Much as expected, the economic blackout Friday did not have much impact. In fact, Forbes reports that their sales numbers Friday grew:
Yes, I suspect some MAGA driven people did in fact shop extra that day.
Before you get too discouraged, there is another trend happening:
https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-shares-tumble-almost-8-frankfurt-2024-08-02/
Overall, Amazon sales are declining. As a result, their stock is losing value.
The article attributes it to consumers choosing lower prices, but I question that. If you do a comparison, Amazon frequently has the lowest prices.
I think there might be more people deciding not to shop at Amazon at all. That's been our household strategy.
The thing that is missing is that I haven't sent that letter yet. If we are boycotting Amazon because of Bezos' manipulation of The Washington Post, they should know that.
If many people are boycotting because of that -- or because of other political machinations or anti-union practices or so many logical reasons -- they should know that.
I know I keep going back to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, but it was such a clear example.
Yes, they stopped riding the buses, and that had an economic impact. However, there was also clear communication with the bus company and clear demands about what would end the boycott.
There was also a civil suit, Browder v. Gayle, that went all the way up to the Supreme Court, ultimately confirming that the law of the land was that segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional.
Often Brown v. Board of Education is seen as the case overturning Plessy v. Ferguson, but that Plessy was related to public transportation.
(Brown was two years earlier, and the law was relevant, but did not change the transportation practices in many places in the South, clearly.)
Also, fairly frequently now people will mention Claudette Colvin when talking about the boycott and Rosa Parks; what may not get mentioned is that Colvin was one of the plaintiffs in Browder.
The point is that making change requires cooperation and patience and perspective on those needs as work comes from many different directions over time. Something quick and symbolic may briefly give you a good feeling, but is not likely to effect change.
Protests get attention, but they need to be backed with other pressures.
That being said, there are proclamations being made that are clearly unconstitutional regarding right to protest. If you get arrested for protesting or wearing a mask while doing so, that could create grounds for a court case that could prove valuable as part of the overall effort.
I wish we had a better Supreme Court, but that's just one part of a much larger problem.
If it has not become obvious yet, a lot of these posts are really more about getting your head in the right space than about the specific actions you take. The better your understanding, the easier it should be to have clarity on what you can and should do.
Related posts:
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment