I’m thinking of today’s consumer boycott as a sort of “roll call” to see how many people care enough to actually do something (anything). $$$ spent on cards is effectively trackable in real time, so any noticeable dip will be immediately clear with a minimum of digging.
My 71 year old dad actually gave me the heads up about it and he didn’t hear about it from that mediocre white dude, he heard about it because he’s an avid reader of Heather Cox Richardson and it was talked about in one of her fan groups. I think you’re right that the power is in the mindset shift/ getting people thinking about where they spend their money.
Yeah I shared with my 72-year-old mom this morning thinking damn I should’ve shared this earlier. And she informed me her book club had already discussed and planned to join last week. And then I talked to her about divesting from these companies as much as possible. She’s not ready to quit outright just yet but it is the start of a conversation. And everyone has things they can and can’t avoid. In her small Mississippi town, quitting Walmart entirely is probably unrealistic, but leaving behind Amazon might be possible.
I get that – but also, a lot of people can't afford not to spend money today, especially those living paycheck-to-paycheck, and with today being payday for a lot of folks. Dr. Len Necefer has a great piece about it here:
I agree. And I also think it’s a great first step for people who may not know how to engage with the broader political system or activism to do something and feel the solidarity of peers. No one action is ever going to solve all the problems and we have to give folks an on-ramp
I love this –– it's always useful to know who is willing to bear a very small inconvenience in order to live their values, and I think can be instructive as to who is (and is not) a comrade, as it were, moving forward.
People can also surprise you! After I stopped shopping with Amazon/its various disguises, my parents did the same. After I was annoying enough about it, they stopped buying Sabra hummus, too. Peer pressure itself can be a powerful tool.
I think the no credit card is because transaction on cards give money to the card companies. I agree that one day isn’t much but it is also something. As someone who does care about where I buy things but has let go of that a lot with kids, this boycott is a helpful reminder that my family can do more to change how and where we put our money. I also think small actions like this boycott have the potential to grow and we have to start somewhere. It can feel good to do (or not do) something more concrete than calling and hoping our representatives will listen. And both matter and we can think about how much more we are willing to do or give up to change things for the better.
I'd actually push back and say calling our reps is one of the MOST concrete things you can do because it's exercising our constitutional right to participate in the process. Even if you have Republicans who aren't listening -- they still have to tally up all those calls and the more we flood them, the more they know that they are acting against their constituents. AOC did a great video this week about the impact of this, and said that conservative voters are much better at using this strategy than liberals -- every Dem rep gets flooded constantly and it's probably part of why so many get scared.
There are other strategies, for sure, but right now a top priority is getting Congress to buffer against the worst of Trump's agenda. The shopping stuff doesn't directly impact that, but bothering our reps does.
One of my senators (rhymes with Ned Lose) has staffers taking calls and then hanging up without taking any constituent information or verification. (It happened when I called his local office) Which is a special way of giving us the finger. I’ll keep bothering him anyway but jeez.
Make sure lots of people know this. Say it often and LOUDLY. Write a letter to the editor of your local or nearest newspaper. I've heard of several Republican congressman who are refusing to have town halls or respond to constituent calls. That is what they are paid for, it is part of their job. Make sure everyone knows -- they're not doing their job!
I need to look up that AOC video because I’ve also been feeling like there’s no use in contacting representatives. I’ve been pretty cynical about politicians in general.
I agree with you! as some posters here have said: some representatives are ignoring their constituents. And let's face it, CORPORATIONS are calling the shots here, telling our representatives what to do! I like the action of going right. to. the. source. Hit them where it hurts, in the pocketbook.
Republican reps are being dumb right now by letting their inboxes get full and canceling town hall meetings. They will feel even dumber when it comes time to be re-elected and no one votes for them because of this response.
I think today has the potential to be really powerful -- not because it will drastically effect corporations but because it brings us together. If we can get our friends and neighbors to take part in a one day boycott, I think it demonstrates the potential for long term resistance in its many forms. We can call our reps together, we can write letters together, we can protest in person together, we can talk to each other about divesting from harmful corporations. There's a lot of small steps before we get to big change. I'm glad to see so many people participating in this one.
