Bud Light Is Just a Good Start — Companies Need to Fear Us More Than They Fear the Left

A right-leaning friend (I call him a “Fox News Republicans”) recently asked me on Twitter if we’d gone too far with our attacks on Anheuser-Busch. His argument was logical, asking, “There are companies that do far more damage through Cultural Marxism than just taking on a transgender spokesperson or sponsoring pride parades, so why do they get a pass?”

He used as his example the story below about 645 employees of glass plants losing their jobs because their biggest customer was Anheuser-Busch and business is tanking.

“Should we move on to someone else?” he continued. “Redirect our efforts towards more worthy targets? Ease off on Bud Light to demonstrate forgiveness over a minor transgression compared to more egregious wokeness by other companies?”

Again, all of these questions/arguments are logical. They’re also wrong.

As unfortunate as it is that there are hundreds of employees of a company that lost their jobs because of our push against Anheuser-Busch, now is not the time to ease up. The pressure must be kept on Anheuser-Busch for two reasons. First, they haven’t actually learned their lesson as they continue to support wokeness with or without Dylan Mulvaney. Second and more importantly, the company’s ongoing pain is sending a message to other companies to tread lightly on woke issues. That’s a start. They need to be made to fear us more than they fear leftists.

The left has been able to take over much of corporate America’s mindset through fear. Radical activists have put tremendous efforts into bullying campaigns that harm businesses who aren’t woke enough. Granted, these efforts are heavily funded by people like George Soros and Mike Bloomberg, but that’s no excuse for the right’s inability to match them. We have the numbers. They have the billionaires and the radicals. We need to use our strengths, just as we’ve done with Bud Light.

Rather than give Anheuser-Busch a reprieve, we need to put the same efforts toward boycotts of other companies and organizations. It bugs me when I see conservatives on social media lambasting the radical messaging coming out of Hollywood, for example, then posting their thoughts about the latest Marvel movie they just paid to watch in theaters or on Netflix.

We’ve seen minor changes at one of the wokest companies in the world, Disney, as a result of some pressure. That pressure needs to be a full-blown boycott by anyone who loves America. The message needs to be that any movie or show they put out is going to bomb horribly. We don’t need to wait until it’s declared that the latest movie or show is woke. Just boycott them. And it’s not just a message to them. It’s a message to their investors.

But even boycotting is not enough. The left hasn’t found success by simply avoiding not-woke-enough companies. Their success is in the way they organize protests, send letters, make phone calls, and otherwise make news about their cause. By no means am I suggesting we should glue our hands to paintings in museums like the climate change cultists. That’s just dumb. But we should be applying far more pressure on those around us to join in boycotting and protesting woke companies.

We need to be activists in our own ways.

For some, activism can be as bold as changing our lives to benefit the cause. Missionaries are the original religious activists, following in the footsteps of the Apostles, who were willing to make bold changes in order to spread the Gospel. That’s the type of dedication we need from some if we’re going to make the right changes.

For others, activism can be as simple as boycotting loudly. Not shopping at Target is a start, but if losing your business is all you make them feel, it’s just a drop in the ocean. We need to  not only boycott companies like Target but tell others they should do the same. We’ve all seen leftists wearing ludicrous T-shirts declaring their cause du jour. We should act similarly, either literally or figuratively, by spreading the word about companies whose actions we need corrected.

I’m not offering solutions. I’m just prompting thoughts. There are others out there who have the skills and resources to properly organize the types of actions we need. I’m just a guy behind a keyboard who no longer watches movies and never orders Chipotle. But I am hopeful that patriotic Americans can learn the lesson from what’s happening to Bud Light and come to the conclusion that we need to double our efforts, not back down. Here’s the article about the “Casualties of Wokeism” from Discern Reporter:

Casualties of Wokeism: Glass Bottling Plants Forced to Shut Down Over Bud Light Debacle

Anheuser-Busch’s botched promotion featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has led to the closure of two glass bottling plants operated by Ardagh Group, a global glass producer and contractor for the company. As Bud Light continues to face significant financial losses and declining sales, approximately 645 employees will be laid off as a result of the plant closures in North Carolina and Louisiana, according to WRAL.

While the bottling company did not officially disclose the reason behind the closures, an investigation by WRAL revealed that the plants are shutting down due to plummeting Bud Light sales. Nationwide boycotts in response to the controversial Bud Light partnership with Mulvaney, known as “365 Days of Girlhood,” have adversely affected retailers, distributors, bars, and contracted companies associated with the brand.

Workers at the affected bottling plants reportedly observed a decrease in production after Mulvaney’s video announcement of the collaboration on social media gained attention in April. The impact of the boycott resulted in some machines being taken offline at the Louisiana and North Carolina plants, as noted by a machine repair mechanic interviewed by WRAL, who attributed it to “the Bud Light situation.”

An internal memo from Ardagh Group obtained by WRAL stated that the decision to close the two plants was due to slow sales with Anheuser-InBev. Longtime employees expressed little surprise at the closures, given that a significant portion of their business at those plants involved producing bottles for Budweiser and Bud Light.

Employees at the Wilson, North Carolina plant reportedly confirmed that their manager attributed the closure to the Bud Light boycott, with David Williams, a machine repair mechanic, stating, “‘Because of Budweiser no longer selling the bottle, they no longer needed our product.'”

Since the controversial promotion featuring Mulvaney and the subsequent backlash, Bud Light sales have suffered a decline that shows no signs of recovery. The brand has experienced substantial losses in market value and has taken various measures to mitigate the fallout. These steps include significant beer discounts, consumer rebates that make Bud Light practically free in certain markets, support for distributors, increased marketing efforts, a new summer ad campaign, and CEO Brendan Whitworth’s appearance on “CBS Mornings” to address the situation.

Despite these efforts, the negative sentiment surrounding the Bud Light brand persists, resulting in ongoing sales slides. NielsenIQ data provided to FOX Business by Bump Williams Consulting revealed that Bud Light sales were down 24.4% compared to the previous year for the week ending June 3. During the same period, Modelo Especial surpassed Bud Light as the top-selling beer brand on a dollar basis.

Mulvaney recently criticized the controversy surrounding Bud Light, highlighting the increased bullying and transphobia faced as a consequence. The transgender influencer also expressed disappointment with the lack of support from the company while dealing with transphobic incidents.

Sound off about this story on my Substack.