If protests are not annoying people will just ignore them
this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2026
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It also benefits movements through the radical flank effect. (e.g. when white people saw the Black Panther Party carrying guns to protect their community, MLK Jr's fairly peaceful sit-ins seemed not that bad in comparison, and when having to make a choice on whether or not to give black people rights, it was easier to justify doing so if the perceived alternative was "black people in the streets with guns")
In this case, the options then become "buy products that always have random sticky notes and are telling me I'm a bad person" vs "grab the product that doesn't have the sticky notes".
If it becomes increasingly annoying to buy products which support Israel because there's constantly little sticky notes/stickers, people pushing things further back on shelves or flipping products around, etc, then it becomes a lot easier to justify just... not bothering buying the products that are being boycotted. (and it also saves people the hassle of looking up which products are being boycotted, which just makes the lives of anti-Zionists easier)
I would say annoying people is the goal of protest. You make people unconfortable until something changes.
I don't think you should care
There are ways to be compelling other than annoyance.
Annoyance shouldn't be the goal, but will be a side effect. The main goal is to exert some sort of pressure. Like the Civil Rights Movement gave America horrid optics between Emmet Till's open casket funeral and the state unleashing batons, fire hoses and police dogs on school children. It also exerted financial impacts through the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Movement was super effective though unpopular during those times.
I think a lot of people don't understand protesting and it's in the state's interest that this be the case tbh. Hence why they keep pushing sanitized MLK
Causing annoyance is one of the more polite ways of expressing your dissatisfaction with the status quo.
If not annoyance, what are you referring to?
Idk, violence is pretty annoying.
What ways are you referring to?
It'd be annoying to someone. But that's why you should do it.
Unnecessary or annoying are perhaps not the standard to judge this by. I think legally you could be in trouble. Inside your local supermarket isn't the place for a protest. Trying to dissuade customers from buying certain products by tempering with the merchandise, even if it's just a post it note, will at the very least get you barred from shopping there and at worst a day in court. If you are unlucky, this has the potential to be a decision you'll rue.
Look at what kind of protest is allowed where you are. Because the rules aren't universal. But holding a placard on the public space in front of the store may be the safer option.
Good point, though I'm not sure if companies here in Finland act so aggressively, especially Lidl which from my understanding is a (bit more)decent company in terms of employee conditions and they do have some of the best/broadest selection of vegan and vegetarian options, so I don't think them selling sodastreams is as much of malicious as rather ignorant
Keep in mind that you are talking about a German supermarket chain and you want to protest a company headquartered in Israel. Their reaction may lack rationality.
Do what you think is right. Just be aware of the possible consequences.
That is good advice, and things any activist need to be aware. However, protests that comply with all the rules and regulations are likely completely useless.
Not to dissuade you, but a complaint to head office might yield better results.
Best case with your plan: you put one post-it note on one sodastream, and you cost sodastream one sale.
A polite complaint to Lidl's head office, explaining that them selling this kind of product makes you uncomfortable shopping there, and briefly why, might make Lidl decide not to buy their products again. Which would cost them many more sales.
But will Lidl actually listen? That's the real question.
They might not care if one person tells them that, or even if many of them do, especially if they make the calculus that those people will probably still be buying other things at Lidl anyways.
If sales for the product drops because people are putting sticky notes on them, knocking them over or hiding them behind other products, etc, then Lidl has a reason to not bother with the hassle.
It can be very hit and miss. They might not care if a dozen people complain. Or they might make drastic, systemic changes based on a single complaint. That's certainly how it goes in the supermarket I work in.
No reason not to give it a try, only costs a stamp.
Targeting the uninformed consumer will be far more effective than complaining to head office.
Do you have a source for that claim? Because it seems counter-intuitive to me.
Do you have a source for your claim? Because it seems to not match reality to me.
You are far more likely to find sympathetic ears out of the hundreds of shoppers passing than you are from a corporation who cares about profits over everything.
My experience is that you have to do both. They reinforce each other.
So, that's a no. Thanks for clarifying.
So, that's a no. Thanks for clarifying.
Go for it, a lot of people might not know that about soda stream. If anyone gets annoyed that's their problem because they're probably pro-jizzrael and they can go fuck themselves.
I'd go with a sticker. Keep the text short and simple
I'm all for activism!
If I saw that I'd appreciate it.
Do it.
Been putting boycott stickers on Israeli stickers.
Once i made stickers that resemble a promotional campaign to win a trip to Israel, but the QR code led to betselem.
Of course it is, to anyone who thinks people shouldn't be boycotting Israel. I can't imagine thats's a popular belief in Finland.
Youre bwtter off complaining tontge manager or to head office that you dont want to shop there. More effectice and less risk.
More likely to be ignored. No one cares about a Karen.
Is vandalizing private property allowed in Finland?
No. We are all jailed for attaching stickers on things.
Is that where you get the free stuff?
Yeah, you get free food and a bed to sleep on.
Calling post-it notes vandalism is pretty ridiculous.
Not even when they're used in pointless work meetings by cluless fuck-wits to trying to innovate new and exciting ways to break (sorry "disrupt") established workflows?
Not. Even.