NO to the Police State, and NO to Fox News

Yesterday while watching a YouTube recap of a Fox News Sean Hannity Show segment, I was amazed to hear the host advocating that it is time to put armed security officers on every floor of every school, every shopping mall, every public place. While I am sure that this would delight the gun industry that Mr. Hannity seems so eager to serve, I believe it is exactly the wrong prescription for addressing the ills that are currently plaguing our country. While I could go on and on about the issue of gun violence in our society, I was actually more disturbed that Fox News was promoting such an extreme position. This episode reminded me that Fox really is the equivalent of State TV for the extreme right, a purveyor of hateful and destructive propaganda. While this is not news to anyone who has been paying attention, the thing that hit me yesterday is that it is way beyond the time for citizens to take action to counter this media monster.

Think about the things that concern most Americans – climate change, affordable health care, gun violence, income inequality, immigration, race relations, election security, dark money in politics, and so on. Far from presenting a “fair and balanced” presentation of these issues, Fox News consistently and doggedly drives home the extreme right-wing viewpoint. This does not lead to solutions, it just polarizes Americans and drives them to resent and hate each other. This must stop.

So you ask, “What can I do?” Watching that ridiculous Hannity screed last night, I asked myself the same thing. Then I arrived at a solution: I decided to determine what companies are supporting Fox News with their advertising dollars and stop doing business with them. To put it simply, I decided to vote against Fox News with my wallet.

I found that the site Media Matters has already addressed this issue, and has been maintaining a list of the top Fox News advertisers. How convenient! You can see the list here. I plan to withhold my dollars from any company I find on this list, unless I absolutely cannot find an alternative to their products. So, though I love my WeatherTech floor mats, I won’t be buying any more. I’m excising the Procter and Gamble products from our pantry. And no more StarKist Tuna – there are too many others to choose from. And General Motors, that 2020 Corvette is nice, but I won’t be buying it.

If you agree with my sentiments regarding Fox News, I hope you too will check the list and vote with your dollars. The next step is to find a way to let these companies know that I have withdrawn my business from them, and why. When I figure that out, I’ll update the post.