Or how about you just stop buying from that cancerous blight on our society altogether?
Haven’t bought almost anything from Amazon in decades. No subscriptions or fire sticks either. I think Jeff Bezos got like 13 $ from me. Ever. Period.
There have always been better or just as good deals elsewhere (i.e. eBay). And I think that people do not realize that more than 50% of offered stuff can be obtained CHEAPER when bought directly from the seller/producer.
Just write an eMail and… off you go.
Even people that use Amazon surely are most likely to not buy stuff in any typical week? I just stopped using it.
Is this a joke? Like 2k people on fedi don’t buy anything from Amazon for a week?
These "economic blackout"s are completely futile. Especially if they only target a single service, or if they target a service as big as Amazon. If this blackout is for everything Amazon operates, you can’t use Twitch, or Fire TV, or Prime Video, or Fire devices, or Kindles, or any website that is run with AWS. You think normies are going to sacrifice all of that ease of use for a week, and even if in some alternate dimension they have any self control over their consumption, they’ll just go back to using Amazon after this protest is over.
Amazon will survive for 7 days. What about people all around the world that quite frankly don’t give a fuck about uspol? What about subscriptions? Invincible 3x8 comes out in this time period, so nobody will watch it? People will stop using a third of the Internet, their streaming slop devices, their e-celeb propaganda outlets? It simply won’t happen.
These blackouts are an immature way to “break the system, man”. They completely ignore the reasons why normies go to the slop mill in the first place. The general population has 0 self control over their spending. They will consume, and consume, and consume, until they die.
Wellp, at least we can torrent the new Invincible season
Shit’s great
Way ahead. I deleted my Amazon 😉
I week long boycott will do nothing. If that is the most you are prepared to inconvenience yourself to send a message, then just give up now.
Hard disagree. If you ask people to make a temporary change that still feels achievable, they’re more likely to at least give it a shot, and many of those people will spend some time considering alternatives. Once the week is up, some people may even choose to continue boycotting Amazon, or at least reduce their spending there.
Sounds like an excuse to not get started.
It sounds like a call to avoid symbolic action and take meaningful action instead, to me.
I don’t think advocating people do nothing while vaguely gesturing at doing more while offering no alternatives or next steps is meaningful action.
I don’t think what you describe is meaningful action either.
Do I understand that you agree the proposed “blackout” is symbolic, and that you wish there were something more meaningful being proposed; or are you defending the blackout as meaningful itself? Do you agree with the criticism of the blackout’s being symbolic, but want to go along with it despite its lack of meaning (or perhaps better stated, lack of effect)?
For my part, I’d be much more pleased with the idea of the blackout if I could be convinced that it would have useful results, and would generally be in favor of so-called “meaningful action.” This blackout wouldn’t effect me either way since I’ve already given up amazon and google stuff almost entirely except what I need for work. I just need to know what the meaningful next step would be.
Agreed. Better to make it a month or two. This gives you time to find replacement companies and then hopefully never return to Amazon.
Or just stop using them entirely, right now, because the only service they have an uncontested lead in is, ironically, audiobooks.
I know, I know. You might have to physically go to a store. The HORROR.
This is great and all, but here’s a bonus challenge: don’t use Amazon ever fucking again!
Do it and you’re cool!! Even though I haven’t used it in awhile, I have the app downloaded. I’m going to uninstall it as soon as I post this comment.
Amazon has the masses enthralled
But if I pay $20 a month I don’t have to spend $15 on shipping!
Or use it as a product search engine, then go to the supplier or an alternate online store to buy the one you want. I don’t have it on my phone but do go to it in browser occasionally for that.
This is what I often do. Handy since search engines are worthless anymore.
Yeah that’s basically all I used it for over the last year anyway. Any product on Amazon that isn’t junk probably has it’s own site in my experience
Also tell them why you’re boycotting them. That’s an important step.
Did you uninstall it?
Yup
Wouldn’t it be easier to disrupt the system by—I don’t know—something old & boring like asking everyone to clean out/close their bank accounts at the same time to cause a run on banks?
Where do people come up with these weaker ideas? Trump’s inanity might disrupt the economy more than these efforts.
I want mega corps to fail, not spark a great depression.
Yeah, having like <5% of people put off buying stuff for a week isn’t going to do that.
Unfortunately at this point only something fairly world-changing is going to really do much. And it’s definitely going to get much worse before it gets better. Prepare for it.
