Yes! I believe you are right. The only leverage that seems to impact any “actions” (or ‘inaction’) by this group is one with a direct connection to $$$! Publicizing the names of American businesses profiting from an association with the corrupt ElSalvadorian government would be a great start! I myself have no idea who they may be and pretty sure most folks outraged by mr. tRumps actions do not either. But I (and hundreds of thousands other pissed-off, democracy-loving Americans) would certainly boycott any company contributing to the dismantling of our Constitution and democracy!
Your ideas along with names of these complicit companies needs to be widely broadcast to gain popular support (just as support of the Tesla boycott model attracted attention and spread)!
How about a comprehensive list of corporations, retailers, grocery items, etc in two categories: the ones to avoid because of their support for the regime or doing away with DEI (Ex: Goya Foods) and a list of those to support because they have stood up against the regime, support workers, DEI, a clean environment, etc.(Ex: Penzy's spices). Which airlines are the least beholden to the regime? Which grocery chains, department stores, etc.?
There are some lists floating around but things change. The "average consumer" may not be in the market for a Tesla but we certainly spend our money just to live from day to day.
Canadians are doing a boycott of US goods and travel. It arose spontaneously from outraged folks who didn’t feel like taking threats from a criminal idiot.
It was completely grass roots bottom up and surprisingly effective. Our grocery stores supported the boycott by organizing their shelves into American and non- American products. And they even put tiny Canadian flag stickers beside home grown items. The stores responded to consumer demand. It was pretty remarkable and ordinary people started posting lists of items that could be sourced domestically. We all talk to each other about where we buy what now. This all happened really fast and there is reporting that it made quite an economic impact. Kentucky bourbon was one of the more well known targets of the boycott.
If you pick a handful of companies to target you would get buy in. People want to feel like they can DO SOMETHING in their daily lives to make a difference.
And you know we kicked our Trump wannabe candidate to the curb and elected Mark Carney as leader of our country. 🇨🇦
It would be wonderful for stores in the US to follow this Canadian lead. Divide/identify products on shelves according to manufactures/sources which support the MAGOT regime and those that don't. I stopped purchasing Kentucky whiskey and replaced it with Canadian imports.
We got an EV two years ago: Subaru Solterra (really just a rebadged Toyota bz4x). It's the most trouble-free auto we've ever had, and we've had plenty: Fords, Toyotas, Hondas, Volvos, Subarus, BMWs. Routine maintenance has never cost more than about $50.
In November I dropped the Washington Post, like so many others. All our family (5, with 3 adult children) canceled Prime and all subscription purchases; stopped shopping at Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Whole Foods; won't buy online from [Wayfair, Overstock, Bed Bath and Beyond]; try to check the leanings of any other online purchases.
Local hardware stores have 95% of what we need; local groceries (and Trader Joe's) more than suffice. We're fortunate to live in a place where we have options -- and excellent public transport; and to be able, so far, to weather the financial storm.
These are small things, but they add up. Many of our neighbors have done the same.
Oh, and no more LL Bean for this family. We love democracy too much to support the companies that support a psychopath who hates America, Americans, the rule of law and the Constitution.
Wish there was a way to boycott the Not Supreme Roberts court.
Haven’t bought from Bean in ages — I think my last purchase was having my duck boots resoled, well over 10 years ago.
As for Roberts and his gang, they’re doing a fine job of boycotting the law and enabling the felon to boycott any decisions he doesn’t like — even from his own appointees.
Be careful. LL Bean did not, does not support t(he) rump. Only Linda Bean, who died last year at age 82, supported the dictator. She did not represent the views of the company or other family members.
You people are amazing! My too low blood pressure kicked up a bit just basking in the power that individuals can have. To be fair, Brian has a great group of followers and it's inspiring.
The trouble with boycotts is that they need to be well-organized. Tesla Takedown organized itself. Musk’s evil was that egregious. That was an exception. More common are things like the “boycott” of Home Depot because of the Trumpiness of its owner. To me, this devolves to virtue signaling. **I** don’t shop there because of X,Y, or Z. Fine with me but it’s not political action. The classic example of boycotts, the Montgomery Bus Boycott WAS and had to be well-organized.
I think the Musk-Tesla boycotts were so effective because the people were genuinely pissed and all in! That kind of
disorganization is what needs to happen in all cases. I expect to see more of that as these Tariffs become more real to the people who have to deal with them in real-time. Organic dissent!
Ehhh… I think one of the big mistakes we as a party have made has been precisely this “button mashing” attitude.
Boycotts should be a tool, absolutely. But we’ve already seen in the post-Civil-Rights aftermath that activists button-mashing on boycotts in the 70’s and 80’s just caused diminishing returns on each boycott.
True, to a point. I think this has as much to do with splintered interest groups trying to "ride the wave" as anything else. The panoply of protest marches -- against Israel, against ICE, against tariffs, and so on -- only fragments what should be a united message. It's Bannon's "flood the zone" strategy, only without any strategy.