As a small business owner I can tell you that credit cards companies (aka large corporations) charge us fees that add up. So just using a credit card is giving them money. We always prefer cash when possible!
I'm so glad you shared John Schwartz! It's exactly the kind of thing where we need to watch out for each other. Thanks for watching out for us!
Thanks for this! I first saw today's "blackout" floated a few weeks ago on social media, did some digging, and discovered the same thing you did - that this is one guy? And it's... got a lot of weirdness? And went "hm, no movement is perfect but this is weird, I dunno about this."
And then I started hearing about it from seniors and elderly folks. Which is WILD. The media coverage and sheer virality of this is absolutely bonkers to me. And this week - and really JUST this week - I have seen orgs like Indivisible (speaking of not perfect!) and others kind of glom on to it and promoting it. It's been interesting to watch, to say the least.
I hope that this does further activate folks who have felt disconnected and unable to do anything - like organizing training wheels. I just... really want folks to take their next steps with something that's a little less sus and a lot better organized?
But for folks here looking for next steps, 5Calls.org! Indivisible (yes even though I criticize them!) Your local Unitarian Universalists almost certainly organize for change! Volunteer with a food bank! Volunteer for Planned Parenthood! Volunteer for your local immigrant rights org! And yes, Chop Wood Carry Water! There are SO many opportunities to get involved. Pick one and go.
And I just want to add: when you care about not hurting people, making an impact takes TIME. Building organizational power takes TIME. It is a marathon, not a one-day sprint. Undoing the harms that have been done this past month will take years. Don't lose faith when it doesn't change by next week. Lock arms and keep pushing. We can do this together.
I appreciate this article. Rebecca Solnit expressed similar ambivalence today. And yet. The in our face, in our phones consumerism that tells us we can buy our way out of every friction, every problem, and every negative emotions is something that keeps us from building deeper connections with each ourselves, with each other and with community. Every act of connection is part of the revolution now. So “fasting” from the consumerism for a day to notice its role in our lives and our collective loneliness feels worth doing. We won’t put out the fire today but we can gather water and notice others doing the same.
Where are you following Rebecca Solnit in real time? I keep hearing about her takes weeks later. I really appreciate her framing and have followed her books for years. But I'm somehow not tuned in to where she's posting these days. Thanks!
I think of this as a start. Since it’s a Friday and we usually go out to eat on Fridays, it required me to plan to cook when I normally wouldn’t. I am going to donate what we would normally spend on dinner out to a local animal charity.
I also hope that Schwartz allows other groups to get involved and use this energy for organizing against Trump. (The Dr. Bronner’s bottle analogy was brilliant, by the way.) Making this more like quitting smoking than diet culture would be very useful. What economic activity hurts us and how can we stop doing it?
What if we participate in this boycott, realize that it wasn’t that hard and made an impact, and do it weekly or at some other interval? As others have said, we have to start somewhere.
I was in the dark on this boycott (I guess I’m living under a hell ish rock?) so thanks for bringing it to my attention. But the minute you said the name of the person supposedly behind it, my Spidey senses were tingling. I can almost guarantee any real revolution will be started by a woman. Most likely of color. Because that’s how it (mostly) always has been.
This part, "So don’t buy today — but that includes not buying what Schwartz is selling either. Because yet another man sweeping in to tell us what to do and how to think is actually the last thing any of us need." 🎯🫡
This is exactly how I feel. Also, I keep thinking of the article that Anne Helen Petersen posted last week that even if I don’t 100% aligned with the action or think it’s going to work exactly right. At least we’re doing something.
