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Would You Boycott NYC?
New York City, USA – September 10, 2012: A Tractor-Trailer 18-Wheeler truck is seen as it makes a sharp turn from W.42nd Street onto 8th Avenue while pedestrians wait for it to pass as it heads northbound in West Midtown Manhattan. (JayLazarin/iStockphoto.com)
Longtime readers of my meanderings may remember that I spent some 14 years roaming across the country in an 18 wheeler following my retirement from the military. The idea was to see the country for awhile and experience as much as I could of the place I helped defend. I travelled through 47 of the lower 48 states and developed a working list of places I did and did not wish to re-visit in the future.
So when I heard about truckers planning to decline deliveries into the New York City area following the $355 million fine levied against Donald Trump for a crime which has produced neither victims nor proceeds, I have to ask myself what I would do?
Let’s first stipulate that the boycott effort will be easier for some professional drivers than others. Those who own their own trucks can as a rule decide which locations they will travel to, so they will have an easier time avoiding NYC. Company drivers have no such option, particularly as larger companies who can deliver freight at a reduced cost will fill in the void left by owner operators. An owner operator can point his truck in another direction and survive, while a company driver who refuses a dispatch will be out of a job. So the boycott will not be air-tight.
And to be fair, I should also point out that I never missed an opportunity to miss driving into NYC. It’s the place where good attitudes and good driving records go to die. It would be the greatest embellishment to say that local drivers habitually changed their minds as they swerved from one direction to another, because they hadn’t any.
One time, I had a delivery at some place or other on Park Avenue and I had to parallel park. The mental image of an 80,000 pound, 80 ft. long truck negotiating downtown traffic should be enough to have the reader reaching for a glass of bourbon. Now imagine having to back that beast and parallel park the truck and trailer curbside in the midst of all that traffic with an obstacle course of vehicles careening all around and you’ll want the whole bottle. I saw so many middle fingers during the tribulation that I wondered if there was a proctology convention in town.
To be honest, I did all I could to boycott NYC before it was fashionable. From bridge clearances that were inaccurately marked, to downtown truck route signs that were removed by local gangs so they could rob lost truckers, to incomprehensibly rude drivers who suffered from acute cranial rectal inversion, any trip assignment to the Big Apple was like playing Russian Roulette. To borrow a phrase from Mark Twain, to avoid being persecuted in that place is to be, “…as happy as a martyr when the fire won’t burn.”
The question remains, if I were a professional driver, would I join with other truckers in an embargo of NYC? Would I abstain from a city where innocent people are routinely brutalized by roving gangs of moronic goons who are released from jail before the arresting officer’s shift is over? Would I refuse delivery to a city where the hard-earned money of taxpayers is diverted from services for New Yorkers and spent on those whose singular achievement in life was to break into the country illegally while the State Attorney General instead uses her resources to go after Donald Trump for utilizing a very common practice in real estate circles that, to date, hasn’t been prosecuted? As business investor Kevin O’Leary explained on CNN:
So in this case, what I’m trying to figure out — and I’m not pro or con and I don’t care about the politics — is who lost money? Nobody. The bank got paid back the construction finance loan and a new building was built. If you’re gonna sue this case and win, you’ve gotta sue every real estate developer everywhere because this is all they do. This is what they do all day long, every day! So I don’t think this thing will ever survive appeal regardless of what the fine is. This doesn’t even make sense! … If you’re a real estate developer and watching this, you’re saying, “What is this? This is ridiculous!”
So absolutely yes, I’d join in the current trucker boycott if I could (I came off the road in 2018). Would I advise other professional drivers to do the same? Yes. And if the boycott somehow imposes discomfort on the good people of that city, I would remind them that as Barack Obama famously observed, “Elections have consequences.” After all, we’ve been suffering the consequences of the 2020 election for nearly four years now.
Published in General
The American experiment does not entail passive acceptance of a miscarriage of justice targeted to denying one the ability to vote for the candidate of ones choice. This, too, is insurrection. And if the people of New York are unwilling to correct the issue, I am not obligated to do business with them. Under the Bill of Rights. Is the Bill of Rights not part of your American experiment? Or have you just not gotten around to thinking that far?
The only one who opposed that from the “right” was Donald Trump. And I’m sure the $20K in AB-InBev PAC sent to prominent Republicans helped a little. But the brand manager lost her job and so did the marketing director and the bottom line of executives whose compensations were tied to stock evaluation certainly felt it. And they’re still feeling it.
Sure it is. As is your unalienable right to politically shoot yourself in the foot for the amusement of your political opponents. But if you’re going beyond your right of free speech and petition for redress then you better make sure whatever actions you take are going to have the desired effect.
When you initiate economic action against a blue city in a blue state is that going to have the same effect as initiating economic action against a blue city (St. Louis) in a red state (Missouri)? At least in the latter you know you’re going to get a sympathetic hearing.
No need to lecture me on whether it’s easier said than done. JY and I and 3 of our 4 kids have abandoned a state we loved. We sold the house all four of my children and three of my grandchildren were brought home to; a house we’d occupied for 37 years. I left my business of 25 years behind; my husband a job he’d had for 35 years. We said goodbye to siblings, nieces, nephews. Lots of friends and neighbors.
