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I went looking for the "economic blackout" and was underwhelmed [1]
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Date: 2025-03-01
I live near the major Downtown Brooklyn shopping district (very working class) and went out at midday to see if there were signs of the boycott having effect. I saw people picking up coffee at Starbucks, buying lunch at Burger King, and lining up to pay for items at Target. There were also people in the nearby supermarkets and drugstores. Pretty much an ordinary Friday afternoon. And from what I’ve read it sounds the same elsewhere:
Still, a Walmart and Lowe’s on South Tryon Street in southwest Charlotte, and the Target on Metropolitan Avenue just outside uptown, appeared to have normal customer traffic on Friday afternoon. — Charlotte Observer Amid economic blackout, some stayed home while others went shopping — Boston Globe
I have no doubt that some (maybe a lot) participated, but I never thought it would send the significant economic message people hoped for. And apparently, neither did the organizer:
“Will it really affect the economy much? Probably not. And we know that,” — Scripps News
The big problem seems to be that, whatever yesterday was, it wasn’t a “boycott”, which is usually built around three point:
There’s a product I buy or use somewhat regularly.
The company that makes the product is doing something I object to
I’ll stop buying and using the product until the company stops doing what I object to.
In this case the target seemed to be capitalism and “big business” in general, and the guidelines were so vague that people were adding their own personal categories (one social media post said not to take money out of bank ATMs because…..something about tech bros?). I’m sure the participants felt virtuous for doing something, but I don’t imagine the “oligarchs” woke up quivering in fear about yesterday’s earnings. Additionally, there was no discussion of “and then what?”. Assuming you had been successful, how were you going to agree on what your ultimate demands would be?
My point isn’t to say “I told you so”; it's to suggest thinking more realistically about what your goals are and what will accomplish them. I’ve said before that I work with politics in the “real world”. My political organization meets face to face to discuss and agree on goals, strategies and outcomes, and then works to achieve them. We spent part of yesterday discussing plans to win the Wisconsin Supreme Court seat and to pick off the NY-21 Congressional seat. Because ultimately what will stop the Republicans is fear of the voters.
It’s also to point out that social media isn’t the real world either. Most people aren’t on Bluesky or Facebook, and anyone with a website and a poster can set up shop and appear to be a organized movement.
Before the responses start, let me address the obvious ones:
Why do you have to be discouraging when people try to do something?
First, if your commitment to a cause is affected by someone disagreeing with you, perhaps you should ask why your commitment is so shallow? Second, my political world is built about facts and data, whether positive of negative. Yours should be too.
So, you think we should do nothing?
Of course not. We should focus on what’s achievable and shown to be impactful. Protests give people a sense of participation, but rarely seem to have an impact.
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