I'm STRONGLY in favor of this economic blackout and of the other five actions on the boycott/blackout calendar, as are many pro-democracy individuals and well-knocn organizations (see: Indivisible.org). I don't know what's up with this Schwartz fellow, but he isn't the leader of the movement. Perhaps he pushed a good idea out into social media and got some following for it? Fine. The People's Union is a catchy name, which I give him props for, since the right has done a decades-long terrific job of seizing motivating language ("Pro-life," which IN PRACTICE means, to me, life haters.) Also, maybe Schwartz just has enough awareness to say "I came up with this boycott idea first," and which is fair, if true. For a good while there, people didn't recognize that Tarana Burke started "Me, too." She didn't get the credit she deserved. Some do deserve for having raised their hand first. Not sure that's the case here. Time will tell. HOWEVER, 1) today's economic blackout is not the only such event on the calendar, it's not a one-off; there are six planned events, 2) very very many individuals AND grassroots organizations thought of and are are supporting the idea of boycotting particular big businesses -- since very many Americans are basically being taxed without voter representation at the executive branch level because of the electoral college (just for starters -- there is a lot of other voter disenfranchisement going on as well!): when you are disenfranchised as a voter in a capitalist country, your money can be a vote; 3) this has come together fast and we will learn from it, but there WILL be asks! Billionaires like Besos need to pay their fair share of taxes; Amazon as a company needs to pay its fair share of taxes; Amazon's workers need to be paid a fair wage and be allowed to organize. Some of the resistance is aimed at Target, including today's blackout, because Target abandoned DEI in a hot second, but that's not the only problem at Target! Most big box stores, especially Target, have strategies in place to keep workers from ever booking full-time hours, so that they never get healthcare, never get paid time off, etc. PLEASE read Adelle Waldman's NYTimes Op-ed of February 21, 2024 about this!
I think it's a great idea to demonstrate your collective power as consumers (like a strike!) directly to the companies. Maybe companies like Amazon think that the way they treat their workers is disconnected from their relationship with their customers. But we all have far more natural solidarity with workers than with corporations. I'm happy to read about these blackouts and hope the movement just keeps snowballing!
Yes I came here looking for this because I’ve been hearing for weeks about this day AND many other boycott times planned and hadn’t heard of this dude. I follow General Strike US on Bluesky and IG and that’s where I’ve been gathering boycott and protest info.
Yeah. I really don't believe that dude started the movement. We have a fog of war moment going on here. Maybe he was the first to make a poster or something, because some sources are citing him. But, look, months ago, I was proposing in a group that was trying to organize, "We have to boycott. We have to boycott Amazon," etc. Did I start this initiative? NO! It's such an OBVIOUS idea. That's the point. It cannot be owned. If there's an asshole trying to claim he owns it, step right past him. Many -- very many -- good people are working these blackouts and boycotts. Walk past weird jerks and move on.
YES! Hello....i've been encouraging people to get rid of Amazon since PINO got elected. It's easy for me -- I never did sign up with them. I did boycott everyone else too today though and it was an interesting experience.
VIRGINIA, I feel like I need to buy you a drink (or a fancy piece of cake!) for this excellent essay. You articulated so much of what I have been thinking and you did it so clearly. I appreciate your writing so much.
I'm of the mind that we need to get in the practice of doing SOMETHING. I appreciate your critical eye looking at the origins of the blackout, but in my mind, it doesn't matter practically. For many people, this may be the first time they are participating in any kind of collective action. While this particular action may not have an enormous "turning of the tides" impact, I don't think we have the luxury of waiting on the sidelines for the perfectly crafted thing to come along. And I feel like there is a perfectionism and purity on the left that keeps us from coming together and doing things. We can nit pick and criticize and armchair quarterback all day long, but until we just start doing the (imperfect, messy) work of collectively organizing and trying different approaches, we will sit on our hands while democracy crumbles around us.
Wow, thanks for the deep dive on this guy. However, I did see someone somewhere 🫠 say that today is less about having economic impact but is more just a test/show that things like a larger, more organized boycott are possible. Who knows, but if there's even a chance of it having any impact, I'm happy to not buy for a day.