It's not about any of those things, specifically: it's about the in-plain-sight dismantling of democracy and its too-fragile institutions. (More at commonoccam.substack.com)
I totally agree that the fragmentation was what undermined those efforts. But both it and the button-mashing were emblematic of the root problem of simplistic thinking filling the power vacuums left by bad/nonexistent leadership.
MLK’s boycotts were effective because he was a genuinely good — nay, EXCELLENT — leader. They weren’t REMOTELY the only tool in his arsenal. And frankly, most of the time he was just winging it, trying to make the best decisions in rapidly evolving situations.
What the whole “fighting” discourse is about right now, IMO, is the need for leadership. We find ourselves in a similarly rapid evolving situation; and we need leaders who can advance strategic objectives while making the correct tactical decisions.
Stop overthinking this. Lie on your back like a submissive dog, or fight .Boycott and protest. Make sure the MoC in the district these companies are based know this, and that they won’t get your vote unless they do something to fight fascism.
It’s like protest makes things visible and visibility becomes news and news becomes a cultural milestone and cultural milestones create narratives and those narratives are building blocks of policy messages…
An important concrete point is that tourism is a large part of the El Salvador economy. Like the boycott of Tesla, boycotting El Salvador tourism is easy because there are many alternatives, and it can be international. Get the word out!
When I was in high school I had what today would be referred to as a very ‘woke’ sociology teacher, Mr. Zimmerman. During my time in his class, Caesar Chavez advanced an effort to boycott grapes in support of farm workers. My recollection is that it was very effective. I knew about it because it was exactly the kind of thing we’d discuss in Mr. Zimmerman’s class.
Yes please! More of this! I’m still not setting foot in target, I encourage the rest of you to join in.
“Goods Unite Us” shows party affiliation of brands and polititians.
Yes! I believe you are right. The only leverage that seems to impact any “actions” (or ‘inaction’) by this group is one with a direct connection to $$$! Publicizing the names of American businesses profiting from an association with the corrupt ElSalvadorian government would be a great start! I myself have no idea who they may be and pretty sure most folks outraged by mr. tRumps actions do not either. But I (and hundreds of thousands other pissed-off, democracy-loving Americans) would certainly boycott any company contributing to the dismantling of our Constitution and democracy!
Your ideas along with names of these complicit companies needs to be widely broadcast to gain popular support (just as support of the Tesla boycott model attracted attention and spread)!
How about a comprehensive list of corporations, retailers, grocery items, etc in two categories: the ones to avoid because of their support for the regime or doing away with DEI (Ex: Goya Foods) and a list of those to support because they have stood up against the regime, support workers, DEI, a clean environment, etc.(Ex: Penzy's spices). Which airlines are the least beholden to the regime? Which grocery chains, department stores, etc.?
There are some lists floating around but things change. The "average consumer" may not be in the market for a Tesla but we certainly spend our money just to live from day to day.
And save all you can!! Dropping consumer spending shows his econo.y is Not working
When purchasing anything,sometimes you have to do your own research. The internet can be your friend sometimes.
Easy.
Canadians are doing a boycott of US goods and travel. It arose spontaneously from outraged folks who didn’t feel like taking threats from a criminal idiot.
It was completely grass roots bottom up and surprisingly effective. Our grocery stores supported the boycott by organizing their shelves into American and non- American products. And they even put tiny Canadian flag stickers beside home grown items. The stores responded to consumer demand. It was pretty remarkable and ordinary people started posting lists of items that could be sourced domestically. We all talk to each other about where we buy what now. This all happened really fast and there is reporting that it made quite an economic impact. Kentucky bourbon was one of the more well known targets of the boycott.
If you pick a handful of companies to target you would get buy in. People want to feel like they can DO SOMETHING in their daily lives to make a difference.
And you know we kicked our Trump wannabe candidate to the curb and elected Mark Carney as leader of our country. 🇨🇦
It would be wonderful for stores in the US to follow this Canadian lead. Divide/identify products on shelves according to manufactures/sources which support the MAGOT regime and those that don't. I stopped purchasing Kentucky whiskey and replaced it with Canadian imports.
Great start!
We got an EV two years ago: Subaru Solterra (really just a rebadged Toyota bz4x). It's the most trouble-free auto we've ever had, and we've had plenty: Fords, Toyotas, Hondas, Volvos, Subarus, BMWs. Routine maintenance has never cost more than about $50.
In November I dropped the Washington Post, like so many others. All our family (5, with 3 adult children) canceled Prime and all subscription purchases; stopped shopping at Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Whole Foods; won't buy online from [Wayfair, Overstock, Bed Bath and Beyond]; try to check the leanings of any other online purchases.
Local hardware stores have 95% of what we need; local groceries (and Trader Joe's) more than suffice. We're fortunate to live in a place where we have options -- and excellent public transport; and to be able, so far, to weather the financial storm.
These are small things, but they add up. Many of our neighbors have done the same.
Oh, and no more LL Bean for this family. We love democracy too much to support the companies that support a psychopath who hates America, Americans, the rule of law and the Constitution.
Wish there was a way to boycott the Not Supreme Roberts court.
Haven’t bought from Bean in ages — I think my last purchase was having my duck boots resoled, well over 10 years ago.
As for Roberts and his gang, they’re doing a fine job of boycotting the law and enabling the felon to boycott any decisions he doesn’t like — even from his own appointees.
Be careful. LL Bean did not, does not support t(he) rump. Only Linda Bean, who died last year at age 82, supported the dictator. She did not represent the views of the company or other family members.
LL Bean donated A LOT to the psychopath’s 2024 campaign.
I actually have bought quite a bit from them in the past. Never again.
You people are amazing! My too low blood pressure kicked up a bit just basking in the power that individuals can have. To be fair, Brian has a great group of followers and it's inspiring.
The trouble with boycotts is that they need to be well-organized. Tesla Takedown organized itself. Musk’s evil was that egregious. That was an exception. More common are things like the “boycott” of Home Depot because of the Trumpiness of its owner. To me, this devolves to virtue signaling. **I** don’t shop there because of X,Y, or Z. Fine with me but it’s not political action. The classic example of boycotts, the Montgomery Bus Boycott WAS and had to be well-organized.
Drives me crazy how many people still normalize using X. You’d think the same logic of Tesla takedown would easily carry over
I think the Musk-Tesla boycotts were so effective because the people were genuinely pissed and all in! That kind of
disorganization is what needs to happen in all cases. I expect to see more of that as these Tariffs become more real to the people who have to deal with them in real-time. Organic dissent!
Excellent! Please continue to be blunt so those who are still asleep and in denial can wake up!!! Thank you 🙂
Ehhh… I think one of the big mistakes we as a party have made has been precisely this “button mashing” attitude.
Boycotts should be a tool, absolutely. But we’ve already seen in the post-Civil-Rights aftermath that activists button-mashing on boycotts in the 70’s and 80’s just caused diminishing returns on each boycott.
True, to a point. I think this has as much to do with splintered interest groups trying to "ride the wave" as anything else. The panoply of protest marches -- against Israel, against ICE, against tariffs, and so on -- only fragments what should be a united message. It's Bannon's "flood the zone" strategy, only without any strategy.
It's not about any of those things, specifically: it's about the in-plain-sight dismantling of democracy and its too-fragile institutions. (More at commonoccam.substack.com)
I totally agree that the fragmentation was what undermined those efforts. But both it and the button-mashing were emblematic of the root problem of simplistic thinking filling the power vacuums left by bad/nonexistent leadership.
MLK’s boycotts were effective because he was a genuinely good — nay, EXCELLENT — leader. They weren’t REMOTELY the only tool in his arsenal. And frankly, most of the time he was just winging it, trying to make the best decisions in rapidly evolving situations.
What the whole “fighting” discourse is about right now, IMO, is the need for leadership. We find ourselves in a similarly rapid evolving situation; and we need leaders who can advance strategic objectives while making the correct tactical decisions.
Yes, Dems are just not cut out for this.
Bernie Sanders, AOC, Beto O'Rourke are on the leading edge if the change that must occur within the party.
Stop overthinking this. Lie on your back like a submissive dog, or fight .Boycott and protest. Make sure the MoC in the district these companies are based know this, and that they won’t get your vote unless they do something to fight fascism.
Yes, this is the way to vote with our feet. We no longer buy from Amazon.
It’s like protest makes things visible and visibility becomes news and news becomes a cultural milestone and cultural milestones create narratives and those narratives are building blocks of policy messages…
Yes! This! And my new favorite ‘new’ word is now schadenfreudacious! Double snap!
“…instinctive recoil…” I love that! Yes! That’s a more effective term than “boycott”.
An important concrete point is that tourism is a large part of the El Salvador economy. Like the boycott of Tesla, boycotting El Salvador tourism is easy because there are many alternatives, and it can be international. Get the word out!
No doubt Europeans are reacting to Musk's behavior, but an important part of the story there is that Chinese car companies are entering their market in a big way, often at lower price points than Tesla. Tesla has some serious problems ahead that are independent of Musk's politics (although maybe less independent of his behavior in general). https://mashable.com/article/germany-tesla-sales-drop-in-half-april-2025 https://tridenstechnology.com/byd-sales-statistics/#h-byd-sales-by-country-china-us-europe https://www.cardino.de/en/blog-posts/tesla-prices-germany-2024 https://autoswheeler.com/cars/byd/byd-seal-06gt-awd-price-in-germany-656
When I was in high school I had what today would be referred to as a very ‘woke’ sociology teacher, Mr. Zimmerman. During my time in his class, Caesar Chavez advanced an effort to boycott grapes in support of farm workers. My recollection is that it was very effective. I knew about it because it was exactly the kind of thing we’d discuss in Mr. Zimmerman’s class.