I'm not buying it

I am BOYCOTTING. I refuse to spend money on products or businesses (and the people who run them) that do not align with my values. Mostly.

It turns out that boycotting is hard. It seems like avoiding things should be easier - heck, I've been avoiding hard conversations and burpees for decades! But in this case it's not so simple. 

For a little perspective, the Montgomery bus boycott went on for 13 months. It was a grand victory in the end, with the Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional. And, like, no disrespect to the Judicial branch, but did they even have to sit through opening arguments to make that declaration?

Yeah, let's go back to the good old days. 🙄

I've been thinking about how difficult maintaining that boycott must have been. A lot more hardship than me staying away from Amazon. That was a sacrifice, not an inconvenience.

Modern boycotts are simultaneously easier and harder; as in more complicated. 

One day last month I canceled Amazon Prime, unsubscribed from the Washington Post, canceled my Audible account, and reminded myself not to shop at Whole Foods or Zappos. Five businesses. 

But how many Bezos enterprises are there? How many am I unwittingly supporting? CAN SOMEONE MAKE ME A LIST??

Likewise I'm refusing to go to Target - which is a place I love to visit.

I haven't set foot in Home Depot in months.

I've never even tasted Chick-fil-A. (And just who is responsible for that travesty of a moniker?? Let me speak with the manager.)

I left Substack, even though it was kind of an ideal venue for my newsletter, which is now in its third home.

So, yeah, I'm doing what I can to boycott businesses when I know that they're dramatically violating my values. But I only know what I know. Like, is my 401K invested in any of these? What about Trader Joe’s? Do I even want to know what crimes and indignities they're perpetrating on the daily? I mean, I have to shop somewhere.

Then there are the businesses I want to boycott, but I haven't quite mustered up the resolve to do it.

Zuckerworld being a big one.

I don't mess with Facebook much, but it's my only tie to lots of people, and a couple of things I'm involved with live there. And I do still like Instagram despite the would-be Emperor of Social Media being a totalitarian-loving dips*it.

Because hey, I'm human, and this is the era of Too Big to Fail. These tech bros have a chokehold on the things we need. I've been wondering, recently - is the good old U. S. of A. too big to fail? Clearly the autocrats and oligarchs think we can rule the world. But will the rest of humanity decide they can do without us? 

I mean, if I lived in another country I'd be boycotting us. I kind of wish I could boycott the U.S.! We deserve it right now.

Which brings us to the downside of boycotting. I know it hurts innocent people, too. I don't want Target to lay off thousands of workers; job security is already practically an oxymoron. But I do want to pressure that company to do better. As in, don't bend the knee to autocratic nonsense quite so quickly.

There is no victimless action.

But boycotting is not without joy! In a corporatized world of billionaires, lobbyists and way-too-wealthy politicians, it feels good to take an action that may hit them where it hurts. The wallet.

I realize that it will take more than a bunch of people refusing the ridiculous convenience of Amazon to hurt Mr. Glow-Up himself. But in this modern age of dotcom gazillonaires I beg you to remember that dollars in and dollars out isn't the way these people maintain their wealth. 

Money is a made up fantasy at the best of times, but the richest people are rich because their properties are assumed to be worth billions. Even if they don't bring in a red cent! It's clear that money is really just numbers on a screen.

So boycotting may hurt even the richest.

Look at Kanye - in 2022 his net worth dropped from over $2 billion to a mere $400K when Adidas dropped him like the red hot liability he is. The $1.5 billion Forbes stripped him of overnight wasn't money sitting in the bank. It was a "valuation", which is a daydream that finance bros insist is real.

What I like about boycotting is the feeling that I'm doing the right thing according to my own values. As much as I can. If you ever watched The Good Place (and you should) you'll see a dishearteningly realistic depiction of a person trying to do the right thing ALL THE TIME and still failing.

Which is why I'd never dream of judging people who shop via Amazon or pay for Facebook ads or buy their troubles away at Target. We're doing our best.

But then I think of all those people who refused to ride the bus when not riding the bus meant hours of walking to get to work. It also took massive organization, arranging hundreds of carpools, disseminating information, supporting those whose livelihoods were put in jeopardy. 

It meant fighting through arrests and bombings and atrocious behavior of all kinds on the part of the outraged white majority. It took guts and determination and sacrifice.

Once we were a nation that seemed to thrive on sacrifice, or at least the notion of sacrifice. 

What about now? Will we plant victory gardens instead of shopping at Whole Foods? Write letters and make phone calls instead of posting, posting, posting? Remind ourselves how to build, make do, consume less, commune more?

When the toast hits the cat-hair-covered-floor, jam side down, we get to see what we're made of. Things are getting creepier and scarier in a hurry, and lots of people will be hurt, broke, scared and persecuted before the smoke clears. We're at a turning point - who will we decide to be?

For the moment I'm choosing to vote with my dollars where I can, and to be kind to everyone to the best of my ability. And to write to and call the people who are supposedly steering the ship.

And, I guess, hoping to find some nice local businesses that can replicate the bland, soothing, it'll-be-alright-infused atmosphere of Target.

It’s hard to be stressed at Target.

Okay, love you, bye!

Julia

p.s. It's worth noting that the first three people to challenge segregation on the buses of Montgomery were women. Men may run politics, but women run society, it's just a fact.

Recommendation!

British murder mystery series.

I'm a little late to the party on this one. I resisted pretty much all crime fiction because, I guess, I'm not a fan of murder. But what can I say? I came around.

A good long series is gold. You know what you're going to get, and you don't have to spend precious time looking for your next book. British ones are, to my mind, better than the American version because the stereotypes are a little calmer. Hard-drinking, hard-boiled urban cop? Loner (and lonely) private eye? Enough already.

There are too many great series to mention, but one that's currently proving a balm to my existential dread is the Ruth Galloway mysteries by Elly Griffiths. The titular character is an archeologist who specializes in bones, which is a cool twist. She works with the police department, so there's some verisimilitude.

Though who am I kidding? I have no idea whether the policing in the book bears any resemblance to real-life enforcement of the law. Honestly, it doesn't matter to me; I'm here for the entertainment, not an actual peek behind the scenes.

Anyway, there's very little gore or terror or 'Oh crap, could that happen to me'? Which is important. I don't need anything else to worry about right now.

Side note: I went through a big Agatha Christie phase last year, and her characters tend to be really nasty. I didn't remember that. She may be the queen of the murder mystery but I'm here for a gentler approach.

Marvin Gay knows we need a change, and so does this email. Forward it to your favorite torchbearer.