this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2025
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Just some additional advertising for todays boycott.

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[–] [email protected] 160 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

We need PERMANENT boycotts. DON’T GO BACK!! Abandoned them and leave them to rot.

Follow what I see every Canadian is doing in the grocery store. Look up the brand and if it’s American put it back and add to the permanent no buy list.

[–] [email protected] 66 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

As an American I use Goods Unite Us to look up political contributions before buying

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I second this app, I'm a big fan of the campaign finance reform score. If you want an easy way to fight the citizens united ruling, this is it.

Also want to give a shout out to https://www.opensecrets.org. their site isn't as easy to use as goods, but the have a lot more data and if you can't find info about a company or politician on goods you can usually still find it on open secrets.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago

https://lemmy.socdojo.com/comment/963871

You may have just answered a specific wish I've had for a while... Thanks much

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks ago

I did this for Facebook and some other companies like X and avoiding using Walmart back in 2010.

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[–] [email protected] 127 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

I'm sure this one day boycott will be just as effective as the others were.

If you want results you need to put in time and have a target. Conservatives didn't boycott beer, they boycotted Bud Light. They didn't do it for a day, they did it until Bud Light gave up. Say what you will about the "why" of it, but it was effective.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I posted another comment but they are effective if strong enough. If their metrics crash today it will worry them. Later if it can be followed up by two days, three, a week. Its a message. There are some more targeted ones on the calendar to. Might have actually been more effective for the artist to do a remember one yesterday but then again its nice to do a solidarity one today. We shall see how much people care to send a message or not.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 weeks ago (8 children)

You're assuming anybody outside of Lemmy even knows about this. I haven't seen any indication of that.

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[–] [email protected] 85 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Why tf do I keep seeing posts about boycotts and protests the day they're happening

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 weeks ago

not sure but I can say this has been floating around for awhile as part of several on the fediverse with multiple dates. Since this is a cartoon they are just putting this up I think as more support than information. Here is a link from newsweek mentioning it a week or so ago and if you type in google feb 28th blackout you will see how many news places picked it up back then https://www.newsweek.com/nationwide-economic-blackout-february-28-list-stores-being-targeted-2030269 im not wild about the media coverage though as they say its all from one org and define it more narrowly than it should.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 weeks ago

Because unfortunately the point of these protests isn't achieving change, it's patting themselves on the back for their "positive action" (despite how conveniently non-intrusive said action is their lives and how it requires absolutely zero risk or material sacrifice).

Since the point is to self-congratulate, no reason to wait, I guess.

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[–] [email protected] 64 points 3 weeks ago (25 children)

Retailers don't give a shit about nobody buying anything on a particular day, if they're all back the next.

This is a stupid idea.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

I mean the point of it isn't to deprive retailers of one day of profits altogether, it's to show how much a sustained refusal to shop would hurt them. Whether or not it's effective depends on how many people participate.

I don't think it's going to be effective, but I'm not going to be the reason it's not. I can pick up my dish soap tomorrow

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Another thing it does is helps people realize what power they have, even if one day of boycotting has zero impact on the economy or businesses. It gets those people who are participating started taking action, and thinking about their actions in the context of politics.

It's a very easy first step, and if people find that they can do a day, maybe they'll be okay with trying a week next time, or maybe showing up at a town hall seems easier. This is arguably more about getting people involved in the movement than actually sticking it to the corporations/oligarchy. That will come. But asking people who live paycheck to paycheck to boycott corporations for more than 2 weeks would be a huge ask without building up to it first.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

This. It gets people used to the idea and shifts the Overton window of protesting, if you will. It's only the conservatives over on lemm.ee that don't like that idea.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

"That's not going to do anything" They said, sitting on their asses, doing nothing, while others fought for change.

You can find this style of argument in virtually all discussions about protests and about whether they are okay or even effective.

Idk & idgaf, but you can't deny, that this makes the whole issue a lot more visible than just doing nothing.

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[–] [email protected] 61 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

If your protest is convenient it's a shitty protest. I'm sorry, but this is a shitty protest.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 weeks ago (30 children)

That an corporations don't care about their daily numbers unless they are trending. Like, people won't buy stuff today, so they will just go buy the stuff tomorrow. Monthly and quarterly profits took no hit.

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[–] [email protected] 58 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

why not boycott all major corporations every day? it does require a bit of work, but the more money you spend locally, the better your local communities will be

[–] [email protected] 45 points 3 weeks ago (14 children)

That's just not how our economy works. "Local" business is not making toilet paper from trees they cut down in their backyard.

I'm probably getting downvoted for this but I hate hate hate this "consumption is power" bull shit boycotts. Consumption is NOT power. LABOR is power. If you work at these large companies you have a million times more power and influence by organizing.

Boycott today if it makes you feel good. But it's so incredibly missing of the point that I have to assume it is purposely missing the point of collective power.

Your power is in your ability to withhold labor. Not withholding consumption for one day that you'll just buy the next day. Hell, if these planned organized single day boycotts, if they actually had an impact, would be a way to maximize profits to reduce labor requirements for those days. It's so silly.

Organize your workplace. That is where your power is!

