Tra-la, tra-la... It's a Buy Nothing Day! in the USA.
I love this Economic Blackout for a lot of reasons.
Let us liberate ourselves from whatever is hurting us!
That's a tall order, eh?
But why not?
Let those chains drop like underpants whose elastic is shot.
["Elastic was truly was terrible in the 1940's because of war demands for rubber. Ladies had exit strategies for panties that just decided to fall off."]
You could knit your own. How baggy would those be in a minute?
Below: 1940's WW2 Service Panties and Bloomers Knitting Pattern (digital repro on Etsy)
It shows up how materialistic we are as a culture, if the very idea of going a measly 24 hours without buying something has power.
Like for me until 4 months ago, going 24 hours without sugar felt almost impossible.
One day is easy.
But also, Why not sacrifice a little?
Are we so fragile? Without inner resources?
So enslaved to ease?
Let us not quietly go as grist to the Mump Mill.
(Musk + Trump = Mump)
If you want to participate and do need to (or just want to) buy something today, spend $ cash at small, local businesses.
Say, your local thrift store!
___________
Often enough, we are the ones holding the chain that binds us.
For instance, I hear people say they don't give up Facebook even though they hate Mump because they like to keep in touch with x, y, z.. [cousins in Texas, reading group members, whatever].
Well, duh. OF COURSE. That's what ties you to it.
If you give it up, you make a sacrifice.
Like, we only do things that are easy and pleasant?
And I hear people say, "Oh, I only check it once a day".
How do they not know this:
social media is like the metaphoric ants that the physical therapist said are working all the time to repair my injured ligament.
No matter what we are doing for 5 minutes a day,
THEY are working all 1,440 minutes, 24/7.
(Also--there's still the post office.)
________________
I was surprised that Tabitha Brown, a Black business-owner, said people shouldn't boycott Target because they carry her products, and those of other Black businesses, and it would hurt them.
Justice should require no sacrifice?
Wouldn't that be nice.
During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Black Americans walked, carpooled, rode bikes for the entire year of 1956 rather than ride the bus.
But also, Ms Brown, do you really think Target is your friend, and that if you call people off them, they will be loyal to you?
Let us identify the inconsistencies in this argument.
How has loyalty to Master worked out for people in history?
________________
The point is LIBERATION.
There must be fifty ways to get yourself free.
Some of them, UPCOMING:
Today's boycott is organized by a new organization, The People's Union USA.
More on them here, in Time magazine.
After the single-day spending pause, People’s Union plans week-long boycotts against specific retailers, including...
Amazon, March 7-14
Nestlé,
March 21-28
Walmart, April 7-13.
Unrelated to P.U. and irregardless of Ms Brown, some Black faith leaders are calling for a
40-day “fast” or boycott of Target to protest the corporation dropping it DEI
initiatives.
The fast will start on Ash Wednesday, Mar. 5 and run the 40 days of Lent.
[via Forbes]
"Fasting is not just about what we abstain from—it is about what we embrace."
Supporters of Black and ally-owned brands sold at Target can buy directly from those businesses.
From the papers of Floyd McKissick, a Black attorney who worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Durham, North Carolina in the early 1960s.
--Via.
I was on LinkedIn yesterday and someone had posted about the boycott. the comments were not very supportive. most of them seemed to be shouting maga and how they were going to buy, buy, buy! I realize that some people will never get it because as long as they are getting theirs, they don't care.
ReplyDeleteand yes, we as a society have become very materialistic -- constantly buying something. I'm spending the day cleaning and looking to move more stuff out of my house. yesterday the bitter southerner magazine sent an email telling it's mailing list not to buy from them today!!
k
ps more boycotts to come: https://thepeoplesunionusa.com
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kirsten!
DeleteMy sister just texted me that she was going to buy some supplies for my birthdya--what color did I want?
I said, Please wait till tomorrow--and she did. She'd thought the boycott was targeted only at Big Biz.
But I love the magazine saying--don't buy from us either!
I was interested to see that John Deere, the equipment manufacturers, is declining to ditch their DEI goals. Not that I need a tractor..... And yes, I'm not much of a shopper so easy peasy to not buy anything today. But it should give cause for reflection if one DOES find it hard - has consumption taken over more life space than it should?
ReplyDeleteCheers, as always, Ceci
Cheers, Ceci!
DeleteI love the people/corps. that are holding the line for DEI and other things.
John Deere!
Makes me want to buy a tractor... :)
I actually joined t COSTCO last week because of that.
I used to shop a lot at the much easier-to-get-to-without-a-car Target, but I can go to CostCo w bink when she drives.
I was so proud of my yoga class today. Before Savasana at the end, the teacher mentioned something about focusing on the present moment only and setting your target shopping list aside.
ReplyDeleteThe whole class shouted “no no it’s boycott day!”
—ddip
That truly made my day. Go, yoga ladies!
DeleteAll I bought yesterday was a coffee and brownie in a local café and paid cash.
ReplyDeleteNo meta either.
There does seem to be less rubbish on there today
Nice! I was just seeing that other people in the world were joining in, boycotting Amazon etc. ❤️❤️❤️
Delete