products sold all over the world; I don’t see anyone boycotting Forever 21, for example. However, many found it appropriate to target Ivanka’s line because her questionable father was elected president. I wonder, then, if morality and justice is truly what we are after when making our purchases.
But no matter, let’s focus in on Ivanka Trump. #GrabYourWallet operates under the assumption that, because Ivanka is related to President Trump and, God forbid, decided to support her father during his campaign, she deserves to be punished. Not only is Ivanka fairly moderate, but she is being blamed for walking with her father through his journey to presidency. Since when do we judge women based on men they are related to?
Additionally, Ivanka is not responsible for the promotion of immoral acts. Some may disagree with her political stance, I certainly do not agree with everything she says, but she has done nothing that ever warranted the boycott of her business. Which leads me to my final point.
#GrabYourWallet may seem like a good cause, but it’s only preying on people who are illogical and quick to jump on tantrum bandwagons. This is not activism. Doing something for the betterment of society is activism. Making a statement in the hope of bringing about positive change is activism. Jeopardizing a woman’s business based on her last name and political views is a tantrum and, I dare add, intolerant.
Letizia Mariani can be reached at mari8259@stthomas.edu
You are exactly right on this one Letizia, but then those who promote such actions usually are amoral and cannot defend those actions in an intelligent ingagement. Many if not most of those currently engaging in disruptive and damaging protests do not understand what it is about and cannot speak intelligently to what they are doing when personally challenged.