OK the paying this guy for early information about the next boycotts is TOO MUCH 😂. Can I boycott John Schwartz even though I just learned about his existence? I agree with those expressing skepticism about a one-day boycott. I'd love to be proven wrong but it seems too easy to have any effect. Corporations pay attention to which way the wind is blowing, sure, but they're concerned about their bottom line so I can't imagine this is going to really effect meaningful change because it won't have a meaningful impact on corporate profits. If we want a real change we have to specify what that is and take action that actually hurts the corporation or whoever we want change from. This feels like the equivalent of sharing a political meme on social media.
I think it's also worth noting that any actual economic impact from a one-day boycott, if there was any, right now is going to get dwarfed from the economic impacts of firing hundreds of thousands of federal employees and enacting massive tariffs and threatening to cut Medicaid. And the economic impact of those things absolutely will send a message.
I’m thinking of today’s consumer boycott as a sort of “roll call” to see how many people care enough to actually do something (anything). $$$ spent on cards is effectively trackable in real time, so any noticeable dip will be immediately clear with a minimum of digging.
Love this. I asked my 68-year-old mom yesterday if she was planning to participate, thinking she'd ask, "What's that?"
Instead, she told me she wasn't sure she knows anyone who ISN'T participating. This is heartening to me.
My 71 year old dad actually gave me the heads up about it and he didn’t hear about it from that mediocre white dude, he heard about it because he’s an avid reader of Heather Cox Richardson and it was talked about in one of her fan groups. I think you’re right that the power is in the mindset shift/ getting people thinking about where they spend their money.
I do love that!
Yeah I shared with my 72-year-old mom this morning thinking damn I should’ve shared this earlier. And she informed me her book club had already discussed and planned to join last week. And then I talked to her about divesting from these companies as much as possible. She’s not ready to quit outright just yet but it is the start of a conversation. And everyone has things they can and can’t avoid. In her small Mississippi town, quitting Walmart entirely is probably unrealistic, but leaving behind Amazon might be possible.
Super helpful framing
I get that – but also, a lot of people can't afford not to spend money today, especially those living paycheck-to-paycheck, and with today being payday for a lot of folks. Dr. Len Necefer has a great piece about it here:
https://drlennecefer.substack.com/p/boycotts-echo-chambers-and-the-illusion?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1744075&post_id=158054295&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=h6q4&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
PAYDAY. Definitely a whole thing. Thank you for sharing!
I agree. And I also think it’s a great first step for people who may not know how to engage with the broader political system or activism to do something and feel the solidarity of peers. No one action is ever going to solve all the problems and we have to give folks an on-ramp
I love this –– it's always useful to know who is willing to bear a very small inconvenience in order to live their values, and I think can be instructive as to who is (and is not) a comrade, as it were, moving forward.
People can also surprise you! After I stopped shopping with Amazon/its various disguises, my parents did the same. After I was annoying enough about it, they stopped buying Sabra hummus, too. Peer pressure itself can be a powerful tool.
I think the no credit card is because transaction on cards give money to the card companies. I agree that one day isn’t much but it is also something. As someone who does care about where I buy things but has let go of that a lot with kids, this boycott is a helpful reminder that my family can do more to change how and where we put our money. I also think small actions like this boycott have the potential to grow and we have to start somewhere. It can feel good to do (or not do) something more concrete than calling and hoping our representatives will listen. And both matter and we can think about how much more we are willing to do or give up to change things for the better.
I'd actually push back and say calling our reps is one of the MOST concrete things you can do because it's exercising our constitutional right to participate in the process. Even if you have Republicans who aren't listening -- they still have to tally up all those calls and the more we flood them, the more they know that they are acting against their constituents. AOC did a great video this week about the impact of this, and said that conservative voters are much better at using this strategy than liberals -- every Dem rep gets flooded constantly and it's probably part of why so many get scared.
There are other strategies, for sure, but right now a top priority is getting Congress to buffer against the worst of Trump's agenda. The shopping stuff doesn't directly impact that, but bothering our reps does.
One of my senators (rhymes with Ned Lose) has staffers taking calls and then hanging up without taking any constituent information or verification. (It happened when I called his local office) Which is a special way of giving us the finger. I’ll keep bothering him anyway but jeez.
