Somewhere, Ronald McDonald is probably chain-smoking behind a dumpster, watching the latest “economic blackout” roll in and wondering if he should just pivot to crypto. People’s Union USA… the activist group that’s never met a hashtag it didn’t like… is back on its nonsense calling for a weeklong McDonald’s boycott, all because the burger empire quietly ghosted its DEI policies back in January.
(Source: Giphy)
For those just catching up here, McDonald’s axed its diversity targets, iced a supplier DEI program, and basically told HR to stop sending out the “external survey’s” everyone ignores anyway. Keep in mind, this all took place right before Trump started taking aim at corporate America again, and the Supreme Court made affirmative action a historical footnote forcing every C-suite in America to suddenly “re-evaluate” their commitment to not being a 1950s country club.
(Source: New York Post)
Now, the People’s Union USA wants you to skip your Happy Meal and “hit them in the wallet.” That’s the plan, anyway. Meaning, no fries, or drive-thru Diet Coke (which is heaven by the way) until June 30th. If you recall, this is the same group that tried to cancel Amazon and Walmart earlier this year. Amazon didn’t notice. Walmart didn’t notice. Target, for like one hot second, actually did notice as sales tanked, and the CEO started sweating through his shirt. (To be fair, Target was the only corporation that actually really try-hard ‘catered’ to this audience anyway).
But alas, it appears McDonald’s is the final boss of American consumer inertia. The last time this company blinked, it was because someone ate onions with legit slime on them (read: E-coli). Their official response to the boycott? “We pay our taxes, we love communities, and please stop misrepresenting our actions.” Translation: Kick rocks tree huggers.
(Source: Giphy)
As for the leader of this movement, his name is John Schwarz and he apparently has 450,000 Instagram followers talking about “corporate accountability,” “fair taxes,” and “real equality”. Which is cool, but also, half those followers are probably bots and the other half are just here for the drama. Meaning, even if they do manage to put a dent in McDonald’s numbers, it’s not like the CEO is going to hand out equity to the fry cooks or suddenly start live-streaming DEI training from the ball pit. And I can guarantee you that a weeklong Instagram campaign isn’t moving the needle unless it comes with a side of Congressional hearings and a Taylor Swift endorsement.
What’s more is that they are also lining up their next targets in Starbucks, which happen to be every blue haired barista’s introduction to “hard earned money”, Home Depot, Lowes, and, for good measure, another round of Walmart and McDonald’s in August. At this point, the boycott calendar is more packed than most people’s social lives.
(Source: Giphy)
As for me, I’m literally going to McDonalds to get Diet Coke after I write this. Call me crazy or insensitive, but right now I have a fever and the only medicine is some Micky D’s carbonated juice. In the end, if you want to skip McDonald’s this week, bet. But don’t act like you’re about to topple the House of Big Mac with a hashtag and a couple of viral reels. The fries will still be hot, the ice cream machine will still be broken, and corporate America will keep doing what it does best… waiting the protests out. Meaning, keep your eyes on this story and place your bets accordingly, friends. Until next time…
At the time of publishing, Stocks.News holds positions in McDonalds, Starbucks, and Amazon as mentioned in the article.
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