I recently wrote an article about how young Democrats are so intolerant of people who disagree with them that large percentages won’t date or be friends with Republicans or shop at or support businesses owned by Republicans. It was kind of sad to see how many of these young people were willing to let politics dictate so many aspects of their lives.
As a columnist for PJ Media, I am obviously knee-deep in politics. I have strong political views, but I don’t let them run my life. I don’t care about my friends’ politics (even if they do care about mine), and I don’t worry about the politics of every business I support with my money. Who wants to live like that?
To be fair, there are left-wing companies I will not support. Ever since Target adopted its transgender bathroom policy, I’ve stopped shopping there. And while I still have an account with Facebook, I will not pay to run ads on the platform anymore. But, here are five places I shop regardless of their leftist policies:
Starbucks
I know many of my PJ Media colleagues would argue that Starbucks coffee is “terrible.” But they’re wrong. Keep in mind, I grew up in Massachusetts, where there are probably eight Dunkin Donuts locations per square mile, and much of my early coffee drinking was, sadly, Dunkin coffee. But once I discovered Starbucks, there was no turning back.
I’m very particular about my coffee. Some have even called me a coffee snob. But, if I’m going to drink coffee, it has to be good. I also enjoy Black Rifle Coffee Company coffee and regularly buy their stuff. But I’m not ditching Starbucks Coffee just because I have a suitable conservative alternative.
Apple
I’ve been an Apple user for about 20 years now. Granted, when it comes to computers and technology, the main options are all liberal companies. I have an iPhone, an iMac, a Mac Mini, an Apple Watch, and an iPad. Even if Microsoft were a staunchly conservative company, I’d probably still use Apple because their products are, in my opinion, better. Yes, they’re more expensive, but I’m now fully ensconced in the Apple ecosystem, and I’m not going anywhere.
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Lego
I have to admit that I came close to ending my support of Lego this year after the Billund, Denmark-based company pandered to the LGBTQ community by releasing an LGBTQ-themed set, complete with “genderless” minifigs, save for one drag queen. When the set was announced, I described it as “a rainbow-colored torrent of vomit.”
My son became a Lego fanatic this past year, and building Lego sets became a regular at-home activity. We started with smaller sets and quickly moved to larger, more complex ones. We’ve built many Star Wars ships, including Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing, the Millenium Falcon, the Razor Crest, and Slave I. Aside from countless Star Wars sets, we’ve got the latest edition of ECTO-1 from Ghostbusters. One time, I decided to tally up how much money I spent on Legos this year and quickly realized it was best not to think about it.
The point is, as distressing as it is that Lego has gone woke, I wasn’t about to deprive my son of the opportunity to build more Lego sets just because the company is now cuckoo.
Peloton
What? Matt supports Peloton? Indeed I do. Earlier this year, I bought a Bike+ and have been a regular rider since the end of June. Yes, I exposed the company’s banning of the hashtag #LetsGoBrandon and called them out for censoring it, but I do love my bike and all that it offers. I’ve never been a particularly active person, but I’ve used the bike or done some workout with my membership every day since I got it. That’s pretty amazing for me.
Amazon
I wouldn’t say I like shopping. Going to a store or a mall is torture for me. However, I like doing my shopping from home, and Amazon is my go-to place. I can pretty much get everything I need there. Also, my most successful book, The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama, was originally published through Amazon’s self-publishing arm back in 2016, and it became a bestseller. So not only have I spent a lot of money on Amazon, Amazon has made me money, too.
