This isn’t the market deciding, this is pandering. Kmart literally said they’re stopping it due to “inclusivity”, and Woolworths even said that too:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/woolworths-follows-kmart-with-major-australia-day-decision-041153633.html
“There has been a gradual decline in demand for Australia Day merchandise from our stores over recent years. At the same time there’s been broader discussion about 26 January and what it means to different parts of the community,”
Making up the former to enforce the latter.
Do you think either retailer would give a crap about “inclusivity” or the “broader discussion” if sales weren’t declining? It’s not pandering it’s marketing
Yes, they do because companies are judged and scored on ridiculous stuff like that, and companies are more and more trying to pander to these ideologies. Example: Bud Light, Target (US), and now Kmart here specifically saying that they are removing Australia day merchandise to be more “inclusive”, not due to declining sales.
The only people who have any interest in buying this cheap/overpriced foreign-manufactured landfill are the weirdos with 3 Australian flags hanging out of their Commodore rear door windows.
Nowadays, those weirdos would be more inclined to purchase Red Ensign flags under the ironically mistaken belief that they represent Sovereign Citizenship. They should not be celebrating Australia Day, although I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some of these nutjobs celebrating Invasion Day as a victory over the Indigenous nations of Australia.
what society defines as moral isn’t “ridiculous stuff”… pressure is one of the only tools we have to ensure companies behave morally
i’m not saying this is moral or not, but (and i’m about to make a reductio ad absurdum argument so we can pull it back after) we should absolutely boycott any retailer that sells nazi flags, right?
given that the answer to that question - from most people - would be a resounding yes, there’s certainly a line in the sand… for some people, australia day sits on that same side of the line
personally, i don’t really celebrate australia day more because i think nationalism is a heaping pile of shit that reinforces us vs them in and out group mentality, racism etc and should be fought in all its forms… i like australia and think we have a pretty good culture and way of living, but buying bullshit with a flag on it to use for a single day to celebrate how good we are is my definition of wasteful and narcissistic
