Forum Post: The Power of Boycotts
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 10, 2011, 8:35 p.m. EST by Biophilia4
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Marching on the streets with signs is an incredibly powerful tool when trying to invoke change. However, nothing speaks louder than boycotting the corporations that we are protesting against. If we want to push change quickly we need to hit them where it hurts which is their wallets. The Montgomery Bus Boycott is a perfect example of how this would work.
You should go around the occupation and see how many people will stop buying new iPhones.
We should start by boycotting political parties and campaigns. No donating money to OFA or SarahPAC or Romney, your congresspeople, senator, anyone who asks for money to run for office.
Do they even need our money anymore?
lol...they still ask for it.
check out Howard Schultz (Starbucks) and his Upward Spiral pledge - he's already doing that - getting corporate heads and others to sign a pledge to not contribute to any political candidate.
the challenge with most boycotts is to be effective you need close to 100% participation. For a political donation boycott, game theory will predict the "law of unintended consequences" as benefiting those who don't boycott because as campaign funds get scarce, politicians get more desperate and those not boycotting can buy their politicians cheaper, or buy 2 for the price of 1.
You A holes already gave Obama $1B for re-election. Got anything left?
Who is "you A holes?" I haven't given Obama or anyone a dime.
LULZ sarah pac is just a scam to take people's money and go on a bus vacation.
Well there's a good thing!
Oh, I'm sorry troll...I didn't recognize you there for a moment.
I don't agree with you so I am a troll.
Control & Censor.... why don't you have a a hammer and cycle avatar?
yes, but we need to boycott almost everything, I say we need to do that, by growing all our own food in our lawns instead of grass and building houses out of tires and recycled stuff
It's a little hard to boycott businesses that you aren't buying from in the first place. Remember, the OWS crowd is mostly unemployed. If they become gainfully employed, then the problem would already be solved.
Good point about the iphones. Tell you what... the corps will allow this movement to go on, to a point, and will try to think off a way to capitalize it. Once it becomes unprofitable - and this is a prediction - the corps will shut down your phones and Internet access and your gas and your food. We all will be more worried about a handfull of corn to feed our babies then have enough strength to stand up against their Tyranny. Just a prediction.
Everybody keep doing what you are doing because it is WORKING!
I just buy food and green products. Does that count?
Everything else I have; computers, cameras, and such... I have earned through work and trade. Except my DVD collection and my car. But yeah, I don't buy shit most of the time.
In a modern American society it is virtually impossible to violently fight a rebellion against the 1%. The military industrial complex has insured that the general populace can not compete in an arms race. The 2nd amendment was intended to keep the Government honest with the ability of the populace to rise up if it ever overstepped it's bounds. The forefathers did not envision a future of smart bombs, drone airplanes, and tomahawk missiles. So what weapons can we fight with to effect this Financial Revolution? What peaceful, civil, and responsible solutions is there? We have, our money.
We will cripple the banks by refusing to acknowledge their credit system. We will en mass refuse to pay our mortgages, car loans, student loans, credit cards, unpaid medical bills, insurance, etc. We will couple this with pulling our money out of their Banks. Unified, we will force the banks to relinquish their control on the Government so that the Government can do what they need to do to correct the system. Meanwhile, we will still go to work, buy groceries, pay our utilities, and live normal lives.
That's an idea. The 99% would just have to go on a diet of what corporate services they use. It's good in theory but will require tremendous focus. But choose one thing the 99% would agree to boycott, gas? Okay someone make an awesome artistic campaign for an agreement en mass to not by ExxonMobil gas. Now throw an awesome party at a sweet place publicising the event, then you'll get noticed.
That's an underlying theme hear. Scream the loudest and you'll get heard. If you wanna get something done, make a spectacle out of it. But it doesn't have to be en mass in the streets. Make a cool web campaign to ban ExxonMobil Gas. It would be tremendous if it worked.
You have to skip past the corporations. They are only pawns in this Financial Revolution. You have to attack the Head of the Snake. The Banks and specifically the Credit System are the weakness of this Economy. If you want the Banks to return control to the Government you have to make it worth their while to do so. They will be fine with losing this stock or that stock so long as you don't effect them personally... But, if you make the Banks hurt. They have to do something.
we need to boycott money, and barter with gold and silver
Exxon/Mobil Protest This is a brief outline in a peaceful protest against Exxon the worlds biggest oil company that is resisting in become an environmental friendly energy company. Both Shell and British Petroleum have invested much more in the research and development of alternative renewable energy sources. Exxon leading the oil lobby in the United States has been a major road block in the research and development of alternative energy sources. The only things the big company’s executives understand is profit and loss on the bottom line of their financial statement and their retirement package.
A message has to be sent to the big oil companies that alternative renewable energy sources need to be developed and implemented. New cleaner and greener sources of renewable energy need to be developed that can not be monopolized as with the profits of oil. By focusing on Exxon a message can be sent to the worlds big oil companies to think long-term environmentally.
In many states there is a deposit on soda and beer cans and bottles. By law a business establishment that sells the returnable bottles and cans must accept the returns and refund the deposit to the customers. The store must sell the exact size and style of bottle or can that is being returned for a refund. If the American people in large numbers could return their returnable bottles and cans to the Exxon convenience store a message could be sent.
As part of the Green Energy Exxon Protest the customers should pay for as much of their gasoline with nickels, dimes, and quarters. If these two actions were taken on by thousands of American customers a clear message would be sent to the big oil companies. Local environmental groups could organize Green Energy Exxon Protest Days. With people willing to stand in line to return their bottles and cans and pay for their gasoline in change a bottle neck will be created cutting into the profits of the oil companies. A platform of time standing in line will be created for the protester to chat among themselves and the other customers that may not be aware of the environmental and energy problems that are on our horizon.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/be-there-exxonmobil-protest/
Cesar Chavez's Grape Boycott from the 1960s was another great success story for forcing change on exploitative corporations. It can work if enough people participate.
Take BOA for example, they certainly have the right to charge their $5 fee for using your debit card, but we also have the right to tell BOA to get screwed. They could care less if one or two people move to another bank but what if millions left because of this fee. I -guarantee- BOA would find new ways to eliminate the fee. The CEO may even need to take a cut in pay.
Are you planning on boycotting all companies that have a political message in order to keep companies out of politics? Would you be willing to give up your Chunky Monkey or Cherry Garcia from Ben and Jerry?
I think you have to skip the companies and go straight to the head of the Dragon. Attack the Banks and the Credit System. You have to fight the Generals not the Soldiers in this Financial Revolution.
This is a powerful tool. However - I think that when the SHTF, as it is in Greece, we will go to barter and local trade anyhow.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12223068
Alternative barter and economy.
Boycott the U.S. dollar!
What a crazy idea....Ingenious in its insanity! no sales, no sales tax either... The govt loses money too. Bad time of year to start a garden, though. We'd all have to go shop for greenhouse equipment. Maybe as a goal for next summer. In the meanwhile, try farmers markets and look for foods from non gmo and heritage seeds. Call a general shopping holiday...like no shopping for 5 days, or regift for Christmas, or make gifts.
YES YES YES! I have found a soulmate. This is what I'm saying - we are screwed unless we learn how to take care of ourselves and each other on a local scale.
I know, it's fall - it sucks. But I did my first experimental garden this year, and it was surprisingly productive. I hope we have until summer, I hope the U.S. dollar holds out, but I'm not hopeful.
AQUAPONICS is the farm of the future. I want to experiment with this - an absolutely brilliant man in Milwaukee has pioneered this field. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qZPwBPAqks
Saw a video on that...I'd love to try it. I had my garden decimated by those evil stink bugs. They put so much value on profit, it is a great way to show that we are not as powerless as they think.
I have chickens and they are awesome! They eat all of the nasty bugs and the yolks are so orange. They help me fertilize, spread compost, and they are entertaining too.
For Christmas I am giving homemade wine, fermented pickles, canned pears, etcetera. Screw Wall Street.
Do they eat stink bugs? I think I heard guinea hens do...
I looked on backyard chickens.com - looks like they don't. Evne though we have terrible stink bugs here, my garden grew great. However there are organic ways of controlling them apparently - http://www.tomatodirt.com/stink-bugs.html They are all over my house though. Fortunately my cat and my dog like to hunt them.
I have to say communicating ideas is getting difficult. Many negative people showing up, flooding the board with some pretty divisive stuff. And good ideas are getting lost in the melee.
Yes they are, on both points. I hope we can come together. One thing I find hopeful is that people are waking up. Maybe since this is new, people are still trying to figure things out. Also there are a number of trolls and very divisive people that are trying to infiltrate.
I am making friends with my neighbors here in the 'burbs' - we have been talking about the breakdown, about fear, about coming together. We have different points of view but at the same time, some of the people I've talked to understand the crisis and everyone just wants to work together.
It does feel like the us is finally waking up! I tell you, I have felt so isolated in my sense that things are going very very wrong with no way to put the brakes on for such a long time...probably since 9/11 though I'm sure this started well before that. I just was too busy with parenthood to pay much attention. This new generation (I'm 49) is so much more tuned in to the state of the world than I was at that age...of course, they haven't been given much choice, have they? It is their future being pulled right out from under them....
Yes, I think in the big picture, it has been going on since long before 9/11 but it's really progressed since then. I'm 40. On the one hand, I feel caught in the middle because I've known for a long time that there would be no social security left for me. But I also feel lucky because I got a master's degree before the economy got very bad. I didn't know how fortunate that decision was. However, I don't really feel my education was very useful anyway, and to be honest, I'd rather just be an organic farmer. To heck with all of these stupid degrees. I'm starting to think that where we're headed, they'll be useless anyhow. The people who keep saying these young people are lazy and should stop crying about their student loans don't understand the big picture. The rug has been pulled out from under the middle class. It used to be a very good decision to invest in a university degree - not anymore. It's a myth that still persists among the middle class parents who are left. The college degree is no longer your leg up to the American Dream. Even law students can't find jobs anymore - I read about how they're trying to sue the school they went to for false advertising! Sad.