UGHHH. Absolutely illegal.
Make sure lots of people know this. Say it often and LOUDLY. Write a letter to the editor of your local or nearest newspaper. I've heard of several Republican congressman who are refusing to have town halls or respond to constituent calls. That is what they are paid for, it is part of their job. Make sure everyone knows -- they're not doing their job!
This is crappy of him but I am cracking up at Ned Lose.
I tried calling Paxton the Texas AG who brought the Texas v Becerra suit and his office TURNED OFF THE PHONES.
I was able to leave a message on his Texas number earlier this week.
Research and find local activist groups and GO TO HIS HOME. Or office. They cannot get away from us!
I need to look up that AOC video because I’ve also been feeling like there’s no use in contacting representatives. I’ve been pretty cynical about politicians in general.
I guess what I'm saying is that it can feel good and build momentum to do something that goes beyond calling.
I agree with you! as some posters here have said: some representatives are ignoring their constituents. And let's face it, CORPORATIONS are calling the shots here, telling our representatives what to do! I like the action of going right. to. the. source. Hit them where it hurts, in the pocketbook.
Republican reps are being dumb right now by letting their inboxes get full and canceling town hall meetings. They will feel even dumber when it comes time to be re-elected and no one votes for them because of this response.
The noise is so loud it hurts. I'll be reading (a paper book bought in a tiny independent bookshop) in bed with my dog today.
that sounds PERFECT
I think today has the potential to be really powerful -- not because it will drastically effect corporations but because it brings us together. If we can get our friends and neighbors to take part in a one day boycott, I think it demonstrates the potential for long term resistance in its many forms. We can call our reps together, we can write letters together, we can protest in person together, we can talk to each other about divesting from harmful corporations. There's a lot of small steps before we get to big change. I'm glad to see so many people participating in this one.
As a small business owner I can tell you that credit cards companies (aka large corporations) charge us fees that add up. So just using a credit card is giving them money. We always prefer cash when possible!
I'm so glad you shared John Schwartz! It's exactly the kind of thing where we need to watch out for each other. Thanks for watching out for us!
That is all super helpful context, thank you!
Thanks for this! I first saw today's "blackout" floated a few weeks ago on social media, did some digging, and discovered the same thing you did - that this is one guy? And it's... got a lot of weirdness? And went "hm, no movement is perfect but this is weird, I dunno about this."
And then I started hearing about it from seniors and elderly folks. Which is WILD. The media coverage and sheer virality of this is absolutely bonkers to me. And this week - and really JUST this week - I have seen orgs like Indivisible (speaking of not perfect!) and others kind of glom on to it and promoting it. It's been interesting to watch, to say the least.
I hope that this does further activate folks who have felt disconnected and unable to do anything - like organizing training wheels. I just... really want folks to take their next steps with something that's a little less sus and a lot better organized?
But for folks here looking for next steps, 5Calls.org! Indivisible (yes even though I criticize them!) Your local Unitarian Universalists almost certainly organize for change! Volunteer with a food bank! Volunteer for Planned Parenthood! Volunteer for your local immigrant rights org! And yes, Chop Wood Carry Water! There are SO many opportunities to get involved. Pick one and go.
And I just want to add: when you care about not hurting people, making an impact takes TIME. Building organizational power takes TIME. It is a marathon, not a one-day sprint. Undoing the harms that have been done this past month will take years. Don't lose faith when it doesn't change by next week. Lock arms and keep pushing. We can do this together.
“Lock arms and keep pushing. We can do this together.” Thank you for that reminder!!
Well said!
I appreciate this article. Rebecca Solnit expressed similar ambivalence today. And yet. The in our face, in our phones consumerism that tells us we can buy our way out of every friction, every problem, and every negative emotions is something that keeps us from building deeper connections with each ourselves, with each other and with community. Every act of connection is part of the revolution now. So “fasting” from the consumerism for a day to notice its role in our lives and our collective loneliness feels worth doing. We won’t put out the fire today but we can gather water and notice others doing the same.
