The sky is blue for me, Elon

We’re not going to talk about voting anymore.

Instead, let’s talk about voting with our feet. Or our shoes.

For instance, I have never owned a pair of Nike takkies, not since the ’80s child labour scandal.

My own children were banned from Nike products too, even though the scrutiny improved the company’s staffing policies – no kids – as intended.

When it comes to taking a stand, I’m like the last soldier from the Vietnam War still holed up in the jungle, pointing a rusty AK-47 at the sky, waiting for reinforcements.

For instance, I haven’t set foot inside an Ackermans store since the early ’90s when I was assaulted by an overzealous shop manager, and a letter of complaint to the head office went unacknowledged.

I’m pretty sure the manager is long gone, but hey, so am I.

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Bluesky social

For instance, yesterday I set up an account on Bluesky social and I will no longer be posting to Twitter – except to tell the world I’ll no longer be posting to Twitter.

Yes, I do mean Twitter: I’ve not updated the app since it became Elon Musk’s dark X, so I still have the bluebird logo.

And now, on Bluesky, I have a blue butterfly.

‘Everyone is leaving’

Announcing “I’m done here” is a rite of passage already taken by everyone from favourite authors like Marian Keyes and Stephen King, to celebrities, sports teams, media groups – most notably The Guardian – and even National Public Radio (NPR) in the US.

NPR called time last year after the Muskrat labelled it “state-affiliated media” as if it were a propaganda mouthpiece of an authoritarian government, Russian-style, and then, following complaints, briefly flagging it as a “government-funded entity”.

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Meanwhile, the long-standing “state-affiliated media” tag was removed from Xinhua News, the official Chinese mouthpiece.

Big brands are either quiet-quitting by not posting or quitting altogether, from international names like Apple, IBM, and Balenciaga to US household brands like Best Buy.

Tellingly, the scientists, journalists, service providers, comedians, clubs, and fandoms that have been the mainstay of Twitter are opening Bluesky accounts too.

And me. My trusty Twitter followers, all three of them, will surely be devastated.

If you’re one of them, feel free to join me. Maybe one day I’ll even post something.

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