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Oh boy. These things pop up in just about every forum I post on. So let's get one basic economic fact straight before people go crazy.
The side that holds boycott power in a demand-driven market is the supplier, not the consumer.
That's Free Market Economics 101. We don't even need to get into the fact that actually we have good political relations with more Middle Eastern nations than we have bad relations. Forget that Saudi Arabia is our ALLY, where we used to maintain military bases until we moved those forces into Iraq. We don't even need to discuss how it is the drop in the value of the dollar that has made the price of oil go up the most in the US, not greedy oil suppliers. None of that matters when it comes to boycotting Arab Oil.
Because all that matter is that the side that holds boycott power in a demand-driven market is the supplier, not the consumer.
This free market force cannot be turned around any more than you can turn the force of gravity around to make you fly.
I want to see America energy independent too. But instead of spreading spam/chainmail FTL, there are actual tangible things you can personally do to change your own personal role in making the oil market a demand-driven market. If the only change you make in your lifestyle is driving a little bit further to a different gas station than you usually use, the market basics actually get slightly worse, not better.
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