After a federal judge in Hawaii put a stop to Trump’s newest travel ban, his supporters took to twitter to announce a call for a boycott, calling the Aloha state “un-American”. Met with both support and jeers, the boycott suggestion seemed to center around the call for future visitors of the state to cancel their plans.
RT if you are ready to get behind Hawaii Boycott !! We must stand together against the disease known as Liberalism!!#MuslimBan #MuslimBan2 pic.twitter.com/WbRFpfGl7m
— STOCK MONSTER (@StockMonsterUSA) March 16, 2017
The few successful boycotts in recent history have included those which caused real change at the likes of Nike and BP. There were measurable, economic changes for the leaders and companies due to the withdrawal of real income and future income as consumer groups had a clear game plan in mind.
Even today, Nike works very hard at a sustainable supply chain in the wake of consumers dropping the brand who once used child labor for production.
Indeed, there are many boycotts who have fallen flat, and the current call for the boycott of a state is likely to fall into this category.
First of all, there is no clear plan as to what the activists are calling to ban. What exactly, would cause the State to “rethink” a federal judge’s opinion? The mere fact that one federal judge’s opinion might hold an entire state responsible is implausible for most, as many suggested on Twitter.
Second, A quick check of Hawaii’s visitor statistics indicated of the nearly 300,000 visitors each quarter to the Pacific Paradise, more than a third come from outside the US. International visitors are not likely to read up on US politicking when making their vacation plans.
If they boycott Hawaii maybe the beaches will be nicer. The land would flourish. Respect would be more of a thing. This sounds v nice
— A$AP GLAM? (@camrynxcarr) March 16, 2017
Lastly, early responses from individuals and reporters are vastly in favor of travel ban supporters staying away, calling their “narrow-minded”, and “colonial” ideals unwanted in the pristine state, anyway. Many tweets which suggested the conservatives vacation elsewhere echoed the word “mahalo”, the Hawaiian word for “thanks”.
I wish @realDonaldTrump supporters would include my state of New York along with their #BoycottHawaii boycott ! Hawaii is so lucky!!
— Michael Mitchell (@FrenchBoy_Heart) March 19, 2017
Just as other grassroots boycotts of yore, if the entity being boycotted isn’t on board, it is unlikely to elicit any kind of change. Another federal judge in Maryland offered an identical opinion in Maryland, and so far there are no calls for a boycott there.
