To all the naysayers—on the political right and on the left—who’ve told us that resistance is futile, that there’s no point, that nonviolence won’t work, that we’re doomed to fail, that our cause and our values don’t matter, that the red hat regime can’t be defeated, that we’re just a bunch of crazy people who deserve to lose and to be crushed, and all the other ways they’ve told us that resistance to Donald Trump and his regime won’t work:
There’s more where that came from.
Welcome to Part 5 of the Everyone Can Do Something series! Today we’re talking about everyone’s (least) favorite subject. Yes, money in politics causes all kinds of problems and leads to grift, greed, and gross behavior from politicians across the board. Money buys power, literally (in bribes and corruption) and in less direct ways (such as paid lobbying, campaign funding, tax breaks, and other avenues). And yet, money is also a powerful weapon against autocrats, their pillars of support, and their policies. Money is a double-edged sword. It takes practice and skill to know how to use it properly, and wisdom to use it for good. And use it we can, and we must. Today, I’ll discuss why the immediate backlash to Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, the boycott that ensued, and the overwhelming support for him and for freedom of speech was successful. I’ll compare it to examples of successful boycotts from the history of nonviolent resistance, and I’ll talk about ways we can harness the power we just wielded to hit the red hat regime where it hurts most—in the wallet.
A Quick Recap
If you haven’t already read Part 2 of this series, especially the parts about pillars of support and what successful nonviolent resistance looks like, I highly recommend that you do. A lot of the concepts I talk about in this post will be easier to understand if you have that basic knowledge. It might also be helpful to review Part 3 and the list of 198 methods of nonviolent resistance, especially the methods listed under “Noncooperation.” This will give you a refresher of the methods I’ll discuss, as well as many practical examples of how these tactics have been used in real life. I’d also recommend reviewing the section on dilemma actions from Part 3, so that you understand how to plan and carry out a successful nonviolent action. That will be important to know when I discuss how the Resistance can use our money to oppose the red hat regime and its goals.
Money Talks
You can tell a lot about a person, a group, or a movement by how they spend and prioritize money. It tells you what matters to them. It tells you what they support, and what they don’t, and what they want to see more of. This is especially obvious in the entertainment industry. If people aren’t interested in a show, a movie, an art form, or a particular entertainer, they’ll stop paying for it. They’ll stop buying tickets, cancel their subscriptions, quit listening to albums, and tune out shows or people they don’t want to see. Once a show stops being entertaining and can’t hold people’s attention, whatever the reason may be, it very quickly becomes a waste of time and money (in the mind of the billion-dollar companies that primarily control American entertainment media). Then the people who run that show, control that company, and make decisions about the kind of content they’re willing to pay for will quit paying for it. And if the company itself is what people don’t want to pay for, if people stop watching its content or paying for what it offers across the board, it rapidly loses profits and faces bankruptcy.
Disney (which owns ABC) relies on people to keep watching its movies and shows, subscribing to streaming services like Disney+ and ESPN, watching ABC and FX TV channels, and enjoying its content in order to make a profit. When people stopped watching those movies and channels, canceled those subscriptions, and began spreading the word to boycott Disney over Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, it targeted Disney’s bottom line. People also sold their stock in Disney and its affiliate companies. There was a massive drop in Disney’s stock prices, and they lost millions of dollars almost overnight. Without people regularly watching their content, paying for their services, buying tickets to movies, taking vacations at Disney parks, or buying stock in the company, they faced even more losses over time. Without profits streaming in, entertainment companies don’t last long.
To make matters worse for Disney, support for the boycott, and for Jimmy Kimmel, was loud, immediate, and sustained. Within a day of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, Disney trended on social media as people posted pictures of their canceled subscription messages and called for others to cancel Disney+ and boycott Disney. The video of Jimmy Kimmel’s actual remarks went viral, as people became curious to know why he was suspended and wanted to see for themselves. The remarks turned out to be pretty mild, and Donald Trump and the MAGA movement were the real butt of the joke. Social media also highlighted Donald Trump’s and FCC chairman Brendan Carr’s remarks on Twitter and Truth Social about Jimmy Kimmel, their threats against Disney and ABC’s broadcasting licenses, and the fact that the show was suspended just a few days after they made these threats.
The topic continued to trend, and calls for a boycott continued to sound, as the days dragged on. People protested outside Disney and ABC studios and office buildings for several days in a row. The ACLU and over 400 artists, actors, writers, journalists, and other public figures who cared about freedom of speech signed an open letter to Disney condemning Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension. The letter stated “Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country. We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power—because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us. …We encourage all Americans to join us, along with the ACLU, in the fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.” This indicated that these well-known people supported the effort to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s show and were calling on their supporters and fan bases to join them in opposing his suspension. On their own accounts and platforms, several of these celebrities and public figures explicitly called on their audiences to boycott Disney. With large numbers of people canceling their plans to spend their money on Disney, and growing public support for Jimmy Kimmel and the boycott, the company was facing a movement that would only grow and was unlikely to give in if Disney ignored it. Within hours of the ACLU letter being released, ABC announced that it was lifting the suspension, and Jimmy Kimmel’s show would return the following day, less than a week after he was suspended. On Friday September 26th, Sinclair and Nexstar, which initially refused to return the show to their local TV channels when the suspension was lifted, caved and will now air it, too.
