The age-old argument: what do I let go? And at what cost? I’ve been undergoing a lot of self-reflection lately about what it means to persist on old pathways despite “knowing better.” We know that pollution is a problem, yet we continue to drive cars that blow exhaust into the stratosphere. Why?

I know I don’t have the answers, but I think an exploration of the conversation is important.

This weekend I attended Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and I had a blast. Though I’ve been met with the critique that Coachella is not an ethical decision. Coachella is marketed, and experienced, as a carefree and fun wonderland of music and art and food, poised as the perfect Californian festival. But, Philip Anschutz, the CEO behind Coachella is homophobic and actively gives money to anti-LGBTQ organizations.

As a queer person, I find myself thinking “oh...I know this is wrong, but I’m still giving money to this organization, why?” Granted, I bought my tickets resale, but money has still gone to Anschutz, and therefore organizations that threaten the health of LGBTQ+ people and people who need free access to healthcare from Planned Parenthood and similar clinics. What are my priorities? Am I putting being carefree and having fun over my values?

To comparison, but not to scale, think of how we know it is healthier for the planet and more sustainable for people to go vegan, but they continue to eat meat regardless.

For a direct comparison, let’s look at Chick-fil-A. A company that is actively religious, closing on Sundays and Christian holidays and actively giving money to anti-LGBTQ organizations. Yet, “woke” people still enjoy their fried-chicken sandwiches with only little pause.

Where is it that we draw this invisible line of morality? Is “just one time” one time too many? And what do these occurrences have to say about the nature of selfishness. Is our ability to overlook and pursue personal gain a trait we have as humans or a trait we learn?

These are large-scale questions could truly go supernova in their scope, so I will attempt to reel them back in:

Coachella. A music and arts festival that attracts the young liberal audience of southern California with the fashion, art installations, unique culinary experiences, and modern artists—all the while, a festival of which proceeds go towards pro-gun organizations, a truth that should startle the average festival goer.

While Coachella started with the best of intentions back in 1999, it was acquired by Anschutz’s company AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group) in 2001 and has carried this troubled legacy ever since. As we race into extremely polarized political times, where finances can drive whole campaigns forward, shadowing underfunded grassroots organizations, perhaps we should be more concerned where our money ends up. The reality is, in the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case, the Supreme Court ruled that there can be no federal regulation on how much money can be donated to political causes.

For perspective, in 2017 Anschutz donated $33,000 given to the Republican Congressional Committee; $70,000 to the Republican Senate Committee; $5,000 to National Security Advisor John Bolton’s political action committee as well as the campaigns of Republican politicians Paul Ryan, Scott Tipton and Cory Gardner. He as well has donated over $190,000 to anti-LGBTQ groups such as Alliance for Freedom, Family Research Council and the National Christian Foundation in the past 6 years.

Beyonce might have reinvented the Greek alphabet, but it’s hard to disregard at what cost it comes to see her arguably life-changing performance. Because, in paying the $400 to see her and other artists, that money could be used to harm other individuals.

At what point do we say enough is enough?

I truly don’t know, yet, I’m hopeful that with more transparency of the actions going on behind the scenes of organizations such as Coachella and Chick-fil-A and the like, this generation will be able to push back against the status quo and fight for organizations to actually support us.

Otherwise, we may* suffer a fate worse than being taken-advantage of by the greed of these super-tycoons, but rather succumbing to our own ignorance and selfishness. But is there ethical consumption under capitalism? Can there ever be?

*this of course, is not definitive, and I am still figuring out my personal opinion on these matters, however I believed it was an important topic to bring up into the public light to spark conversation.