Thus it has begun…the bombardment of capitalism that happens every year in America around this time of year. Even before the goblins and ghosts of Halloween have faded, the endless array of Santas begin their march into our consciousness and shopping carts; the blizzards of fake snow, the ever-bigger and brighter plastic yard art, all of the digital Ho, Ho Ho’s…the endless programming to buy, Buy, BUY!!!
I may sound like a scrooge to you, but really my heart breaks under the burden of it all. Never before in modern history have people struggled so hard for so little. Never before have so few hoarded so much, while so many go hungry.
How are you feeling the pressure of it all? Are you or your loved ones fearing the menace of unhinged ICE raids? Or are you one of the 42 million Americans who might face hunger due to SNAP cuts – in the month that many families traditionally celebrate with the biggest feast of the year? Or is it your healthcare or hard-earned pension disappearing? Are you facing a housing crisis as some 800,000 people are unhomed in the US while 14.9 million houses stand empty, owned by corporations controlling the market?
Or maybe you’re simply fed up with your hard earned money being taken in taxes to fund genocides, wars and political coups overseas; and to witness our tax dollars used to fund US troops being deployed against American citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights…all this while the first trillionaire is born. It’s difficult at times to stay focused and keep going, feeling these burdens, often overwhelmed with the sense that there is nothing we can do to change this reality…but we can. And we must!
You’ve probably heard about the boycotts happening world-wide and here at home. Hopefully you’re one of the estimated 36% of Americans who have or are planning to participate in a big business boycott at some time. Or maybe you’re one of the skeptics who think boycotts don’t work. Either way, do you know the history of boycotting?
The term “boycott” was coined in west Ireland in 1880 after the English landlord, Captain Charles Boycott. In response to Charles Boycott’s practices of rent hikes, unfair evictions and poor tenant treatment, Irish nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell and the Irish Land League proposed a campaign of isolation and withdrawal of work on Mr. Boycott’s estate. The efforts cost him a lot of money, and the social ostracism led him to flee Ireland. And we the people named a new tool to use against those who would exploit us: boycotting!
But even before we had a word for it, this strategy has been effective throughout history. Remember the boycott against unfair taxes, and tariff’s, the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, when workers threw the tea shipment into the harbor? This ignited the fight against “taxation without representation.” In October 1774, women in Edenton, North Carolina organized their own boycott, agreeing not to buy or drink English tea and cloth; this was coined “the Edenton Tea Party.” (I wonder if their friends shamed them for being too woke?). On December 1, 1774, the First Continental Congress met and adopted the Articles of Association, which called for an all-in boycott of British goods until the unfair tariffs and taxes were repealed. The “founding fathers,” who were pulling away from Mother England and her smothering ways, used boycotts as a defense.
In 1933 a world-wide anti-Nazi campaign erupted, with an international boycott of German products organized by critics of the Nazi Party to protest the persecution of Jews after Hitler came to power. And there was the Boycott of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin because of their horrific attacks against the Jewish community.
We also witnessed this simple strategy deployed against racism and segregation in the Southeastern US in the 1950’s. The Montgomery Bus Boycotts were initiated by Rosa Parks in 1955, withholding money until segregated seating was declared unconstitutional, with folks opting to walk and carpool instead. And the “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work” campaign, which withheld business from companies that practiced segregation or wouldn’t hire Black people.
In 1964, South Africa was banned from the Olympics for their apartheid practices, and their exported goods were being boycotted worldwide. And today we see similar strategies being employed against corporations who treat their employees poorly, support war and genocide, and contribute to human exploitation and environmental destruction. Does it work?
YES! Take an American icon: Starbucks. This coffee shop swept the nation by storm in the 90’s, and became a mainstay around the world, with a net worth of $114 billion in 2021. But over the years, the stories of poor treatment of workers, racial profiling, and anti-union activities caused this corporation to fall from grace. Starbucks boycotts began in 2018. Its reputation was tainted even more as information that some of Starbucks’ major investment firms (like The Vanguard Group and BlackRock) also hold shares in companies that manufacture weapons used against Palestine, as well as many other insidious practices. Boycotts intensified. Then in late 2023, Starbucks sued their own Starbucks Workers United Union over a post expressing solidarity with Palestine, with the then CEO expressing sympathy with Israel. The people rallied. To date, Starbucks has lost over $11 billion in revenue, with six consecutive quarters of declining sales, and plans to close 500-1000 stores worldwide.
