Let your money talk

Are you tired of injustices constantly going around in our world? Are you tired of the bigoted immigration system? Are you tired of the disenfranchisement of BIPOC? Are you tired of workers not receiving the rights they deserve? Are you tired of LGBTQIA+ and allies being misrepresented and oppressed? Are you tired of conformity? Are you tired of religion being a determining factor in assimilation? Are you tired of climate change being ignored? Are you tired of being tired? It is time that we put an end to this authoritarian populism.

A positive and effective way to enact change in the world is through boycotting businesses.

In a post pandemic society, we find that the world is becoming more and more conscious about the ways that authoritative figures abuse their powers. A prime example is the Black Lives Matter movement. After the tragic murder of George Floyd (Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, and many more), people took to the streets to elevate the voices of black people everywhere, to demand justice. Along with protesting, the BLM movement inspired people all over the world to educate themselves on the injustices in American society.

One aspect of society that seems to be continuously corrupt is “Wall Street.” (Yes, businesses and some business practices are the very things that are corrupting society.) Some businesses have been known to force workers to work off the clock without overtime pay, subject workers to terrible working conditions, and pay workers barely minimum wage. In fact, some businesses even find ways to acquire free labor in the manufacturing of their products. Many of these businesses are able to change these practices, but they choose to ignore the voices of the workers because the higher-ups want to claim the majority of the money that the business gains.

On top of that, businesses find convoluted ways to give money to different organizations and politicians that support causes that do not help humanity. For instance, I have recently seen a thread on social media that listed the top donors for Trump’s campaign. However, all of the donors were people that own and/or represent large corporations (restaurants, sports teams, and more). The fact that it is lawful for businesses to donate money to political campaigns is completely outlandish in my opinion. Businesses have more money in total than an individual person would typically have on their own. Additionally, I do not understand the reason for businesses (such as a burger joint) to donate money to a political campaign if only to let their political view be known. (Everything does not have to be political.)

Moreover, some businesses have publicly shamed employees for speaking out for human rights. (Even in a time like this, where companies are advertising their positive views toward the BLM movement, others have chosen to remain so quiet about the movement that employees are not even allowed to wear any BLM paraphernalia or speak out about the movement in the establishment because it is “too political.” Some businesses have gone as far as to fire employees based on the employee’s views on the matter. Why is it seen as a political view for a black person’s life to matter?) Time and time again businesses have expressed that they do not care for the public or their employees.

And behind these faceless businesses are billionaires hoarding money. The concept of a person owning a billion dollars is actually so much for any person to fathom. After a lifetime of spending money, a person would not come close to spending a billion dollars. In fact, it would take thousands of years for any average person to spend a billion dollars. Therefore, no one needs to be a billionaire because it is hoarding money that is not going to be used for anything, especially not any good. Billionaires ignore the public because they know that they are a huge factor for the reasons that the world is the way it is today. Most billionaires will first throw their “pocket change” to charities before they do anything that might slightly affect their money. For example, a billionaire will donate $100,000 to a charity, but in retrospect that is .01% of a billion. (I am not asking for billionaires to go bankrupt donating money, but how much change is one trying to enact if they can only give .01% of themselves to the cause.)

We do not need to be giving our hard earned money to people that do not treat others right and do not represent the values that we hold dear. (It is time for us to start speaking with our money.) The communication between consumers and producers are essential to society. Producers are reliant on consumers; that is how they are able to stay in business, through loyal clientele. If everyone was to come together and stop giving these big businesses our money, then we would be able stop a lot of the wrongdoings in society.

Are you ready to boycott businesses?

Here are a couple of tips that will help you start on this journey:

1. Research businesses that you purchase from on a regular basis. Businesses are not shy about their endeavors if they are doing good work, it makes them look good to the public. Most businesses have websites that will exhibit the mission of the company. Also, researching the areas (stocks, donations, partnerships etc.) that a business distributes their money can tell you what the business stands for.

2. Share new information that you find with others. Usually, the people that you surround yourself with will agree with many of the views that you hold dear, so any new information may be interesting for them. Additionally, the more people that you have speaking out against a business and their practices, the more powerful the protest will be. There is power in numbers.

3. Look for businesses that support your values. Although there is still corruption in the world, there are still people out there just like you that are trying to make a difference. I found many businesses that advocate for a better world through different avenues. For instance, there are plenty of clothing brands that praise natural beauty and all body types, and these clothing brands do not partake in the cruelties of fast fashion. Additionally, there are businesses that try to use their proceeds to fight climate change, deforestation, and global warming. When you support other businesses, it provides more competition in fields that are too often over dominated by a few businesses. The businesses that you protest will see that people are migrating to other businesses that support humanity rather than exploit humanity.

4. Last but most important, remember that no matter how small your impact may be, it is still powerful. Even cutting down on buying certain products will make a difference. I know that it may be difficult to stop eating your favorite food from your favorite restaurant, but if you were to cut down on the amount of times that you eat that food, you would still make a considerable difference in the amount of money that you spend at that restaurant. That goes for anything. Something that I like to tell myself is a saying, “you cannot do all the good that the world needs, but the world needs all the good that you can do.” These businesses are not untouchable, and the ones running them are everyday people, just like you and me. You have the voice to tell the world when enough is enough.