SHOWDOWN !

Auto-Transcript for S&P and NFSC Submission

EP: 57:78 : “Remembrance Day Boycott”

ERIA QUINT: It is time once again for another Showdown, the best source on the spectrum for fair and in-depth analysis of today’s most important issues. I’m your host, Eria Quint. It was close to two hundred years ago that the death of Anthony Tanaka sparked a revolution. As we look to honor him with tomorrow’s traditional remembrance, a new movement prepares to use December 3rd to once again ignite people into action. What started weeks ago as a grass roots movement by the Humanist group Empire First has swelled beyond anyone’s expectations as masses of people from every system in the UEE prepare to participate in a widespread xeno-economical boycott and protest. With us today to explain her group’s motivations is Suvi Lorenzo, leader and founding member of Empire First.

SUVI LORENZO: Thanks for having me.

ERIA QUINT: And arguing for the benefits of Human-Alien financial cooperation, joining us for his second appearance, Carte Bosch, VP of Human Affairs for Jysho Corporation.

CARTE BOSCH: Glad to be back.

ERIA QUINT: A few weeks ago, Jysho Corporation announced that they would be opening their tenth CTR fuel station by the end of the year and –

CARTE BOSCH: The people on Green are in for a treat as the Ellis system store is shaping up to be CTR’s new flagship. State of the art everything with prices you’d swear were from last century.

ERIA QUINT: If you could try to keep the interruptions and plugs to a minimum this time around, Mr. Bosch, it would be appreciated.

CARTE BOSCH: Apologies.

ERIA QUINT: Alongside Jysho’s announcement came one from your organization, Ms. Lorenzo, calling for a boycott of all CTR stores on December 3rd. What is Empire First hoping to accomplish by this gesture?

SUVI LORENZO: First off, I want to be clear, that what we are doing is in no way fueled by xenophobia.

CARTE BOSCH: Ha!

ERIA QUINT: Please, Mr. Bosch.

SUVI LORENZO: We could care less that Jysho is run by Xi’An. This boycott is about preserving Humanity’s financial security, about stemming the ever-increasing tide of credits leaving Human bank accounts and finding their way into alien pockets, and about making sure that our government is fighting to protect our interests rather than capitulating to some other species’ whims. This is about making sure that the Empire’s leaders are putting the Empire first.

CARTE BOSCH: This boycott is about fear and hate, and little else. It is the same pattern we have seen time and again throughout history, where economic fears are used as a screen for the mistreatment of others. In the 27th century there were the trade embargos in Goss to protect farmers that nearly left the system starved to death, in the 29th century there was the horrific Outsider uprising on Mya, and now, as we finally are making mutually beneficial headway into a lasting interspecies peace, it rears its ugly head again.

SUVI LORENZO: It’s easy for you to just dismiss our economic concerns when your livelihood is directly tied to helping the Xi’An steal credits from hardworking Citizens and Civilians.

CARTE BOSCH: Steal? That’s just not how economics work. The credits don’t just magically disappear if a Xi’An earns them. The more money Jysho makes, the better it is for the UEE. Those credits are employing hundreds of Humans, not just as clerks but as haulers and manufacturers. And those products people are buying in CTR stations? A significant amount are currently made in the UEE, and are now, for the first time, being sold through CTR stores in Xi’An systems.

SUVI LORENZO: Empire First fully supports selling Human products to the Xi’An and Banu, and even selling their exclusive products in the UEE. Our issue is that when there are already perfectly good Human businesses in place, Human-owned fuel stations for example, why should we force them to compete with xeno-corporations?

ERIA QUINT: Which brings us to our next point of discussion. Since the announcement there has -

CARTE BOSCH: Wait, I just want to point out one more thing. Ms. Lorenzo claims that this boycott is about protecting Humanity’s interest, but we’re not just talking alien-owned companies here. How do you justify the boycott targeting Human-owned companies like MISC and Esperia? Hell, what Esperia makes are Tevarin-based products and the Tevarin are part of the UEE. How is boycotting them keeping the Empire First?

SUVI LORENZO: We have come out against boycotting Esperia, but there are other groups who are using the protest as a chance to express some more extreme beliefs that Empire First does not condone.

CARTE BOSCH: That’s some fine company you’re keeping there, Suvi.

SUVI LORENZO: I could say the same thing, traitor.

CARTE BOSCH: And there it is! Just because I work with Xi’An all of a sudden I must hate -

SUVI LORENZO: Do you even think about the families you’re hurting by -

ERIA QUINT: Please! I’d like to remind both of you that this is Showdown and not the Plain Truth. A certain amount of decorum is expected from our guests. We are going to take a short break to regain some composure. When we come back, our two guests will offer their differing, and hopefully civil, perspectives about the decision to use Anthony Tanaka Remembrance Day as the backdrop for this protest.