Where are you following Rebecca Solnit in real time? I keep hearing about her takes weeks later. I really appreciate her framing and have followed her books for years. But I'm somehow not tuned in to where she's posting these days. Thanks!
https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/welcome-to-meditations-in-an-emergency/
She’s also very active on FB and has become my favorite aggregator of info.
I think of this as a start. Since it’s a Friday and we usually go out to eat on Fridays, it required me to plan to cook when I normally wouldn’t. I am going to donate what we would normally spend on dinner out to a local animal charity.
I also hope that Schwartz allows other groups to get involved and use this energy for organizing against Trump. (The Dr. Bronner’s bottle analogy was brilliant, by the way.) Making this more like quitting smoking than diet culture would be very useful. What economic activity hurts us and how can we stop doing it?
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 LOVE the quitting smoking analogy!!
Thank you!
Wow, nice analogy. And, Schwartz doesn't get to not allow others to participate! And, thank you for donating to animal rescue orgs!
What if we participate in this boycott, realize that it wasn’t that hard and made an impact, and do it weekly or at some other interval? As others have said, we have to start somewhere.
I have seen on Reddit an idea to do it every Friday. They've come up with a name but I can't remember it at the moment.
I could commit to that.
I was in the dark on this boycott (I guess I’m living under a hell ish rock?) so thanks for bringing it to my attention. But the minute you said the name of the person supposedly behind it, my Spidey senses were tingling. I can almost guarantee any real revolution will be started by a woman. Most likely of color. Because that’s how it (mostly) always has been.
Yesssssssss
This part, "So don’t buy today — but that includes not buying what Schwartz is selling either. Because yet another man sweeping in to tell us what to do and how to think is actually the last thing any of us need." 🎯🫡
Excellent reporting. I had no idea. I’m still doing it bc *all of this* but yikes.
This is exactly how I feel. Also, I keep thinking of the article that Anne Helen Petersen posted last week that even if I don’t 100% aligned with the action or think it’s going to work exactly right. At least we’re doing something.
Can you link that AHP article? I can't seem to find it. Thank you!
So the big article is this
https://annehelen.substack.com/p/this-is-how-we-fall-out-of-love-with?utm_campaign=email-post&r=7ef6c&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMjQzMDE2NCwicG9zdF9pZCI6MTU3NTYxMzAzLCJpYXQiOjE3NDAzMTQ1MjcsImV4cCI6MTc0MjkwNjUyNywiaXNzIjoicHViLTI0NTAiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.936jWTnqGeOSZUrBPO0w0vfJMrtiVQStL_i-bG7VoBk&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
But the one with the suggestion I am talking about is this link within it
https://thewhitepages.net/p/thirty-lonely-but-beautiful-actions?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web
I'm STRONGLY in favor of this economic blackout and of the other five actions on the boycott/blackout calendar, as are many pro-democracy individuals and well-knocn organizations (see: Indivisible.org). I don't know what's up with this Schwartz fellow, but he isn't the leader of the movement. Perhaps he pushed a good idea out into social media and got some following for it? Fine. The People's Union is a catchy name, which I give him props for, since the right has done a decades-long terrific job of seizing motivating language ("Pro-life," which IN PRACTICE means, to me, life haters.) Also, maybe Schwartz just has enough awareness to say "I came up with this boycott idea first," and which is fair, if true. For a good while there, people didn't recognize that Tarana Burke started "Me, too." She didn't get the credit she deserved. Some do deserve for having raised their hand first. Not sure that's the case here. Time will tell. HOWEVER, 1) today's economic blackout is not the only such event on the calendar, it's not a one-off; there are six planned events, 2) very very many individuals AND grassroots organizations thought of and are are supporting the idea of boycotting particular big businesses -- since very many Americans are basically being taxed without voter representation at the executive branch level because of the electoral college (just for starters -- there is a lot of other voter disenfranchisement going on as well!): when you are disenfranchised as a voter in a capitalist country, your money can be a vote; 3) this has come together fast and we will learn from it, but there WILL be asks! Billionaires like Besos need to pay their fair share of taxes; Amazon as a company needs to pay its fair share of taxes; Amazon's workers need to be paid a fair wage and be allowed to organize. Some of the resistance is aimed at Target, including today's blackout, because Target abandoned DEI in a hot second, but that's not the only problem at Target! Most big box stores, especially Target, have strategies in place to keep workers from ever booking full-time hours, so that they never get healthcare, never get paid time off, etc. PLEASE read Adelle Waldman's NYTimes Op-ed of February 21, 2024 about this!