Farming on the small scale may be the wave of the future! Of course the FDA is controlled by agribusiness, and doing its best to dismantle small farms. Perhaps food freedom should be part of this movement...
Absolutely. This another huge area where progressives and libertarians can agree.
It is still a matter of helping them recognize that this is not socialism, fascism, or whatever else they want to mislabel it as, though. Too many people are buying into the propaganda and placing trust in groups that are using them for to achieve their own goals. They think that because they are still employed they are somehow not part of the 99%.
Great info! Thanks for hooking me up! I think I'll try a couple of test plants with each method and see which is best. They attacked everything. I had about 50 cucumber seedlings, melons, tomatoes, peppers, and even some herbs that they completely sucked to death. I should have paid attention to the herbs they left alone... I can't believe I didn't think of that! I think they left the mint and Cuban oregano, and they did not touch my stevia. Hope abounds!
http://occupywallst.org/forum/we-are-vox-populi/ Our government does not have the constitutional authority to hire a private bank to manipulate global currencies.
We will not fix any of our economic problems as long as the Federal Reserve is employed by the US government.
We the People wage war against the multinational corporate lobbyists who have assumed control of our government.
We the People will not give up until our goals are achieved.
We the People will continue to educate our fellow countrymen on these issues.
We must take the state of the economy into consideration when choosing our battles.
Our economy is unstable, and unsustainable.
Our economy will become infinitely more unstable if we take money out of politics without firing the Federal Reserve. This is not a "your opinion" "my opinion" type of thing...this is the current economic paradigm.
We are a movement against the current socio-political paradigm.
We are a movement for, of, and by the American populous and constitution.
We do not align ourselves with any politician.
We are the politicians.
We understand the issues at hand.
We cannot provide all of the solutions. Solutions lie within a new body of legislators, free from greed and corruption.
We are Vox Populi.
We do not forgive. We do not forget.
How about boycotting your mortgage? If you're a tax payer then give yourself a taxpayer supported bailout. Stop oiling the machine and it will seize up.
No change, no check.
My "town" is surrounded by the largest wind farm in Wisconsin. Our property values have dropped, our tax revenues are shrinking and the driving force behind this are speculators creating the next bubble with "green" industries. Give it a few years and it will implode as well. Look at Solyndra. This is the wake up call we should be taking...but we appear to be sleeping through this one as well. Wake up, America! Big business and big money are using your tax dollars to fuel this new wave of big money greed.
That's a good idea. Hopefully your town has nice dugouts at the ball fields.
along with that idea - who are the truly brave who will boycott federal income tax?
1001 times must i say and repeat that we have gone over this and its not what the movement is into and is a unionist approach not our approach? not a meaningful strategy? why do you people keep on going? its really just another flavor of trolling. no we aren't interested in doing that. please bother to read the old threads before posting.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/corporate-oligarchy/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/thetruth-socialismcapitalismcommunismmarxism/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/capitalism-versus-corporatism/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/no-war/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/help-me-understand/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/capitalism-a-love-story/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/sociology/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/energy-101-solution/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ethics/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/break-your-left-right-conditioning/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/nader-kucinich-and-paul/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/5-facts-you-should-know-about-the-wealthiest-one-p/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/i-am-homeless-joe-jp-morgan-chase-accidentally-for/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/can-we-end-the-fed/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/why-end-the-federal-reserve-and-what-do-you-replac/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/where-are-we-and-how-do-we-move-forward/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/things-wall-st-did-were-not-illegal/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/teaching-the-occupation/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/this-forum-needs-structure/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-is-not-your-personal-billboard-for-your-politi/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/systems-theory-primer/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/organize-inform-take-action-effect-change/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/better-website-needed/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/stop-playing-the-devils-games/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/nonviolence-the-only-path/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-not-against-capitalism/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/this-is-not-about-political-stripe-it-is-about-bas/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/national-initiative-for-democracy/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/a-third-political-party-the-movement-of-the-middle/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/300-fema-camps/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-is-a-false-flag-operation/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/why-this-will-not-work/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/paradigm-shift-now/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/a-proposal-for-focus/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/stop-the-bullshit-posts-and-get-organized/
I don't think you can conclude that people are not interested in organizing this way. From what I am reading people are interested. Why don't you provide an argument against organizing in this way rather than just state this isn't what the movement is about. As far as I am concerned this movement is an open discussion that has no firmly set agenda other than sparking change.
this was discussed, in detail, on older threads, and this thread is just a means to the end of avoiding and evading those earlier discussions.
in short, there is not enough solidity to whats going on or organizational solidity to pull it off, we are not targeting corporations we would have been interacting with anyhow, goldman sachs wasn't in danger of being shopped by us in the first place.. there are all kinds of reasons why not, and more importantly, the whole thing is just a unionism idea- trying to suck us off to become a unionism tool. While i support unions in general, i do not support using OWS as a platform for union warfare against corporations. Thats not what we are about here, and the corporations which we could meaningfully boycott are not the ones who got us into this banking mess or etc.