All because of the destructive policies of California. And while technically we aren’t Oakies, the only thing missing from our caravan was me sitting on a rocking chair in the bed of the truck.
Save it.
And that’s great. You were at a point in your life where you had the resources to leave. Not everyone does.
Do you think my three kids had those kind of resources when they ran for red states? Putting the truck rental on a credit card? They all left ahead of us because they had small children; they left behind their family, all their friends and lots of free babysitting.
And stop cutting and pasting and removing context. Are you getting charged by the letter?
Edited to add. PS: Don’t tell me what’s “great”.
Actually I heard that argument from various places all along. They made the same type of argument that you make about NYC. Sure, maybe the marketing director lost her job – eventually (it took far longer than it should have) – but THOUSANDS of people who made and moved etc the Bud Light, lost their jobs too.
And maybe the higher-ups at AB only got maybe $2 Million bonuses this year instead of $4 Million, but they’re still doing fine.
New York overall may not be as blue as you think it is. See that map back on page 1 for example. And to repeat, Lee Zeldin ALMOST won.
You think the mostly-red parts of NY aren’t pissed at the nonsense of NYC? C’mon.
The people in the Bronx don’t give a flying flip about what happens to people in the other parts of the nation. I am all for them having to suffer the pain inflicted on the rest of us, or some version of it. Make them howl. By any means necessary.
But hey, Mr. Journalist, if you have fancy ideas on how any action by the GOP does not get spun by the captive lapdogs of the Democrats, I am all ears. In fact, I am all ear for any strategy coming from you and your fellows. Please enlighten me on how we get to a win. “Vote harder” has not worked, so don’t sell me on that. “Dump Trump” seems to be the only drum you have to beat, and that has not worked either.
I’ll Define Win:
A lasting Conservative Victory that forces the left to retreat, not for an election cycle, but for decades. Just like they keep doing to us.
Of course it is helping their cause? How can you doubt it. The Biden administration is about to have a UN vote to hurt Israel.
And you, my friend, don’t actually respond to my point. You so get upset when people on the right do something, anything, and yet, News Flash, you never actually offer any winning way forward.
I am all ears. Please, you are the expert! You are the trained journalist, and you are plugged in, plugged in big time, to Conservatism, Inc. You work for them. Please, what is the big plan? Let us in on the secret plan to take back the nation from the ever winning left. Other than being Against Trump!(tm)
AB-InBev eliminated 350 jobs but in a division that did not deal with Bud Light. Their major glass bottle provider did shut down its two oldest plants but said the boycott merely accelerated the process that was planned to happen.
Are you then saying you’re unhappy with the result?
No context is removed. Just repetition.
No, I’m saying that what you seem to think are the big results aren’t that big, nor do they seem to differ from the likely impact of a NYC boycott which you seem to oppose.
@bryangstephens Seems like you’ve already eliminated both more attractive candidates and voting and have settled on “any means necessary,” so I’m not sure I have much to offer. That pretty much leaves you with either bifurcation of the country or bloody revolution.
Do you seriously believe the Biden Administration was not an anti-Israeli path before the protests?
The plan was to supplant Trump with a more effective candidate, one who knew how to get things done. Unfortunately large swaths of the party felt it was more important to ramp up the circular firing squad. That I can’t do anything about.
The acceleration in the decline of DEI departments are directly tied to the market forces placed on AB-InBev, Target and Disney. Delivery disruption is not the same as market disruption.
We’re, as usual, behind the curve. The Democrats already abandoned it.
Greg Abbott chartered a handful of buses and loaded them with people who wanted to go to NYC; a small, inexpensive political statement. And, of course, he knew he couldn’t possibly keep up with the influx of new criminal migrants. So you might think it was a futile gesture.
But actually by doing so, he exploded the myth of sanctuary cities.
On Saturday we will be flying out of JFK for a long needed vacation to the USVI. I do regret that but all this just happened on Monday. If I were booking now I would have chosen another option. The trucker boycott is a catalyst that will go beyond deliveries.
Why is it I can pay $200pp less and get a direct flight vs. Boston or Hartford? Why is parking $300 cheaper parking on Long Island vs. Boston? So, I am driving 4 hours vs. 1 hour and saving $700 and I got a direct flight both ways!
On the contrary, it was (and is) brilliant. Moreover, it causes local leaders to make decisions that impact their communities. It’s not Greg Abbott who’s taking over rec centers and schools in the poorer sections of major cities, it’s the Democratic Party. That works. It’s very effective. And it has (mostly) nothing to do with Trump.
This is not a response so much as a dismissal. At least I know where I stand with you.
Do you seriously believe the protests have had zero effect on Biden Admin?
As I said, more of a plan than “Dump Trump”. Conservatism, Inc and the GOP have ignored the needs of large swaths of the party. Those people are not out to ramp up the circular firing squad, they are tired of being ignored and taken for granted. You can’t do anything about that? Sure you can. You can actually talk to people in Conservatism, Inc. You are part of that. Like able to pick up the phone and talk to those guys. Far, far, far, far more power than the likes of me. And what you chose to do with that power is hold the large swaths of the party in contempt for being unhappy they have been ignored.