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)
[–] [email protected] 57 points 3 weeks ago (16 children)

Yeah, take all the money you would spend today, and spend it tomorrow. Power to the ….

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It's good people are doing something, but I can't help but feel it would be way more effective if it was a sustained boycott of targeted businesses. Not buying anything for a year is impossible, but not buying anything from one particular store for a year is possible.

Could you imagine the dread corporate would feel if they saw Banana Republic get boycotted for 2025 and looked at the boycott schedule and their name was listed under 2026?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Yup. One day of no shopping means the big corps just weather a day of lower purchases and the next day people will be buying the stuff they skipped out on friday. It's hardly a noticeable blip to them.

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

I didn't know about this and still participated by accident. What I'm trying to say is that if 1 day counts as boycott I'm severely concerned by the overreliance the general public has on those companies.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 3 weeks ago (28 children)

Open letter to everyone who pooh-poohs this:

Participation is never useless. If you're looking at this through the lens of "will this fix everything," well of course it won't. That's because small efforts by themselves are not impactful.

But lots of small efforts, cumulative, over time, can be, and you have to start somewhere. Everyone who resists does so by taking on some amount of personal risk. Yes, this boycott is a very small personal risk. That's fine. It will get people involved who were previously not involved. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

We need those people. We need their support, in whatever ways they are able to offer it. If your message is "don't bother, it won't work," you are telling people not to be involved. If your aims are, for example, "armed revolution," and you're only considering the people who have the weapons and use them, you are completely ignoring all other aspects of conflict. In war, the people who pull the triggers are a minority of the opposing forces.

You have to produce equipment, food, clothing, shelter. You have to deliver those things where they are needed. You have to know where those things are needed. You need to plan and organize and communicate. You need to provide medical services.

And you have to do all those things not only for the "front line troops," but for everyone.

Today's boycotter can become tomorrow's marcher, next week's smuggler, next month's partisan. Or medic. Or kitchen. Or driver.

All efforts, great and small. [email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 3 weeks ago (9 children)

Who organizes this shit????? Can I learn about this ahead of time so I don't see the post literally at 10:30 on the night of the same day??

Like literally

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

ive seen this promoted all over the place for weeks

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (6 children)

I don't get this plan.

Even if people don't shop one day, they will buy postponed items next day.

You are organizing the wrong thing, you need to build a platform and a troll farm.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 3 weeks ago (9 children)

You guys buy things every day ?!

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago

As a family. yes. Especially groceries but often enough other things. Thats not important though. The important part is 50% or more (assuming maga won't participate) of folks that might get something today don't so that the metrics shows a massive drop in activity for one day. Company metrics easily show stuff. I worked at one that did superbowl ads and you could see the effect of the ad on the site. This is the time the ad ran and this is how soon google searches trended up and this is when visits to the site went up.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 weeks ago

If anyone is interested this was apparently started by a group called The People's Union. I get that 1 day isn't that impactful in the grand scheme of things, cuz it's not. But it's about organization. It's about coordination.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 weeks ago (32 children)

European here. So how did this go yesterday? News coverage?

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 weeks ago

Like, i didn't buy anything today not because of protest, just because i didn't need too... Stuff like this will not be noticed

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 weeks ago

I wasn't going to buy anything today anyway, easiest boycott I ever saw.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 weeks ago (10 children)

Hey, did you know that half of all day to day retail spending is done by the economically top 10% of the US population.
These are people who for the most part don't care about economic hardships of the lower classes and have closer to 65% of the liquid assets.

They already under spend for their wealth and likely also won't care about this. And will spend or not and make no impact.

Not to be negative, but to be realistic.
This is pointless.
Like literally without a point or purpose but to "show those business we mean business" and that isn't an actual point and they don't care about a 1 day shopping freeze.

The reach on this with it already being the day of the protest is already a major hinderance to any progress hoped to be achieved and then we still don't have a point.

Honestly we need to be deciding what change we actually want to have occur and start steering the ship that way little action at a time as possible but instead let's just keep trying to make 1 day events a thing with the shock the wealthy see of us standing together enough to make them see the light of God and turn around and change for us. I'm sure that will eventually work even though it never has.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago

Organising is now just posting the day of

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I wish I had boycot money.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

I think doing a "Whiteout" would be better, where people only shop at pro-humanity or mom n' pop stores. Costco, Winco, ect. People must spend money for their necessities and to enjoy life, but if that spending can always be directed into the pockets of decent people rather than Bezos, that would be far more impactful than a day of blackout.

In that vein, I think incentive programs to switch people would be ideal. Something like CostCo giving a free membership if you buy an amount of goods equal in value, and a free pizza/rotisserie/hot dog(s) for buying $15 of stuff.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago

Without any replacements, this boycott isn't going to last. We should be promoting alternatives with the blackout too. Costco isn't available everywhere.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

There's no way this had any affect. I like the sentiment but it won't work.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Got food at the local donut shop. Ate lunch and dinner from a food truck. The real way this could work is if everyone does this everyday and avoids non local chains.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

So we dont buy anything for one day and then go back to ordering on amazon and that will have an effect on… something. Ok got it. Idiots.

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