its not a boycott if you are only avoiding them for a single week, and returning to them without any changes being made.
it's to teach the more hesitant people that you can, in fact, survive without those places
Stop calling it a boycott then.
A boycott is named after Charles Boycott, an English land agent who was cheating his master Lord Erne's Irish tenant farmers. When they "Boycotted" him in 1880, the local people wouldn't just not give him money - they wouldn't interact with him or his agents in any way. Pretended they didn't exist. Pretended they didn't hear him or his lackeys speak his lackeys when they went to the shop. Cut them off entirely from their lives.
It should be noted that then he appealed to British establishment media and the British government sent 1000 police to protect 50 replacement workers - scabs - and provisions delivered from Protestant areas. It cost the Brits £10,000 to harvest £500 worth of crops, but they paid it to send a message. The government is not on your side.
This was 145 years ago. I know that seems like a lot to most people. In terms of the Irish resistance to British rule, it is remarkably recent. Not only that, but within 35 years, Britain had agreed to Irish home rule (and reneged on it). Within 40 years Ireland was independent.
In the words of Michael Davitt, leader of the Land League who inspired the protest:
You must shun him on the roadside when you meet him – you must shun him in the streets of the town – you must shun him in the shop – you must shun him on the fair green and in the market place, and even in the place of worship, by leaving him alone, by putting him in moral Coventry, by isolating him from the rest of the country, as if he were the leper of old – you must show him your detestation of the crime he committed.
And in the weasel words of Boycott himself:
My farm is public property; the people wander over it with impunity. My crops are trampled upon, carried away in quantities, and destroyed wholesale. The locks on my gates are smashed, the gates thrown open, the walls thrown down, and the stock driven out on the roads. I can get no workmen to do anything, and my ruin is openly avowed as the object of the Land League unless I throw up everything and leave the country. I say nothing about the danger to my own life, which is apparent to anybody who knows the country.
Don't interact with these business. Don't interact with people who obey these businesses.
It is if timed properly.
A true, effective boycot a week before the end of their quarter will fuck up their quarterly earnings reports and hit the stock prices in a way that can't be balanced out for another 3 months.
But why Target? I thought they said they regretted their change.
Yea, I mean I can imagine even if your anti-consumption, if there aren't affordable smaller businesses to support or dependable mutual aid services that can provide food for enough people it's gonna be tough to give up groceries from the monopolized supermarkets. Not saying Americans shouldn't boycott, but we need to be aware that as long as there's capitalism, we're always gonna be choosing between compromised options.
Yup. The corporation that committed the least evil. Because they all cause enslavement, famine, suicide and/or torture, its just a game of who was responsible for the least unnecessary deaths in the last twelve months.
So far so good. I still occasionally have temptations to just order something on Amazon because of convenience and habit, but I can't really bring myself to do it anymore.
US to the people in authoritarian countries:
why don't they revolt and take back their country? I've made a fool proof plan if you need.US when it needs revolution:
Best I can do is deal with 1 inconvenience in a day.Haven't used amazon or walmart in years. Still ocasionally go to target though because I have to shop somewhere.
I see Canadians in the 4th panel lol
yea! here we support our local, small, and independent grocery chains!
…like loblaws, sobeys and metro…
🥲
It's just not really possible to boycott all three of those. If my kids have a birthday party to go to, those are literally the only three places to buy a toy. That's true for most of the things I buy, besides groceries.
So I boycott just Target. Target used to be the least shitty of those three. Except one or two rare occasions where it was necessary, they've lost months worth of my business.
If we can get just one retailer to turn around on their bullshit, then at least we'll have one place to shop.
For physical stores there are other shitty places that aren't those 3. Big lots, ocean state job lot, a version of that type of discount store that exists in your area, dollar general, dollar tree, thrift stores.
Really there are so many options that aren't those 3. It really is possible
I just buy used stuff from eBay and Facebook marketplace for all my non grocery needs.
Ebay has a lot of new stuff too
Depends on the area but thrift stores can be great for toys - if only because survivorship bias says anything that makes it there will last a long long time.
Local free groups like Buy Nothing can also be great for sports equipment, school supplies, kid sized furniture etc.
Only a wealth or privileged person could boycott all of these.
