YOURSAY | Double standards when it comes to boycotts

YOURSAY | ‘Critique the views, not the person.’

COMMENT | How can we not act when genocide is claiming lives?

Hmmmmmmmm: Malaysiakini columnist P Gunasegaram’s articles must have touched a raw nerve somewhere. I guess the truth hurts and that explains the long-winded response.

If you think your selective boycott is hurting Israel, you are more disillusioned than I thought. But we are not asking you to stop your boycotts.

You do what you deem fit as long as you don’t try to stop those who think differently from patronising those outlets.

Personally, I have not stepped into any KFC or McDonald’s for years now because I don’t think fast foods are healthy.

But I have neither boycotted them nor told anybody to. I am still trying very hard to think of a company here that we have boycotted due to health or dietary reasons.

Perhaps Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Malaysia can give me an example.

Commenting has been disabled for this story: Whoever wrote this seems to have a personal axe to grind with Gunasegaram. It is okay to disagree but is it necessary to be so rude and aggressive?

This type of response only feeds the stereotype of these BDS people as having an “Either With Us or Against Us” fascist mentality.  

Look, you can counter Gunasegaram’s views without being rude and insulting.

Critique the views, not the person.

The article is peppered with passive-aggressive (and outright aggressive) insults and personal attacks.  

This was perhaps written by a young person who doesn’t know better or an older person who should know better.  

BDS, why get personal just because someone expressed a view that is different from yours?  

This may be “earth-shattering news” to you: People have the right to give their views without being denigrated.  

A response that is both unprofessional and revealing of the people behind it.

DonGetMeWrong: BDS is trying to justify their boycott by claiming a “targeted boycott”. What is that? You boycott certain entities and not others?

What a load of nonsense.  

They should just admit that companies like Apple, Facebook, X, Google, and Blackrock are just too big for them to bully or even touch.

So what is your targeted boycott trying to achieve?

It is just a waste of resources and, at the end of the day, killing our fellow Malaysians’ livelihood and bankrupting owners of companies that have nothing to do in this Israel/Hamas war.

Either BDS boycott every entity that has an Israeli footprint or do nothing at all. 

Coward@DontGetMeWrong: BDS is taking the emotional and easy way out. With targeted boycotts, they mean we boycott only the things that affect us the least.

The real spirit of a boycott is to take the pain of forgoing something because it is the right thing to do. They, like others, cannot do that.

This article basically justifies their call on emotional grounds only. So, while they take the easy way out, they don’t want you to question their methods.  

The people I respect most in this boycott movement are the McDonald’s employee who is about to lose his job because of the boycott but still supports the Palestinian cause. He is willing to bear the pain for his actions.

BluePanther4725: BDS is a big hypocrite! BDS accuses others of double standards and racism, but these are exactly the attitudes and actions of BDS.

If BDS claimed that they were acting for humanity, why didn't they call for boycotts on Russia or the killings of Yemenis by Saudi Arabian forces?

It seems that BDS only focuses on the Palestinian issue because it involves atrocities committed by the Zionists on Muslims.

Does BDS also give thought to the Ukrainians as well? This shows that BDS practices double standards and prejudice and is not impartial in its fight for humanity.

BDS Malaysia didn’t even spare a thought for the employees of the companies affected by their boycotts.

BDS is not worthy of our respect and we should boycott BDS instead.

Gerard Lourdesamy: Strange that BDS keeps silent about atrocities in Yemen, Syria and Ukraine. What about genocides in other countries, such as those in Africa?

Are their lives worth less than the Palestinians'?

These boycotts are not going to work so long as Western and Arab countries and others like Russia, China, India, Japan and South Korea take a muted stand towards Israel.

Even in the case of South Africa, the sanctions had limited success in the dismantling of apartheid. The same with the present Western-backed sanctions against Russia.

BDS may have a moral argument here but the reality is that Israel will survive no matter what is said and done, and the Palestinians are not going to get their state any time soon.

Quigonbond: BDS, you’re just not thinking hard or creatively enough.

The way you guys are going about it, there is no strategy, no lines drawn in terms of scope and timing, and you are prone to burn yourselves and your fellow Malaysians.

Hot air won’t get you anywhere and we should not tolerate any form of provocation, incitement, threats of violence or violence itself by how the protest or boycott is being carried out.

LimeMoose1462: Are we not angry with injustices around us? Yes, there are many injustices, right in our backyard, which we cannot talk about freely.

There are injustices near our neighbourhood that we can talk about but do nothing, like in Myanmar.

Further away, there are more injustices in the world which we can talk about, depending on who the perpetrators are.

The Israel - Palestine conflict is the one that you are most interested in and the only one you are interested in.

I am interested in the injustices at home first. Then my neighbourhood. After that, I may join you in your boycott.

For the time being, I am enjoying my McD without any worry about long jams at the drive-thru. Thank you, BDS.

BlueShark1548: Palestine and Palestinians are a big issue for you. Our government donated RM100 million and even our NGOs delivered food as well.

But do any of you care about the plight of the Rohingyas who live closer to us? Malaysia is going to be the chairperson of Asean.

Why not get Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to use his position to influence Myanmar to stop its treatment of the Rohingyas?

What have you done for the Rohingya in Myanmar and those who are here in Malaysia?

KK Voter: Do some homework and provide money trails to prove that boycotted businesses are directly benefiting Israel.

Then, the boycotts are justified. Blind boycotts that harm our people while having zero effect on the target are just dumb and destructive.

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