All of this demonstrates something that the Resistance should never forget, and that we should never let any company or industry forget either. In the end, the red hat regime, and any other autocrat, can threaten private companies and try to intimidate them all they want, but they can’t keep them in business if no one is willing to buy what they sell. Ultimately, if a company doesn’t have enough customers, it can’t survive no matter what the government does. The power of the people, as always, is greater than the people in power. And we will not support companies that choose to cave to pressure from the regime—we’ll take our money elsewhere. We proved that this week, and we’ll prove it again.
Boycott Basics
So what made the Disney boycott successful? What makes any boycott successful? How can we use what we’ve learned from this week, and what we can learn from nonviolent movements throughout history, to thwart more of the red hat regime’s plans?
The Disney boycott checks off every characteristic of a successful nonviolent movement in one massive action. It was carried out, and supported, by a large number of committed people across society; millions of people were talking about the boycott, cancelling their subscriptions and pledging not to spend money on Disney, and calling for Jimmy Kimmel’s reinstatement and an end to the regime’s threats against freedom of speech. Support for the boycott came from everywhere, from rural communities to big cities, suburban parents to A-list celebrities, across racial and cultural and other demographic groups. This campaign also used multiple creative actions to condemn the suspension and call for change, such as a letter of opposition from the ACLU and celebrities, picketing protests outside Disney studios and offices, millions of people publicly declaring their intent to boycott online, the actual consumers’ boycott of Disney products and services, and people encouraging others to create an alternative market by putting their money into PBS Passport and using their libraries to rent DVDs. It focused on shifting loyalty in a key pillar (the entertainment industry) to meet a specific demand (reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s show). The need to maintain discipline, especially in the face of a crackdown, wasn’t really required because the boycott didn’t need to remain in place for more than a few days. However, this actually proves the value of a boycott—while many boycotts take months or even years to show results, this boycott was so massive, so immediate, and the people involved were so obviously committed, that the target company was forced to cave quickly to avoid more financial loss. In addition, it is almost impossible to violently crack down on people engaging in a boycott, for a beautifully simple reason: it’s not illegal to refuse to spend your own money. And of course, with such a massive number of people participating in the boycott, even if it were illegal, it would be impossible for the government to arrest, threaten, or intimidate enough people to stop the boycott.
The Disney boycott was also successful because it was a dilemma action. The target company faced a lose-lose choice and had to decide which was the least bad of its options: bring Jimmy Kimmel back, look foolish, and risk a possible investigation or lawsuit from the red hat regime; or, keep him off the air but risk bankruptcy as millions of customers withheld their money. In the end, Disney realized that what ultimately keeps it in business is its customers, not the regime, and the customer is who the company must ultimately answer to. A lawsuit or an investigation might be a pain in the short term, but it would be nothing compared to being forced to close its doors without enough profits to stay in business.
There are some key elements that make a boycott successful that are unique to this method of nonviolent resistance, and which it’s important to keep in mind as we plan our next move. To demonstrate what these are, let’s look at an example of an incredibly successful boycott and how it shaped history.
The Delano Grape Strike and Boycott
If you’ve never heard of this very famous moment in labor, resistance, and Latine/Asian-American history, I recommend reading this article by the United Farm Workers union for a quick overview. The two major unions that took part in the boycott later merged to become the UFW. For an in-depth review, you can start with this Wikipedia page.
You’re probably thinking “strikes and boycotts aren’t the same thing.” You’re right; the Delano grape strike, as it’s commonly known, was primarily a farm workers’ strike against the companies that underpaid and mistreated them. But it was supported by a widespread boycott of grapes grown by the companies the workers were striking against. Hundreds of people involved in the strikes traveled across the U.S. and Canada, telling their stories of how they were treated by the companies and organizing support for the grape boycott. They encouraged everyday people to stop buying and eating grapes to support the farm workers striking for better conditions. After hearing about the conditions the workers faced, people supported their movement. Millions of consumers boycotted grapes. Over the course of the strike and boycott, the workers and their supporters held firm, even as the farm workers faced violent retaliation by the growing companies. Eventually, the growers had no choice but to negotiate with the workers, signing contracts with the farm workers’ unions that guaranteed increased wages, improved working conditions, and in some cases unemployment insurance, paid vacation days, and a special benefits fund.
So what were some of the key features that made this boycott successful, and that give boycotts in general a better chance of success?