So, as far as plans go, you don’t have one. You didn’t have one. The only thing you offer is more of the same. The same GOP who said “Wait until we have the House. Wait until we have Congress. Wait until we have all three!”
You guys had all three and it was the GOP who blocked the repeal of Obamacare, the GOP who refused to build the wall. It was the GOP who worked to hamstring Trump at almost every turn.
You’ve got nothing, EJ. You and the rest of your buddies in Conservatism, Inc. No plan. No wins to offer even when they did have power. Nothing.
All Conservatism, Inc. stands for today is being Against Trump ™.
I follow the trucking industry a bit as a business matter. I see from what I read and see from truckers many reasons to avoid NYC.
I read the “boycott” as a response to yet one more straw to the pile that makes deliveries in NYC so difficult and risky for Mr. (or Mrs. or Miss) Truck Driver that Mr. Truck Driver decides it’s no longer a reasonable business decision to deliver to NYC. This straw being the court’s confirmation that selective arbitrary and capricious law enforcement is permitted and encouraged, and thus may be applied to you, Mr. (or Miss or Mrs.) Truck Driver.
Why just New York City? A logical argument could be made that the whole state should be avoided. But, the political center of mass in New York State is in New York City. The objective of a “boycott” would be to apply pressure to New York politicians demonstrating that selective, arbitrary, and capricious application of the law has consequences. Such pressure is most effective when applied in concentrated places so it is more likely to be recognized. So pressure on NYC will be more likely to get the message through to state politicians that Americans oppose selective arbitrary and capricious law enforcement.
As a practical matter, experience is that government officials even in the “blue” cities in the rest of the state are somewhat more rational than those in New York City, and so Mr. Truck Driver runs less of a risk (but not zero risk) of encountering the selective arbitrary and capricious law enforcement outside NYC. Also, the cumulative problems of driving a truck in New York state but outside NYC are lower, so adding the potential of selective arbitrary and capricious law enforcement may still keep the total risk below the total risk level Mr. Truck Driver is willing to endure to earn money.
You know why Disney laughs in our faces? Because there have been plenty of alleged big-time “crushing” boycotts of Disneyland, going back thirty years. None of them was so much as a pinprick. We made fools of ourselves proving just how little attention the public was paying to social conservative activists.
You know what was effective? Terrible box office for Disney films. That was done on a one by one basis; there’s no organized attempt to get parents to stop seeing all Disney films just because of the studio name.
My bet: NYC won’t even notice this. Few truckers will participate, the city will shrug.
And the people in NYC are far more likely to have voted for Kathy Hochul, and Letitia James, and others responsible for this nonsense, than those outside of NYC. As mentioned previously, Lee Zeldin almost beat Hochul, and you can bet that Hochul won largely because of NYC.
Hochul et al aren’t likely to be affected directly by any boycott, but you have to convince their voters that they… “chose poorly.”
Will big-time property developers continue to do business in a state that has effectively announced that it is taking a page from the dees-dem-doze crowd’s playbook when it comes to financial oversight?
“That’s a nice little business you have going there, It would be a pity if something were to … happen to it.”
I can say that during the trucker convoy protest I had no problem booking loads going west. So I say good luck butI have my reservations it will be effective.
New York State consists of two segments: NYC/Albany plus inner cities in dying municipalities, versus the rest of the state. No need to punish the rural parts of the state for the sins of NYC.
I lived in CT near NYC for 15 years, including many of the ‘golden’ years of Giuliani and the spillover of his time in office. I went there twice.
If you look at the 2023 FEC reports for the Top 5 domestic real estate developers in NYC the closest thing you’ll find to a Republican in them is the name “Nikki Haley.” Is that a clear cut sign of corruption? You tell me. Trump has often bragged about how he purchased the cooperation of the Clintons and other high profile Democrats in the past.
Trump to Sean Hannity in 2015:
Remember too that the judge entered a judgment against the defendant before a single word of testimony had been taken, and then based on that judgment, prohibited the defendant from presenting any other evidence to rebut the finding of “fraud.” Only evidence regarding what amount of penalty to be assessed was allowed. A true vindictive prosecution meant to bankrupt the defendant and destroy his family and their businesses.
A big part of the problems that have perhaps come to a head – or at least are getting there quicker than in the past – is that we may be willing to get along with them, but they won’t reciprocate.
That’s a generous interpretation. Another is that Trump is corrupt and always has been. He was more than willing to lubricate whatever political wheel needed greasing if it helped him get his way. And he thought he was in the club and would continue to be. Only he wasn’t. And then, other than just being an obnoxious ass, he didn’t have the skill set to deal with his new reality. And he still doesn’t.
At no time was he ever interested in draining the swamp. (“So hokey.) In all of his years in NY real estate he never went to the FBI and said, “Let me wear a wire! You wouldn’t believe the stuff that’s going on!” He just went along to get along.
So he deserves it. He deserves to have laws written to go after just him.
Rich coming from someone who claims to worry about any means necessary.