Forum Post: On Black Friday, occupy the checkout lines! Fill up your basket and forget to bring money! #noblackfriday
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 6, 2011, 2:41 p.m. EST by sudoname
(1001)
from Berkeley, CA
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
EDIT 2: PLEASE READ THE POST, NOT JUST THE TITLE, BEFORE RESPONDING.
EDIT: * It's been pointed out that this could be bad/frustrating for employees - if this is really the case I do not want to encourage it. My logic is that the employees will get paid the same, perhaps even more in overtime, and this will only hit the corporate bottom line. Input welcome.
If you wish to go further than a boycott, you can help others boycott. Go into walmart or whatever corporate store you dislike, fill up your shopping baskets with a ton of small items, go through the checkout/bagging process, then say "oops, I forgot my wallet!" This won't hurt the employees at all*, but will throw a wrench into the gears.
I suggest you look as "average" as possible if you do this. What can they do to stop you?
Bad idea. Only inconviniences regular people. Take your business to a local store, support local farmers, buy American.
I'm only hoping to turn people away from walmart. Another idea is to picket walmart and educate people entering the store, but that seems to be expected, and I just don't think that would have the same effect.
I just know that people are going to spend way too much money on black friday, primarily on junk for christmas, and be more in debt the rest of the year from it. It would be an inconvenience, but might get people to think twice about their consumerism.
You can hold a protest but you have to be off of their lot, on a public sidewalk or the like. Unless you plan on a token arrest...
Yeah, that's partly why I don't think a protest would work. Maybe people could go in and try to talk to customers. Maybe even tell them to shop online instead of walmart for better deals (though that doesn't help main street). I'm not sure if walmart would kick people out for that.
The response has been so negative here I'm ready to delete this post =)
Black Friday Boycott (User Submitted)
Posted Oct. 22, 2011, 4:53 a.m. EST (5 days ago) by outwrangle
Black Friday is coming up, so I propose that we have a nationwide general strike of consumerism on the one day of the year that is all about mindless consumption. Corporations rely on Black Friday to boost sales figures, so they are going to expect us to flock to their stores and buy their products. I say we give them a nasty surprise.
We have a golden opportunity to hit the big corporations where it hurts, and I don't think we should pass it up. Let's take a day that is all about consumption and make it our own, and let's make it loud and clear that we will not support the corporations that destroyed our economy and undermined our Republic.
What do you guys think? How should this Black Friday Boycott work?
EDIT Here's a rough promotional poster I made.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/black-friday-boycott/
A General Strike (User Submitted)
Posted Oct. 22, 2011, 12:20 p.m. EST (5 hours ago) by FHampton
Let's redouble the outreach to labor. The UK labor movement has called for a general strike on November 30th. Occupy Wall Street must show solidarity with comrades in the UK, Greece, Chile and around the world.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/09/14-3
http://occupywallst.org/forum/a-general-strike/
Cool, I like your poster :) I'm not sure how mainstream it would get in real life, but seems like it would do well on the internet.
There are some boycott black friday pages on facebook too.
are there links ?
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Black-Friday/174577739850
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Black-Friday-2011/141034922660329
thanks
i don't feel that is honest at all, just my feeling.
Noted - thanks for your input. That is the general response I am getting.
@happy and Sudoname Apologies accepted and given all around, I as happy is, struggling even though I have tried all routes, maybe I am angry as my last real earning job was at a newspaper company in world financial center 1. I lost that on Sep. 11th and my modern trade(hardware, software,network tech) and as the only woman in what was a "mans job " (I climb ed ladders in skirts and heels), when my sanity and jobs reappeared suddenly I was to old at 32 or over qualified, and NY lost its tech community jobs hardest and first as many of the $25, 000- 75,000 jobs were either at ground Zero or close enough to be unsafe to breathe in. $75, 000 sounds immense until you see what even Native NY'ers(we are less likely to fall for the rental price) are forced to pay. Long to short I had serious accident 5 years ago and am disabled. It took 3years to win and as of 5 months ago I now have to live on $760. 50 a month and I paid all my taxes for 10 + years. I had to choose as you did between helping my kids get a good start and my savings. I share custody of my son and have had to downgrade to a 250ft studio that my 60 yo dad pays the difference. In one of the poorest areas I pay $800 for3 prison cells of space. I don't feel that OWS is me. It is not even my children's. Maybe it is just what you said. The creation of a hive society (doesn't work), or the use of the term 99%. I have a problem with the almost invisible intolerance of the views of large portions of the numeric 99%. I am also worried about the class war this is inciting. You are either OWS or not and I still am not sure what OWS is. I see a possible gift horse and I don't think I want to look it in the mouth. I am happy to have shared with happy and the OP, Iam glad you took that backlash against the original idea so gracefully. As for me I say keep on trucking!
What will Rev. Billy do?
I cannot do that. I'm not going to terrorize people who are barely getting by and getting screwed by the company they work for as it is.
Yep, I think people should focus on change at the government level. Even if you dislike a corporate store like Walmart, it provides so many jobs for people who would otherwise not have jobs. It took my daughter months to get a job at a department store, and this is the only job she qualifies for, considering she has no education or skills. And true, if she had to restock things everyone put back for this boycott, it would make her day very frustrating and probably not leave her too sympathetic to this movement. There's got to be a better way...
Why not just take all your buddies, fill dozens of shopping carts, pay with a credit card, give it all to the needy, and walk away from your bills? We could probably steal an easy half bill...
Haha, I don't even know what to say about that idea. I'm not sure they are handing out credit cards that easily anymore, though. That's truly a "robin hood" type of move if it is pulled off.
This is not constructive, it is just disruptive.
Like, let's all get on elevators and hit all the buttons so they stop at every floor!
Let's all get on elevators and hit all the buttons so they stop at every floor! BUT do not ride on the elevator!!!
Right because you'll probably get your ass kicked if you do!
Most elevators do not have a reset button nor a self destruct button.
Right idea, wrong approach. You are better off occupying local stores by becoming their patron and encourage swap meets and bartering of goods.
Encourage an alternative economy that neither government or corporations can touch.
That's a good idea and I try to support local stores in downtowns, because that's sensible development. I think this would actually encourage people to go to "main street".
They could deny you admittance into their store when you actually need something... Do you grow your own food and sew your own clothes? All you are doing is making more work for people working for slave money.
I don't care if walmart or any corporate store denies me. If people are concerned they don't have to go. You think they would deny people access to their stores?
Yes, they can deny you access to their stores.And if you go back, it is called criminal trespassing and you can be arrested.
That's kinda messed up, but understandable. I'm not accusing walmart or anything, but if they're the only store in town, they could really screw individuals over with that power.
If you go into a business with the intent of being disruptive and malicious, it servers you right.
In addition, the extra man hours that the business is going to have to pay their employees will be passed onto the consumers as higher prices.
Seriously, how old are you?
great idea, sent everybody to Macy's, Tiffany's and ant other store the 1% goes to. Sand in line and argue with the clerk, demand the manager be called, make them suffer. I they call the cops just sit down and refuse to move.
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