I think it's a great idea to demonstrate your collective power as consumers (like a strike!) directly to the companies. Maybe companies like Amazon think that the way they treat their workers is disconnected from their relationship with their customers. But we all have far more natural solidarity with workers than with corporations. I'm happy to read about these blackouts and hope the movement just keeps snowballing!
Here's a gift link to that article if anybody wants to read it. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/opinion/low-wage-workers.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0U4.hvpu.M5MR9VadCmug&smid=url-share
Yes I came here looking for this because I’ve been hearing for weeks about this day AND many other boycott times planned and hadn’t heard of this dude. I follow General Strike US on Bluesky and IG and that’s where I’ve been gathering boycott and protest info.
Yeah. I really don't believe that dude started the movement. We have a fog of war moment going on here. Maybe he was the first to make a poster or something, because some sources are citing him. But, look, months ago, I was proposing in a group that was trying to organize, "We have to boycott. We have to boycott Amazon," etc. Did I start this initiative? NO! It's such an OBVIOUS idea. That's the point. It cannot be owned. If there's an asshole trying to claim he owns it, step right past him. Many -- very many -- good people are working these blackouts and boycotts. Walk past weird jerks and move on.
YES! Hello....i've been encouraging people to get rid of Amazon since PINO got elected. It's easy for me -- I never did sign up with them. I did boycott everyone else too today though and it was an interesting experience.
VIRGINIA, I feel like I need to buy you a drink (or a fancy piece of cake!) for this excellent essay. You articulated so much of what I have been thinking and you did it so clearly. I appreciate your writing so much.
My brain immediately went, "using cash and from a small local restaurant!" LOL!
I'm of the mind that we need to get in the practice of doing SOMETHING. I appreciate your critical eye looking at the origins of the blackout, but in my mind, it doesn't matter practically. For many people, this may be the first time they are participating in any kind of collective action. While this particular action may not have an enormous "turning of the tides" impact, I don't think we have the luxury of waiting on the sidelines for the perfectly crafted thing to come along. And I feel like there is a perfectionism and purity on the left that keeps us from coming together and doing things. We can nit pick and criticize and armchair quarterback all day long, but until we just start doing the (imperfect, messy) work of collectively organizing and trying different approaches, we will sit on our hands while democracy crumbles around us.
Wow, thanks for the deep dive on this guy. However, I did see someone somewhere 🫠 say that today is less about having economic impact but is more just a test/show that things like a larger, more organized boycott are possible. Who knows, but if there's even a chance of it having any impact, I'm happy to not buy for a day.
OK the paying this guy for early information about the next boycotts is TOO MUCH 😂. Can I boycott John Schwartz even though I just learned about his existence? I agree with those expressing skepticism about a one-day boycott. I'd love to be proven wrong but it seems too easy to have any effect. Corporations pay attention to which way the wind is blowing, sure, but they're concerned about their bottom line so I can't imagine this is going to really effect meaningful change because it won't have a meaningful impact on corporate profits. If we want a real change we have to specify what that is and take action that actually hurts the corporation or whoever we want change from. This feels like the equivalent of sharing a political meme on social media.
I just want everyone who donated to him to get their money back!! $70K in a week! Truly why!
I think it's also worth noting that any actual economic impact from a one-day boycott, if there was any, right now is going to get dwarfed from the economic impacts of firing hundreds of thousands of federal employees and enacting massive tariffs and threatening to cut Medicaid. And the economic impact of those things absolutely will send a message.