Feeling helpless and uncomfortable? Are you disturbed when you think of the richest men in the world seated in the front row at Trump’s indoor inauguration? Are you uncomfortable at the cheering, bought-off Republican cult of Representatives and Congressman at Trump’s lie-filled speech last Tuesday? Wondering what the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, and his twenty-somethings are doing with your personal data as they rampage through federal government agencies? Feeling protective of your access to health care or the Social Security check you earned during your working life? Wondering what the hell Trump is doing as he threatens our neighbors and erects tariff walls while the stock market plunges? Pissed at Trump/Vance for casting Ukraine and Europe adrift in favor of Vladimir ? If any of this has you feeling unsettled, despondent, and/or furious then you have lots of company. The numbers of first time protesters (personal encounters) and folks inquiring “What can we do?” are burgeoning.
You can—and should—be calling the offices of your congresspeople. You can—and should—be writing postcards to voters in places like Wisconsin where the balance of the State Supreme Court is up-for-grabs in an April 1 election.
In other countries—most recently in South Korea—people took to the streets in peaceful protests of an attempted coup by an elected official—and they took back their country. From the outside, the uprising looked as though it were completely spontaneous—but that’s an illusion. Nothing happens on a mass scale without some prior planning.
The February 28 “Buy Nothing” day passed with little fanfare—but it was mostly just a proving ground. Here’s some perspective from an interesting article in Newsweek:
Michael Ryan, founder and CEO of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek: "This protest's real power lies in its potential for escalation [my italics]. If the People's Union follows through with planned longer-term boycotts, we could see significant shifts in how corporations balance profit margins against social responsibility. Smart investors are already watching this movement closely."
So here’s the next thing:
Read more about this specific boycott here [click to read].
On that page you will see a link to thepeoplesunionusa.com. That is the correct site, but beware. When I googled or duck-duck-go-ed “The people’s union website” I was offered at least two “people’s union” websites, the one I copied above that was founded by John Schwarz (mentioned in the Newsweek article) and another (founded by a “Ray Gross” of San Diego in 2001) of which I remain somewhat suspicious—and, anyway, this latter organization is NOT behind the Amazon Boycott.
Most of us, including me, are like the proverbial frog in the kettle of warming water. I did not fully realize just how pervasive Jeff Bezos’ empire has become, how many pinch-points he has in many aspects of our existence. For a clear idea of his empire’s reach I recommend visiting the “Amazon (company)” wikipedia article. I found it breathtaking—and more than a little bit scary—especially considering that Mr. Bezos had a place of honor at Trump’s inauguration AND is the owner (and is clearly in control) of a major media outlet, The Washington Post, which he bought with what to him is just pocket change.
Bottom line: Send a message to Mr. Bezos that while he is beholden to Trump/Vance he is also dependent on us, his customers.
Then understand that this boycott, too, is just another step in getting attention ahead of other actions—and this has the considerable merit that it is passive and easy to do, just by paying attention to one’s purchases.
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry