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My wife and I are like any family in the United States. Affected by the pandemic we turned to online shopping to avoid crowded spaces, thinking of our health needs and that of loved ones. Not an easy task when you live in NYC and have to deal with public transportation - but by mixing our transportation methods with express buses and our own car we have managed pretty well.
During the height of the pandemic we thought more of safety and convenience before anything else - enter our use of Amazon and Walmart into the mix. Enter our reliance on electronic methods of payment. It was so easy to avoid the crowds while just getting everything at home and staying within our pod.
I think I want to start my reflection on the Economic Boycott with that introduction as a method to give grace to these chapters of our lives. These methods of shopping and this way of living had their roles, they formed part of our fun or personality - even our culture. But in our most vulnerable moments they also became methods to remain safe.
February 28, 2025 is my Boycott Day 1. It is a way of making Boycott as a method to express my values and it was very much possible because it was done as a collective and in community. I have done other forms of activism in the past, direct action, marching, protest, letter writing, demonstrations but I was never big on boycotts because my way of learning about it always seemed mistimed. I would never find out fast enough or plan ahead. But things changed this time around.
You see, this is a year I have had to dedicate my time to the sacred ordination of Osha. I had to become Iyawo. The timing is really precious since usually in times of great need I tend to hit the streets to march and touch base with organizers to see where I can help. But this go-around is different. My destiny was already to receive my religious ordination and initiation during December, 2024 - and in this time of deep dedication, meditation and religious practice - going to the streets to march is not an option. I found my destiny and decision so worth it as this type of care and dedication in my life will serve the community in the long run after the Iyawo year is over. That doesn’t mean I have not taken part in other accessible political moves like letter writing, donating and having deep conversations in the community to establish networks of mutual aid. I think this time of solidifying with my community has been as essential as any of the street demonstrations I have done in the past. It has given me a chance to give my family, my religious community and my LGBTQ community a deeper bond where they can receive love, commitment and dedication to me. Also open communication so that words and conversations can flow, misunderstandings and disagreements can be smoothed out and plans can be more sustainable.
And then comes this Boycott - not only was it a real accessible way of doing activism, organizing and community - I also became excited for the ways my loved ones and community members were activating to do it. Like all other boycotts I found out rather late, on the week where it was going to start. There was also a very powerful factor going into this. My wife - B.
B has never been super into activism. She has always been the background player. When we met she was not very educated on the impact of real political action. She was even disenchanted with the process and role of voting. Via our conversations B learned about different forms of activism and what role they played in doing the right thing. I spoke to her why they were important to me and why they made a difference. We even have the poster I carried at the 2017 Women’s March hanging in our spare bedroom. Little by little B found ways to help my activism as a background player by supporting me to do my thing.
But she was the one who educated me on this Boycott. She was fired up and ready to roll. She came home to express what moved her to do it. She wanted to do something. She was angry at Elon Musk, the Oligarchy, the way we were all being screwed over economically and how it affected her and her loved ones so profoundly. How could I not watch her say all of these things and not be moved by what this moment was for her? I got ready to be the one following her lead this time, go all in on the boycott and help her maintain. I am so grateful to B for being my teacher in this moment and plugging me into how I could be involved when I needed it the most.
The Boycott was not hard in terms of decision making and how it affected my Friday because I work from home and most of my usual purchases happen Monday through Wednesdays when I go to the office. However, even at home I do tend to purchase entertainment from Amazon Prime, place online orders of anything I may need. I do bank deposits or transactions to pay bills or make purchases - or make other banking decisions like how I should invest or save. I also have things in my Amazon shopping list which I time according to payday. Friday was Payday.
I didn’t let companies know on Day 1 that I was boycotting or my elected officials. I didn’t think to join the two but I don’t see that as a miss if it was just Day 1 and this can be Day 2. I specially have words for the executives of Paramount + - two Gay men who owe their rights to the fierce fight that Trans Women of Color did, only to roll back DEI policies.
Community really made the Boycott possible - the flow of communication from my loved ones. Knowing that I was in a position to support them and be plugged in when I needed it. I did go online to connect to others who were doing it and those who were as excited as my real time community members were encouraged by me as well in the comment sections. I created a little photo feed of my activities that day and had some positive feedback. I think being in a collective was the key and leaning on others to guide me and inform me. In the positive and the negative parts of this organization. And in the negative, I do mean the conversations that took place as far as who should be leading these efforts.
Shifting gears is always challenging no matter what - but I was glad for the challenge. Coming more to terms that there may be some extreme measures of anti-capitalist, non-consumerist actions I may need to take to make a real difference. These don’t seem undoable as much as I have not had the time to think them through in execution so they still look a bit disjointed but the ideas will soon come to fruition.
During the height of the pandemic we thought more of safety and convenience before anything else - enter our use of Amazon and Walmart into the mix. Enter our reliance on electronic methods of payment. It was so easy to avoid the crowds while just getting everything at home and staying within our pod.
I think I want to start my reflection on the Economic Boycott with that introduction as a method to give grace to these chapters of our lives. These methods of shopping and this way of living had their roles, they formed part of our fun or personality - even our culture. But in our most vulnerable moments they also became methods to remain safe.
February 28, 2025 is my Boycott Day 1. It is a way of making Boycott as a method to express my values and it was very much possible because it was done as a collective and in community. I have done other forms of activism in the past, direct action, marching, protest, letter writing, demonstrations but I was never big on boycotts because my way of learning about it always seemed mistimed. I would never find out fast enough or plan ahead. But things changed this time around.
You see, this is a year I have had to dedicate my time to the sacred ordination of Osha. I had to become Iyawo. The timing is really precious since usually in times of great need I tend to hit the streets to march and touch base with organizers to see where I can help. But this go-around is different. My destiny was already to receive my religious ordination and initiation during December, 2024 - and in this time of deep dedication, meditation and religious practice - going to the streets to march is not an option. I found my destiny and decision so worth it as this type of care and dedication in my life will serve the community in the long run after the Iyawo year is over. That doesn’t mean I have not taken part in other accessible political moves like letter writing, donating and having deep conversations in the community to establish networks of mutual aid. I think this time of solidifying with my community has been as essential as any of the street demonstrations I have done in the past. It has given me a chance to give my family, my religious community and my LGBTQ community a deeper bond where they can receive love, commitment and dedication to me. Also open communication so that words and conversations can flow, misunderstandings and disagreements can be smoothed out and plans can be more sustainable.
And then comes this Boycott - not only was it a real accessible way of doing activism, organizing and community - I also became excited for the ways my loved ones and community members were activating to do it. Like all other boycotts I found out rather late, on the week where it was going to start. There was also a very powerful factor going into this. My wife - B.
B has never been super into activism. She has always been the background player. When we met she was not very educated on the impact of real political action. She was even disenchanted with the process and role of voting. Via our conversations B learned about different forms of activism and what role they played in doing the right thing. I spoke to her why they were important to me and why they made a difference. We even have the poster I carried at the 2017 Women’s March hanging in our spare bedroom. Little by little B found ways to help my activism as a background player by supporting me to do my thing.
But she was the one who educated me on this Boycott. She was fired up and ready to roll. She came home to express what moved her to do it. She wanted to do something. She was angry at Elon Musk, the Oligarchy, the way we were all being screwed over economically and how it affected her and her loved ones so profoundly. How could I not watch her say all of these things and not be moved by what this moment was for her? I got ready to be the one following her lead this time, go all in on the boycott and help her maintain. I am so grateful to B for being my teacher in this moment and plugging me into how I could be involved when I needed it the most.
The Boycott was not hard in terms of decision making and how it affected my Friday because I work from home and most of my usual purchases happen Monday through Wednesdays when I go to the office. However, even at home I do tend to purchase entertainment from Amazon Prime, place online orders of anything I may need. I do bank deposits or transactions to pay bills or make purchases - or make other banking decisions like how I should invest or save. I also have things in my Amazon shopping list which I time according to payday. Friday was Payday.
I didn’t let companies know on Day 1 that I was boycotting or my elected officials. I didn’t think to join the two but I don’t see that as a miss if it was just Day 1 and this can be Day 2. I specially have words for the executives of Paramount + - two Gay men who owe their rights to the fierce fight that Trans Women of Color did, only to roll back DEI policies.
Community really made the Boycott possible - the flow of communication from my loved ones. Knowing that I was in a position to support them and be plugged in when I needed it. I did go online to connect to others who were doing it and those who were as excited as my real time community members were encouraged by me as well in the comment sections. I created a little photo feed of my activities that day and had some positive feedback. I think being in a collective was the key and leaning on others to guide me and inform me. In the positive and the negative parts of this organization. And in the negative, I do mean the conversations that took place as far as who should be leading these efforts.
Shifting gears is always challenging no matter what - but I was glad for the challenge. Coming more to terms that there may be some extreme measures of anti-capitalist, non-consumerist actions I may need to take to make a real difference. These don’t seem undoable as much as I have not had the time to think them through in execution so they still look a bit disjointed but the ideas will soon come to fruition.
