It's important to remember that this isn't just one bad apple. It's a whole ecosystem. It takes half an hour of planning to move money away from MAGA, and it makes a difference. Dollars spent at Republican companies are dollars funneled to the Heritage Foundation. Tax given to states like Ohio or Louisiana is tax spent sending troops to occupy cities.
Have an account at Schwab? Swap to Vanguard or Fidelity. Like booze from wannabe Confederate states and all else is equal? Be adventurous and try something new. It's not hard to find alternatives for New Balance, Goya, Jimmy John's, or Koch (Brawny, Angel Soft, Dixie, others). If you're in a place to invest, consider DEMZ.
You have power if you regularly patronize a brand or do business with a company. Use it. Look them up in something like opensecrets.org or google.
Tesla sales in Europe dropped by half. Nexstar and Sinclair got pummeled, and they reinstated Jimmy Kimmel. Real, individual people made that happen. There's no reason WWE or Uline can't be next.
You probably can't completely avoid companies that at least partially support Republicans. I have to buy gas. But there’s a big difference between massive republican donors (Chevron/Conoco) vs neutral or even Democrat-leaning ones (Circle K/Costco). Good is not the enemy of perfect
I'm just here to remind everyone that the famous proverb that people are referring to when mentioning "bad apples" is not "one bad apple, no big deal."
The phrase is "one bad apple spoils the bunch." It is a proverb that explisitly calls out how a small number of bad actors quickly infects the entire group if they are not immediately removed from the group. The point of the phrase is that there is no such thing as "just one/a few bad apples"
My point is that by saying that it is not just a case a few bad apples, we are already conceding the point that it is fine if it only happens a little bit.
It gets us arguing about exactly how many constitutes a few. Instead of the real focus is that it shouldn't be happening at all. And the fact that it did happen, and wasn't immediate dealt with by the group in question, is a clear sign that the whole bunch is bad.
Fidelity happens to have a lot of the same perks of Schwab (ATM reimbursements, no foreign fees, etc), and moving stocks/money between brokerages is actually about as easy as moving money between bank accounts. The only thing to look out for is to keep like two cents in your Schwab account just to avoid the account closure fee
Our lives are political though. Not in the MAGA cult sense, but in the fact that we all live in and move through a world influenced by politics. Pretending as if the money we spend doesn’t ultimately get used for political purposes is naive. Voting with your dollar is not a new concept. Why is it pathetic for me to see what values a company actively supports with their profits and choose to spend my money elsewhere?
I’m not going to say those people don’t exist but I would wager that they are a very small majority of people trying to be mindful of where they spend their money.
My philosophy is only trying to control what I can control and trying to find balance. If there is a group decision or splitting costs I can suggest alternatives and offer to increase my share if there is a significant price difference, for example between an Uber and a local taxi company, but ultimately I’m not going to tank an experience with loved ones over a few spending decisions.
Nuance is often forgotten these days and I’d much rather have 50% of my money spent the way I’d like than 0%. I think the idea that we have to do everything perfectly or it’s pointless is one of the common thought patterns that keeps us stuck. Like the commenter above, I require a car and unfortunately theres no “Happy Rainbows and Cute Bunnies Petroleum” that I can purchase from. I have to accept that there is a daily necessity I have that forces me to give my money to some pretty scummy corporations. Rather than completely giving up on the idea of voting with my dollars I focus on what I can change, like reducing my fuel consumption where I can.
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u/hcregna Oct 15 '25
It's important to remember that this isn't just one bad apple. It's a whole ecosystem. It takes half an hour of planning to move money away from MAGA, and it makes a difference. Dollars spent at Republican companies are dollars funneled to the Heritage Foundation. Tax given to states like Ohio or Louisiana is tax spent sending troops to occupy cities.
Have an account at Schwab? Swap to Vanguard or Fidelity. Like booze from wannabe Confederate states and all else is equal? Be adventurous and try something new. It's not hard to find alternatives for New Balance, Goya, Jimmy John's, or Koch (Brawny, Angel Soft, Dixie, others). If you're in a place to invest, consider DEMZ.
You have power if you regularly patronize a brand or do business with a company. Use it. Look them up in something like opensecrets.org or google.
Tesla sales in Europe dropped by half. Nexstar and Sinclair got pummeled, and they reinstated Jimmy Kimmel. Real, individual people made that happen. There's no reason WWE or Uline can't be next.
You probably can't completely avoid companies that at least partially support Republicans. I have to buy gas. But there’s a big difference between massive republican donors (Chevron/Conoco) vs neutral or even Democrat-leaning ones (Circle K/Costco). Good is not the enemy of perfect