I am definitely participating but I think the message of it being an Economic Blackout has not been well defined. Yesterday, I read the comments under an article about it and several people were saying they were waiting until Friday to buy everything they needed because they didn't want to be part of this DEI bull. Well its not DEI, but I can understand their confusion because I have heard some in the press describe it that way. I don't use social media but I would love to see better messaging to the entire public between now and Friday.
"DEI" is now the catchall reason for waste, fraud, abuse, and everything else wrong in the United States. Most people are intellectually limited, and don't actually understand anything beyond the price of eggs.
I'm unsurprised that there are people planning to buy heavily on Friday. These are the same people who think China will pay the tariffs, and that they shouldn't have to pay any taxes, and who want to burn books.
The messaging I've seen is all about "corporations only understand their bottom line, and so let's show them that we, the consumers, have power, and won't buy from them so long as they support the current fascist regime."
The store boycott is easy for me - the only listed company I purchase from is Amazon - and that's easy to not use. I had never shopped at Walmart - ever - until last year. We have a Walmart grocery store near us and I wanted to see how they were, so I decided to do a weekly shopping trip there. They were definitely NOT cheap! Their prices on most items - including their house brand - were comparable to Safeway. When I got to the cashier station ::drumroll, please:: There were NO CASHIERS! The only lines open were for self-checkout. I left my cart in front of a blocked off cashier stand and walked out.
And while Amazon was a cause for the demise of bookstores, Borders and Barnes and Noble were pretty much laid the groundwork for the demise of the smaller booksellers - B Dalton, Waldenbooks, Crown Books, et al - who were, in turn, responsible for the demise of so many local mom and pop stores. Shopping Malls and greedy corporations destroyed the independents.
As an aside... Portland has THE BEST independent bookstore in the country - Powells. Been around since 1971! https://www.powells.com/
My Walmart story -- back in the day, I lived in Iowa for a while. This was back before Walmart had marched across the country, and I'd never heard of it, but a local friend took me to one and explained what we did there. We would go overnight -- it wasn't busy, but there were certainly customers. We would get extra large women's bloomers, and boxes of condoms and throw them into people's carts when they weren't looking and then go hang out near the cashiers to see the reactions. When there were people in the dressing room, we'd take two adjoining try-on rooms and one of us would yell "there's no toilet paper in here" and the other would say "coming over the top." Good times, good times.
Did you live here when Gene's Books was in the Plaza, near the bazaar area? One of the greatest independent bookstores of all time.
And I know Powell's. When I had a travel job, back like 25 - 30 years ago, they had shops in the airports on the left coast. Not only could you buy a book, but you could sell back one you'd read for a credit on another book. Delayed planes at those airports were so easy -- you could read to your heart's content.
I miss bookstores. Especially the used bookstores where you could find such gems. The people who worked there (both new and used) knew the authors, and once they knew what you liked, they'd make recommendations. GOOD recommendations.
I applaud your action! That's awesome. What I'm struggling with (I know, TMI) is paper products. Since the Target dropped DEI, and I want to get off of Amazon - both of those places are cheaper than the Wegmans, and even Costco. It's a dilemma!
Thanks for the daily list. It’s on our fridge!
RIGHT ON, SISTER!!! I've got high hopes!
I am definitely participating but I think the message of it being an Economic Blackout has not been well defined. Yesterday, I read the comments under an article about it and several people were saying they were waiting until Friday to buy everything they needed because they didn't want to be part of this DEI bull. Well its not DEI, but I can understand their confusion because I have heard some in the press describe it that way. I don't use social media but I would love to see better messaging to the entire public between now and Friday.
"DEI" is now the catchall reason for waste, fraud, abuse, and everything else wrong in the United States. Most people are intellectually limited, and don't actually understand anything beyond the price of eggs.
I'm unsurprised that there are people planning to buy heavily on Friday. These are the same people who think China will pay the tariffs, and that they shouldn't have to pay any taxes, and who want to burn books.
The messaging I've seen is all about "corporations only understand their bottom line, and so let's show them that we, the consumers, have power, and won't buy from them so long as they support the current fascist regime."
Too many of these boycotts weaken the impact . IMO. A general once-month no-buying would be less confusing and have more impact.
Contact these folks: https://thepeoplesunionusa.com/ They are running this, I'm only reporting on their plans.
The store boycott is easy for me - the only listed company I purchase from is Amazon - and that's easy to not use. I had never shopped at Walmart - ever - until last year. We have a Walmart grocery store near us and I wanted to see how they were, so I decided to do a weekly shopping trip there. They were definitely NOT cheap! Their prices on most items - including their house brand - were comparable to Safeway. When I got to the cashier station ::drumroll, please:: There were NO CASHIERS! The only lines open were for self-checkout. I left my cart in front of a blocked off cashier stand and walked out.
And while Amazon was a cause for the demise of bookstores, Borders and Barnes and Noble were pretty much laid the groundwork for the demise of the smaller booksellers - B Dalton, Waldenbooks, Crown Books, et al - who were, in turn, responsible for the demise of so many local mom and pop stores. Shopping Malls and greedy corporations destroyed the independents.
As an aside... Portland has THE BEST independent bookstore in the country - Powells. Been around since 1971! https://www.powells.com/
My Walmart story -- back in the day, I lived in Iowa for a while. This was back before Walmart had marched across the country, and I'd never heard of it, but a local friend took me to one and explained what we did there. We would go overnight -- it wasn't busy, but there were certainly customers. We would get extra large women's bloomers, and boxes of condoms and throw them into people's carts when they weren't looking and then go hang out near the cashiers to see the reactions. When there were people in the dressing room, we'd take two adjoining try-on rooms and one of us would yell "there's no toilet paper in here" and the other would say "coming over the top." Good times, good times.
Did you live here when Gene's Books was in the Plaza, near the bazaar area? One of the greatest independent bookstores of all time.
And I know Powell's. When I had a travel job, back like 25 - 30 years ago, they had shops in the airports on the left coast. Not only could you buy a book, but you could sell back one you'd read for a credit on another book. Delayed planes at those airports were so easy -- you could read to your heart's content.
I miss bookstores. Especially the used bookstores where you could find such gems. The people who worked there (both new and used) knew the authors, and once they knew what you liked, they'd make recommendations. GOOD recommendations.
I left amazon on february 2, 2025 and it is freeing!!!! Totally liberating!!! Try it, Jessica.
I applaud your action! That's awesome. What I'm struggling with (I know, TMI) is paper products. Since the Target dropped DEI, and I want to get off of Amazon - both of those places are cheaper than the Wegmans, and even Costco. It's a dilemma!