Shame - Do We Have Any?

“Are you truly incapable of shame? Is there literally nothing that can shame you?"

US Ambassador Samantha Power in her address to the UN, 2016

I want to make a few points very clear before I wade into this:

1. My firm belief is that it is not necessarily the role of the Fourth and Fifth Estates to be the cheerleaders for watch brands, CEOs or deep pocketed conglomerates. 

2. Every member of the Fourth and Fifth Estates not only has the right to an opinion, they have a responsibility to express it, as opinion, if they feel strongly about it. If it is within journalistic norms to express an affinity for a particular watch in the process of writing a review of it, it is also within those same norms to give the not-so-nice feedback about how the watch turned the reviewer's wrist green. 

Okay, that's out of the way.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I have had some time to think about what I think is really important. At the moment, it isn't watches. 

We have now reached a  point of no return. With Russia's invasion of a peaceful, sovereign neighbor we should be asking ourselves is this -  What is really important? I feel safe in saying that the mothers and children making their way to the Polish border, separated from their husbands and fathers really do not give two shits about the latest brand partnership. I suspect that currently their most exotic dreams of luxury include a hot (or let's be honest, even a cold) meal and a safe place to sleep. And that is with the knowledge that they may never see their husbands and fathers again. I don't think any amount of champagne or fist class press junkets are going to make me feel okay about that.

Back in the 70s and 80s, there was a lovely (yes, that is sarcasm) little system of governance in South Africa called Apartheid. Many of us actively protested, occupied university offices demanding investment divestment, and boycotted all South African products. This was not intended to punish the South African people. Just as the Olympic ban was not designed to punish the individual people. Many of these things, when taken on the micro level of an individual action were more symbolic gesture than impactful. But a funny thing happened. More and more people came together, raised their voices, and although it took a long time, Apartheid finally fell. While I live under no illusions that my lone action was felt on a macro level, I do like to think that I lived by my principles.

As this pertains to the watch industry, it is time to ask some questions about international social responsibility. For those of us who write about these things, we can chose what we write about. For brands, you can chose who you do business with. My hope, very sincerely, is that any boycott is short-lived because the violence will have stopped and has not resumed. But until it does, until the Russian troops leave Ukraine, until peace is the Standard Operating Policy of the Kremlin, I will stand on my principles. 

Ultimately, a man must have a code.