Tayana Osuna, arts and culture editor

Imagine this, I’m sittin’, chillin’ on my phone playing my little mobile game, as one does, and I get an ad from McDonalds. What do I see? The “Minecraft” Happy Meals. I’m like, “Man I would’ve ate that shit up as a kid,” but I’m an adult now so I know better than to give McDonalds my money when they haven been openly supporting the genocide of Palestinians, as well as feeding the Isr*eli soldiers for free! And no, it does not matter that it is “just the Israeli franchises that are doing this.” It is the McDonalds corporation nonetheless.

However, I keep seeing video after video of these unboxings for the Minecraft Happy Meals. As if there’s an exception for “A Minecraft Movie” and these shitty little toys. There is no exception when it comes to genocide, that’s common sense I’m afraid. The fact that I’m having to spell this out for people is going to be my 13th reason. The toys aren’t even good! They’re literally little plastic objects, what the hell are you going to do with that? If you want a “Minecraft” toy, look literally anywhere else, they are everywhere. To use this as an excuse for supporting genocide is the most childish and senseless thing I’ve seen in a long time. 

This isn’t even something I just see with McDonalds. It’s like people think that as long as they boycott for a little bit, it counts. You can’t just turn boycotts on and off whenever it’s convenient for you. It would be different if it was something like Walmart, who also supports Israel, because for some people that is the only place they can afford their groceries, clothes, etc. But the “Minecraft” Happy Meal?! You don’t need that! What are you, a 10-year old boy begging your mommy to get you McDonalds after school? How embarrassing. 

I get that we all grew up with this game and it has formed such a major part of our generation, but it is just a toy. You’re sacrificing the lives of Palestinian children for a freakin’ toy. 

Frankly, as my roommate Hannah Schmeling has put it, “if you’re breaking your boycott for this, then you were never really for the cause.” You never cared about Palestine. Just like when you buy that new phone or vape, you never cared about the Congo. You don’t care about any of it if you care more about your materialistic needs that are killing this planet and its people. 

If you feel that this is harsh or that I’m being dramatic, you should feel shame. You should be embarrassed. And you should do some serious rethinking as to what part you want to play in this world, because endorsing genocide is not a good look.