That’s just one example. Today Amazon, Target, Home Depot, and others are being boycotted for their removal of DEI protocols, anti-trans/ gay sentiments, and for support of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians. Other corporations are being boycotted, too: Disney for its political stances; Walmart for general corporate greed and worker exploitation; Kellogg’s for their CEO stating that cereal is an adequate and affordable dinner option for poor people (“Let them eat…Frosted Flakes?”). Coca-Cola for its business operations in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. Nestle for stealing water rights from the people in drought-ridden areas and selling it back to the people, as well as its major marketing campaigns in favor of baby formula over breastfeeding…the list of greedy corporations that are being boycotted goes on and on.
I doubt we will see the government encourage this today, but as the people have done before us, we too will leverage this tool against the oppressive arm of the ‘corpocracy’, reminding them once again that the workers hold the power, and that the government’s job is to protect and care for the people. And most importantly: we are more than consumers, and the corporations serve us; not the other way around.
And so this year, we implore you to STOP!
Let’s grind the machine to a halt until it is forced to listen to those who it heartlessly treads upon. Let’s remind the corporations that it is us, the workers of the world, who actually hold the purse strings. Right now, they are counting on us dropping mad dollars to make our lives feel special and full of love this holiday season – like good consumers. So let’s all change the way we do the holidays this year!
Boycott the bureaucracy by buying local and putting your money where it counts. Try Secret Santas – even within family units – so each person gives one good (maybe even handmade) gift instead of 25 meh ones. Or donate in each other’s names to a cause you care about. Make things to gift each other and neighbors; volunteer at soup kitchens; visit elders without families; bring hot cocoa on Christmas morning to folks who are unhoused; visit children without families; volunteer at your local animal shelter…
When my kids were little, I made them small handmade gifts that highlighted something they were interested in. In the midst of piles of prepackaged toys that they received from family members during the holidays, it was often the hand-sewn bunny or the knit hat made from wool from our sheep that they loved the most. And then we would deliver hot cocoa and serve steaming pots of soup on street corners, partaking in the true spirit of Christmas. On Winter Solstice – the longest night of the year – we often slept outside, making a big fire, trying to stay up all night to welcome the sun from its descent into the underworld and give thanks for another day. There are so many ways to engage with the true spirit of the holiday season, feel good, and still bypass capitalism.
Boycotting also has some hidden benefits: community resilience and interdependence. When people organize together, they are stronger. When we seek out alternatives to the ease of consumption that corporations offer, we often create community ties to meet our needs. These ties will carry us through the storms to come. This is Mutual Aid in action, in real time real life situations.
Also, when we buy less and buy local, we contribute less to the environmental degradation that mass consumption results in.
There’s a concept in political science which states that no government or entity has been able to withstand a challenge from just 3.5% of its population actively mobilized in an organized, sustained, nonviolent protest. Let’s really test the 3.5% Rule this holiday season and beyond! Check out this Boycott List to make informed choices. This site has different organizational interfaces, and tells why a company is being boycotted, as well as offering ethical alternatives. Buy local, buy used / refurbished, or don’t buy at all. Join the multitude of people around the world currently boycotting. And remember: 3.5% of 8 billion (the world’s population) is just 280,000,000. That’s doable!
May this give you hope and mobilize you this holiday season and into the new year. We can affect the system, indeed we MUST! And it starts with each of us breathing into the overwhelm of this modern moment, and focusing on what we actually can do to bring change. It may seem small, but remember that 3.5% is not that many.
As we sink into the dark reflective root time of winter, let us set our intentions on the world we want to bring forward for our children’s children to inhabit. What does it look like? What holidays do we celebrate and how? What are our traditions and why? Let’s start creating that world now…the seeds we plant today become the forests of tomorrow.
