WASHINGTON—National organizations behind the No Kings demonstrations and other major activities against the Trump administration and its billionaire backers have launched the “We Ain’t Buying It” holiday shopping freeze campaign, taking place from Thanksgiving (Nov. 27) through Cyber Monday (Dec. 1).
The primary targets are Target, Home Depot, and Amazon. These companies made the top of the list because of their support of the MAGA agenda—rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives; supporting or enabling ICE actions; and exploiting their workers.
According to its website, “We Ain’t Buying It” is “an economic and solidarity campaign designed to defend democracy and reclaim community power.”
The organizations behind the effort include Black Voters Matter, the Working Families Party, Indivisible, and Until Freedom. Their united front is calling for a full blackout—to not buy anything from the targeted retail giants during the holiday week. They encourage shopping at local small businesses and vendors for holiday gifts.
In Washington, D.C., two major actions are being planned to publicize the campaign. The first will take place ahead of Thanksgiving. The Free D.C. coalition plans to picket the flagship Whole Foods store, which is owned by Amazon, on Nov. 25. A second protest, featuring national leaders of the campaign, will descent on one of the capital city’s busiest Target stores on Nov. 29.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest shopping days of the year, accounting for nearly 20% of big retailers’ annual sales. The “We Ain’t Buying It” campaign aims to strike a blow to MAGA’s economic backers and show that the masses of people do not stand with the administration’s fascist policies.
Amazon and Target each donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, a first for Target. While Target has been a particular target of the African American community due to its immediate rollback of DEI, Amazon also dropped its DEI policies as well as set up contracts with ICE to provide surveillance technology through Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Further, Amazon not only engages in union-busting and deep exploitation against its workers,but also is a key component of the deportation machine and military occupation happening in several cities around the country.
Home Depot has also caught the ire of immigrant rights organizations, particularly in Los Angeles led by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and the People’s Union due to its lack of protections for day laborers who usually take jobs while staging in Home Depot parking lots around the country. There have been several ICE raids in Home Depot parking lots and inside Home Depot stores, which has put the giant in the crosshairs of the anti-MAGA movement.
The projected spending on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined is close to $80 billion. If the anti-MAGA movement is so much to put a dent in that number, that would be a blow to big capital’s bottom line. MAGA cannot continue its fascist offensive if it does not have big business backing its program. Economic power in the hands of the millions will make a significant impact and the consistent boycotts of not only Target, Amazon, and Home Depot but also Avelo Airlines, Tesla and other big businesses backing Trump will be a major component in defeating this fascist agenda.
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