Op-Ed: The Power of Your Pocketbook: Why You Should Be Boycotting
By Crystal Robinson | Published by February 20, 2020
Mass shootings, climate change, corruption. We students are no strangers to turmoil. We live in it day-in and day-out.
“Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. delivering a speech.” Photo credit: “Southern USA Human Rights Movement press photos” by martin_vmorris is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
We constantly read the news to learn about the latest tragedy or the next big scandal. And as I read the news, my heart fills with a deep sense of hopelessness. I think to myself, “What can I do to stop this?”
Like many Americans living in this political climate, I want to see change. But, how exactly do we enact said change? How do we begin to escape this shroud of unrest?
I think the first step is to acknowledge that we can no longer continue to support companies that fuel the very things we say we stand against.
You cannot pray for gun victims and protest for stricter gun laws while buying from businesses like Amazon that share ties with the National Rifle Association. You cannot claim to love the LGBTQ+ community and then eat at restaurants like Chick-fil-a that actively donate to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations.
If we want to see the change we need to start with ourselves.
We need to boycott companies that don’t align with our morals no matter how much you love their chicken sandwiches. While I know it’s hard to give up the things you love, I promise you it will be worth it in the end.
I’m sure you are wondering, “How do you know?” You are probably even questioning if boycotts actually work. The honest answer to that question is sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t.
According to Maurice Schweitzer, a professor of operations and information management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, many boycotts fail often due to a lack of sustained effort and quickly lose attention.
I believe this happens because of our quick shift in what we deem as newsworthy. When one conflict dies down we move onto the next even if the first one was never resolved. We lose ourselves in a constant cycle of protest. But, when we focus and commit ourselves to boycott the results can be astronomical.
One of the best examples of this was the Montgomery Bus Boycott during the Civil Rights movement organized and led by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Montgomery Improvement Association. It ultimately proved that the organization and an unwavering commitment of the average American citizen can successfully change public opinion.
“The bus stop where the Montgomery Bus Boycott began.” Photo credit: “Downtown Montgomery, Alabama” by wyliepoon is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
According to Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, from the start of the boycott 90 percent of the black community stayed off the public buses. The overwhelming support allowed the boycott to grow into a full-fledged fight for equal rights.
Protestors were met with intimidation, violence, and even jail time. But, they did not let that break them.
“My intimidations are a small price to pay if victory can be won,” said King at an executive board meeting according to The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Volume III: Birth of A New Age.
After months of boycotting, the mass protest ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling the segregation of public buses unconstitutional.
Imagine what we could accomplish if we were to replicate the passion and dedication that burned in the hearts of the protestors of the civil rights era. If we could possess that same energy and finally say no to the addicting consumerism that binds us to companies we know are destroying us, who knows what kind of world could we live in.
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