alt Hacker NewsEven "symbolic" resistance is not merely symbolic — it is actually costly and meaningful.
A core principle of authoritarianism is to get people, corporations, and institutions to yield to the despot's — comply in advance, retell the despot's lies, applaud the despot's ridiculous new clothes.
Anything not doing that provides permission for others to also refuse.
The entire principle of authoritarianism is it is too costly for a small number of people to resist, so the activation energy never happens. That is why they swat down one "bee" so hard, because if a million "bees" get together, they are done.
Supporting any person or corporation who resists is legit, as is refusing to support those who comply.
And the idea that corporations are only responsible for "shareholder value" and have zero responsibility to the people or society which literally sustains them is BS; just a mantra to justify running corporations like sociopaths.
This is what people who want to feel like they're a part of "resistance" tell each other to avoid having to make the smallest sacrifices that might actually matter. The internet is full of boycotts that go nowhere, words that mean nothing, and sentiments that exist only because it's the kind of thing the LCD upvotes.
So please, spare me the idealistic pitch about the power of symbolism, your record of results is appalling and embarrassing. It's a tragic misreading of history based on cherrypicked events that leads people to engage with this kind of mindset in any serious way.