With that said - I’m definitely not saying DON’T do it. Just realize this is would be a raindrop and we need a flood.
If people actually want change, they need to think way bigger (and unfortunately, probably harder).
You can’t have change without sacrifice.
Accelerationism is not the best way forward.
What’s the best way forward then?
I already pulled my retirement.
Was it not in a 401k or something?
Can someone just make an iCal that I can subscribe to? Can’t keep all these boycotts straight
How about an anti-Honey plug in that reminds you not to order when you’re trying to check out.
Great Idea.
Perhaps call it something like:
BeeOff: A play on “bee” similar to Honey, but with a focus on avoiding (off) certain products.
BoycottBee: Directly stating its purpose as a boycott tool.
Avoidify: Emphasizes the idea of avoiding certain products or brands.
BlanketBan: Suggests a comprehensive avoidance or ban.
NectarNone: Opposite of honey nectar, focusing on avoiding products.
ProtestPal: A friendly companion for those who want to make a statement by boycotting certain products.
SentryShop: Acts as a guardian or sentry while shopping, warning against certain products.
Ethico: Emphasizes ethical consumption by avoiding certain brands or products.
NoGo: Simple and direct, signaling products to avoid.
BlockBuy: Directly blocks purchases of unwanted products.
SanctionShop: Implies a personal sanction or restriction on certain products.
ProtestPulse: A tool that keeps the pulse of your protest or boycott efforts.
Avoida: A playful name emphasizing avoidance.
You’re hired!
Amazombies ain’t gonna do that. bezos has them hooked in their guts
Practice makes perfect, but this better viewed as steps to cutting them out of our lives and not just nudging them to stop supporting facism, destroying workers and our planet.
The need us. We don’t need them.
Those fuckers stole my digital comics library. I already stopped using Twitch and I havent bought their shitty and useless Chinese made electronics in years. Fuck Nazis, fuck Amazon, fuck Google, Fuck Trump, Fuck Musk, Fuck America! (the last part I take away when you vote the Orange Fuck Face away!)
We have a lot more to atone for than the orange Nazi but thanks for the vote of faith
A whole 7 days??? Gosh gee willakers!!! You think people can uphold a boycott a whole 7 days???
Look. Boycotts are effective, but you gotta be stubborn. It’s gotta be “boycott from now on” with no end date.
Otherwise, it’ll just look like normal fluctuations in their business.
“Oh, this week was slightly down…ah, but then it stopped. We’re good!”
But if you boycott forever, then their numbers continuously go down. And if you get other people boycotting, those numbers go down faster.
THAT’S how you make an impact.
How do you get people who can’t see themselves boycotting indefinitely? You get them used to it by getting them on board to boycott for a fixed length of time. Ideally, as they warm up to the idea, you get them to boycott for longer.
True, but 7 days isn’t enough time for that. I’ve gone weeks between purchasing the kinds of things Amazon delivers, so it’d just be normal. 2+ months is probably better. Especially if those months are Nov & Dec.
Some people can’t even handle a 1-day boycott. I think you’re overestimating the average person’s tolerance for discomfort.
Okay, so start boycotting Amazon now and don’t stop.
In 1995 we boycotted Shell for environmental reasons and it worked: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brent_Spar
Towing of the platform to its final position began on 11 June. By this time, the call for a boycott of Shell products was being heeded across much of continental northern Europe, damaging Shell’s profitability as well as brand image. […]
On 20 June, Shell had decided that their position was no longer tenable, and withdrew their plan to sink the Brent Spar […]
So it needed more than a week of concerted boycott action to bring big business into trouble, but not unlimited boycott.
That boycott had a demand attached, to prevent the sinking of the Brent Spar buoy. Effectively “unlimited” boycott until Shell gave into the demand.
This and the last no shop Friday thing seem mostly pointless. I mean fuck Amazon for sure but shouldn’t there be some goal? “Boycott Amazon until X, Y, and Z” not “No buy from Amazon for a week but then we’ll be back so no worries!”
The implicit demand is to stop supporting fascists.
Haven’t used Amazon for 1.5 years already
I guess it’s a good thing that I’ve always been a minimalist. These things don’t really impact me. I very rarely buy stuff.
Preach
Much of the province of Québec is already boycotting them since January, after they closed all their warehouses here to prevent them from unionizing.
