Comment in response to someone (comfortably-off liberal Boomer demographic) on my personal FB circle who posted that the boycott was a wasted effort. And said that it “didn’t work.” And encouraged people to go travel and spend money in Canada (No offense Canada):
Failed? Who says? It never was about a quick result anyway.
And no, I’m not going to vastly increase my consumption, or ecological footprint, by visiting Canada or any other faraway place, just to go there. Leisure tourism is problematic consumption as well. Feeding the oligarchs and distracting us from weaving connections in our own home communities.
By the way there are many many more long-term boycotts planned. This is only a warm-up. Sort of an initial thing to get people started.
Personally, it’s not a wasted effort because I don’t buy from any of those companies that we are supposed to boycott anyway. I basically only buy from local people, and mainly essentials.
And it’s not wasted because I personally see the benefit of not having all these big holes in my wallet from unnecessary consumerism and supporting distant entities who have no stake in my community.
The way we deploy our money matters. Period.
That said, please don’t assume that we are not doing ALSO all of the other actions including what you mentioned. It’s not an either-or, it’s a both-and. Most everyone in my activist circles is doing ALL of the things to the best of their ability.
But unnecessary consumption (which we have been led to believe is necessary) sucks up our time and brain space, so yes it will always continue to matter what we do with our money.
The real priceless commodity is our attention. By taking back our attention, we take back our agency. And our wallets are absolutely one aspect of our attention.
PS. There’s a reason why fuel was rationed during World War II. Burning fuel unnecessarily is like opening a vein for fascist regimes.
In permaculture class, we learned that out of every dollar spent on gasoline, something like 80 or 90 cents of that dollar goes right out of our communities.
Further exploration:
• “Behind the boycott: Integrity matters (or, don’t get played in the name of resistance)”; https://blackgirlinmaine.com/current-events/behind-the-boycott-integrity-matters-or-dont-get-played-in-the-name-of-resistance/blackgirlinmaine.com “Let today’s boycott be the start of reducing your consumption and let’s plan to do more –because our futures depend on it — but understand that the integrity of anyone leading also matters. Otherwise, you’re just getting played.”