There have been outright displays and inducements from certain craft breweries who participated in the low hanging fruit that is buck-a-beer, even to the point of hosting the premier and his cronies for ill thought out ad campaign style promo spots, ignoring the wider discussion about the cuts to so many social, educational, and environmental programs in the face of making it all about business as usual with the government of the day. I've written about my own feelings regarding anyone who participates in or consumes the buck-a-beer nonsense and while that is an easy target to avoid if you are the least bit aware, the nexus of what is happening now is a little deeper and shows more shades of gray than I would like to admit.
Businesses contributing to political parties was a way of life in Ontario prior to a change in legislation, some hedging bets by spreading money around, others targeting the likely winners to curry favourable legislation and goodies at the trough. Craft breweries are no different, although for the most part most are too small to engage in the kind of donations that make much of a dent in a politicians gaze towards power and privilege. But some have made donations in the past and perhaps their individual owners have or will in the future, the question we must ask ourselves as consumers is what is the limit and depth of our willingness to continue to patronize a place that supports an ideology that we ourselves find repugnant. How deep will we dive to discover the political and social mores of the businesses we go to and when do we stop spending our dollars?
These questions are very much at the forefront in recent conversations on Twitter and while some of the accusations and terms thrown around do inflame the conversation rather than encourage it, the intent is to keep a light on behaviour that people find contrary to their core beliefs. So it is with great trepidation that I even move into this discussion, always wary of having to fend off trolls or even worse, being unable to articulate how I feel and missing my point being heard clear and concise. So I asked myself some questions that maybe you should too...
1. Does a past contribution to a political party indicate an endorsement of said parties future actions? Well, that is pretty much what has people discussing this now. Prior to 2017, some of the larger Ontario Craft brewers did donate to political parties, including Doug Ford's PC party during the lead up to his election and while they may not have known just how disruptive and divisive this government would have been, the donations leave a bad taste in the mouths of many of us who drink their beer on a regular basis.
2. Do we hope they thought of the donations more as a cost of doing business, taking the political temperature at the time and seeing that the PCs were all but inevitable as winners of a majority Government? A little more likely than the first question. Most educated guesses hoped that the cooler and more experienced members of the incoming caucus would reign in Ford's wilder and more outlandish behaviours and actions but did not take into account their inability to separate people from party and fell into lock step with every utterance of the premier.
3. Do they continue to contribute, albeit as individuals, now that we know the full and harmful extent of what Ford's government has inflicted on the poor, sick, mentally ill, LGBTQ2, minority and so many more marginalized groups in this province? This is where the rubber meets the road for most of us, the shades of gray will become black and white in a heart beat as the next election cycle begins to heat up in the coming year or so. The alignment of political opinion and currying favour with the Ford style of governance by division with the inclusivity and community feel of most craft breweries will not reconcile and for most of us who are informed or try to stay that way, a continued support of any kind for Ford or his cronies would be the final straw. It isn't easy to say, but the gauntlet has been thrown down by the no longer progressive conservative folks who take pleasure in inflicting pain on those less fortunate and unable to defend themselves or fight back.
4. Do we walk away from a brewery if they continue to support the PC government and by attachment, Ford and his politics of angry white guys? Some already have, taking into account past actions and when saying no more of their discretionary spending will go anywhere near the stink associated with the current government. A staunch and principled stand that I understand and can feel sympathy for. Personally, I'd like to think that past actions and current ideals will see the light and that these brewery owners will understand that not only is giving money to such a divisive and polarizing individual and party bad optics, it will hurt their business going forward from this point. Isn't that giving them a pass from their past support? Maybe, but I think the truth is they had no idea where this government was going to go and despite the loosening of regulations concerning where they can sell their beer, this alone is not a hill you want to die on. Treading carefully, anyone is free to support whatever political party they want, free speech and all that jazz, but that doesn't mean you are free from the consequences of your words and actions...
I don't know what will happen in the future, I wouldn't have believed any of what has happened since 2016 if you had told me about it back then. The sheer divisiveness of politics now and the anger and fear of "the other" being stoked by those claiming to be conservative is most assuredly not the party or politics I grew up with and followed for years. It is the ultimate first world problem to be worried about the politics of your favourite brewery, but in a world where every dollar counts, it does to those of us who wish to see the world a better place for everyone. Our money is a reflection of our beliefs to a certain extent, although most of us still shop at Walmart, Loblaws and other huge corporations with spotty track records in how they treat their employees, the environment and even their loyal customers. Context is everything I suppose.
It is a distinct piece of privilege that we have the time and freedom to investigate and make informed decisions about our beer purchases, try to understand that not everyone has that available to them. We must decide where our money goes and if a business decides their need to support a political party outweighs public opinion, hopefully we can use that decision to show how we feel going forward.
Just my 2 cents, I'm learning as I go. This isn't the place I ever thought I would end up when I started taking pictures of my beer on Instagram 4 years ago. Subtle nuances are becoming much clearer and I am growing into a life lived with more awareness and love.
Cheers!
Polk
For more info on who donates to what political party, check out this link and have at it...but know that you might not like what you find.
https://special.nationalpost.com/follow-the-money/database
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