Friday, Feb. 28, was supposed to be an economic blackout day for all Americans. Organized by The People’s Union USA, the endeavor managed to get co-opted by every liberal still tweaked over last November’s election.
Social media posts and videos abound: “Hit Them Where it Hurts Day of Action,” says one, while another declares, “Economic Blackout: We Have the Power.” Basically, whatever Marxist language fits the bill.
The People’s Union USA is yet another organization decrying capitalism and peddling socialism, while grifting off gullible people. Their website has a GoFundMe set up for donations – apparently activism costs money.
Fancy that.
The AP reported on this first endeavor to disrupt the system:
The People’s Union USA calls the 24 hours of spending abstinence set to start at midnight an ‘economic blackout,’ a term that has since been shared and debated on social media. The activist movement said it also plans to promote weeklong consumer boycotts of particular companies, including Walmart and Amazon.
Why so-called faith leaders are getting wrapped up with this is beyond me, but apparently they are also peddling this nonsense.
Other activists, faith-based leaders and consumers already are organizing boycotts to protest companies that have scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and to oppose President Donald Trump’s moves to abolish all federal DEI programs and policies. Some faith leaders are encouraging their congregations to refrain from shopping at Target, one of the companies backing off DEI efforts, during the 40 days of Lent that begin Wednesday.
This X post reflects the range of campaigns mounted, all with similar language and goals:
And this one links a Tiktok video that explains what to do:
From a culling of these posts, here is the basic gist of their diabolical plans: Purchase any necessities (food, medicine, essentials) on Thursday, Feb. 27.
On Friday, Feb. 28, from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. They are urged to:
- Not make any purchases or shop online or in-store
- Eschew Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy
- Do not purchase fast food
- Do not purchase gas
- Do not buy from major retailers
- Do not use credit or debit cards for non-essential spending.
These posts also encourage everyone to share and spread the message, talk about it, and document actions on that day.
The “Why This Matters” portion of their goals is kind of laughable:
~ Corporations and banks only care about their bottom line.
~ If we disrupt the economy for Just ONE day, it sends a powerful message.
~ If they don’t listen (they wont) [sic] we make the next blackout longer.
Can you say, “temper tantrum,” boys and girls? How does off-loading purchases to the previous or following day affect the economy, exactly?
I am no economist, but that’s not how it works. But these people are activists, not financial geniuses.
Shocker.
And who exactly are they hitting where it hurts? Individuals care about their bottom line too. For some, savings and convenience is key, and they will do what makes sense to them, rather than virtue signal to make a point.
This organization is also deluded that their boycott “sends a powerful message to banks and corporations.” It really doesn’t. While the two high-profile conservative boycotts of Target (because of their prior DEI agenda) and Bud Light (because of their trans agenda) had a huge effect, this was only seen over an extended period of time in their quarterly earnings, which is how most corporations run. So, a lot of noise gets attention, but what affects policy is what happens long term; and it is doubtful this protest will accomplish much.
The many conservatives I know who chose to boycott Target or Bud Light weren’t nearly as preachy or self-righteous about it. They just stopped shopping or buying the product. They didn’t blast it all over social media, make speeches, or try to push others to do the same.
This old knee-jerk reaction to conservative thought and economic freedom simply wants to counter and destroy but has no effective plan to produce any good. As 1819 opinion writer Allen Keller wrote, “modern-day liberalism exists more essentially in its opposition to conservatism and, for this reason, is a destructive, negative, non-substantive phenomenon.”
Penalizing any business, large or small, because you don’t like who is in the White House is one of the dumbest ideas on record.
This so-called disruption of the economy has little to no effect on the corporations these groups claim to target. But it will impact small businesses. Think about it. You pay good money for a large-scale event, but who are the people taking advantage of those crowds? Small retailers. It’s what I love about Alabama: the encouragement of the side hustle and community retailers. You have one business hawking merchandise, while another sells regional food. What happens when you choose to disconnect from the marketplace? The small businesses supported by the marketplace suffer.
So, if sticking it to the man was really the goal, they would understand that they are only sticking it to their fellow man and hampering their ability to earn and feed their families.
A really creepy aspect of this boycott is the request to document actions. If that’s not some communist-like cultic behavior, I don’t know what is.
Only time will tell whether this blip of activism had any effect. As a conservative, I quietly countered by doing some major shopping. This is how I “fight the power.”
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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