alt Hacker NewsThis 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.
Stop with the strawman arguments; am not equating internet words and meaningless upvotes with real action.
I am also not even close to claiming such disobedience is sufficient. It is not.
But it is a necessary first step. And failing to take that first step is a notable failure
The very first chapter title in On_Tyranny by historian of 20th-century Europe Timothy Snyder [0] are: "Do Not Comply In Advance"
The entire operation of authoritarianism is to force all the institutions of govt (executive, legislative, & Judicial), and of society (press, industry, academia, sport, religion, groups, etc.) to serve not the independent purposes they serve in a democratic society, but to serve the executive authoritarian.
Forced compliance is the first and most essential tool of authoritarians.
When major institutions or organizations comply, they make it harder for everyone else to not comply. Conversely, non-compliance sets the example for others to not comply. Every non-compliance makes it harder for the authoritarians to implement fascism.
On the other side, note how the current US regime is working so hard to erase actual history of slavery, racism, and atrocities against minorities. They are mere symbolic plaques describing massacres or other history at museums or historic sights — meaningless symbolism, right? NOPE, they are official statements giving permission to think in ways other than the despot wants you to think.
Similarly, had Google and Apple kept the actual historic name of Lake Ontario, which predated both the US and Canada's founding, it would have been both the right thing to do and a real Fck-You to the regime, by organizations with real power. It would have given many others more foundation to disobey. The entire point of this kind of regime action is to force others to obey. Not obeying is not merely symbolic, it is the first step in fighting tyranny.
YES, that alone is not sufficient. But it is a necessary first step. Google and Apple Failed.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Tyranny