I in’t gonna be judging anyone if they want to continue to collect MGAe doll lines. There’s no ethical consumption under capitalism and toy companies have always been as dirty as any other. If LOL surprise or Peel the rainbow spark joy for you in what has been a fustercluck of a year: go for it. Same for any problematic work or person. So long as you’re not evangelical about it: we’re good.
Year in year out, there’s always something: trying to boycott nestlé, worrying about plastic straws and medicine waste, figuring out where to get really free range chickens, deciding that you’d really like that Disney owned property merch because a story makes you feel understood for a moment, were my oranges picked by exploited migrants? how do you get a cellphone or computer that doesn’t have war built in? How do I afford clothing that wasn’t made by kids? Putting the burden of careful consumption on individuals isn’t fair and unless you’re rich, simply not possible. It’s on lawmakers to enforce fair trade and to punish exploitation so that we can go to the shop without fearing someone hurt for this.
Taking on the burden of ethical consumption is a dread many of you cannot afford and that’s how it should be: these are questions our countries and their laws should be handling for you. If a boycott or a local donation helps your mental health and you can afford it, great. If not, switch off your worried brain and treat yourself for goodness sake because your individual choices won’t change the world and you have enough concerns on your plate. Even if you’re white, straight, mentally and physically healthly, male, middle class, with a solid job, social security and savings: we’re in the middle of a massive plague!
As for the rest of us, we’re doing hard work on ourselves, trying to be active locally, having uncomfortable conversations with bigoted neighbours and family and trying to keep from not drowning from seeing folks suffer across the world everytime we switch on a screen. That might not feel like enough but it. is. enough. You surviving this physically and mentally intact IS enough. We’ll handle changing the world on the other side of this. I was a kid during the tail end of the AIDS crisis and Thatcher’s economic devastation and saw an awful lot of burnout: people who care caring too much & carrying too much and ending up a mess.
It’s ok to choose your battles and enjoy nice shiny baubles and distractions because being woke 24/7 leaves no time for sleep, no time for the human animal’s enrichment and no sabbath.