Organization: The farm workers didn’t just decide to strike and stop working out of the blue. The strike was originally started by a largely-Filipino union called the AWOC. The AWOC had led a successful strike in another part of California earlier in the year, so they had experience organizing strikes and supporting their members financially. They provided meals and housing support to their members during strikes to make sure that, even though they weren’t being paid, they could still meet their basic needs for food and shelter. Eight days into the strike, the largely-Mexican NFWA union, led by Cesar Chavez, voted to join the strike as well. The two unions worked together and combined their experience, numbers, and volunteers to make the strike more successful. They organized these volunteers to spread word about why the strike was happening, encourage consumers to boycott grapes, collect donations to support the striking workers’ basic needs, and keep morale up among the workers.
Commitment: A successful boycott requires a large number of people to stop spending money with a company, but perhaps more importantly, they need to be committed to the boycott long-term. The Disney boycott took less than a week to achieve its goal; the Delano grape strike and subsequent boycotts didn’t see results until five years after the original strike began. That required dedication from the workers, the grocery shoppers who refused to buy grapes, the volunteers who raised funds and awareness, the leaders who pushed the public to support them and the companies to negotiate, and everyone else involved. Boycotts often take months or years to work. If you’re going to use a boycott to achieve a goal, you need to be prepared for a long wait before you see results, and you need to be committed to not spending your money on the company for as long as the boycott lasts. If enough people give up and start buying the company’s products again, the boycott won’t work. You and your supporters need to be committed to withholding your money for as long as it takes to achieve your goal, and you need to make that clear to the target company if you want them to meet your demands.
Alternatives: If you’re going to boycott a company, particularly one that supplies a basic need that most people rely on, you’re going to need an alternative source of their product. With the grape boycott, there were other foods people could buy instead. With the Disney boycott, people encouraged each other to use DVDs, other streaming services, rentals through their libraries, PBS shows for kids, and other alternatives to purchasing new Disney content or subscriptions. There were other options available, and other forms of entertainment. People encouraged each other to read more books, make crafts with their kids, do outdoor activities, and find other ways to have fun together as a family. Encouraging supporters to find alternatives, and finding fun ways to use them together, is a powerful way to keep people engaged in a boycott and take pride in participating. Sometimes you need to be creative, especially when the boycott involves giving up something more essential. If your target is a major retail store like Walmart, you will need to help your supporters find another store to shop at (this can be tricky in small towns and rural areas). Finding alternatives to replace what you’re giving up makes a boycott more sustainable over a long period of time, and more likely to succeed.
The Next Steps
There’s one more thing that the Disney boycott demonstrated this week: we have the numbers, the power, and the motivation to rapidly stage actions that people will notice and commit to joining. Many leading figures in the resistance movement have talked about the need to “build our muscle.” In other words, we need practice taking action and participating in protests, boycotts, strikes, and other campaigns so that we build the tolerance, skill set, infrastructure, and support to work toward larger-scale actions. If we want to work toward major actions like a general strike, massive protests that regularly mobilize 3.5% of the population, and sustainable boycotts of big corporations like Amazon, we need to build up momentum and support for these actions over time. We also need to build up our skills and motivation to the point that we can jump into action on short notice and mobilize a lot of people rapidly. The Disney boycott proved that we have built up a lot of momentum and support in just nine months of resistance to the red hat regime—enough to force a billion-dollar mega-corporation to concede to our demands. We still have work to do, and we need to keep organizing, building our resistance muscle, and creating the support and infrastructure to sustain major campaigns and long-term actions. But we are headed in the right direction.
Our next steps are to keep building that momentum. Keep showing up. Find and grow your local community organizations that actively resist the regime. Gather like-minded friends, family, and neighbors to attend protests, work together, and cheer each other on. Educate yourself on past nonviolent resistance movements and strategies that worked for them, so that you can understand what our goals are and how to use nonviolent resistance to oppose the regime. Support people who have been hurt by the regime—immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, low-income families, people experiencing homelessness, and other neighbors who are struggling. Find out what you can do to help protect them and meet needs the regime refuses to meet. If you’re up for it and you have curious neighbors who voted for the cheeto-in-chief but are realizing it’s not working out too well, try to talk to them about the effects they’re seeing. Ask questions, be curious, and encourage them to think about whether they really support the regime and its goals. As time goes on and it gets harder to ignore the stupid and dangerous things the regime wants to do, more people who supported it initially will start to fall away from it. We need to be ready to meet them with real solutions to the problems our nation is facing.
If you’re ready to take your boycott skills to the next level, check out Goods Unite Us and their app. They can show you the politicians that companies and their leaders have made donations to, so you can avoid spending your money with businesses that support the regime. Join the current boycotts against Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Tesla. If you have stock in these companies, sell it. Don’t buy anything from them. Find other stores and sources for things you need. If you have to rely on one or more of these stores for essential items (in some communities, Walmart or Amazon may be your only option for groceries, medicine, and other basics), find ways to reduce your purchases with these companies to the bare minimum. Buy used items in thrift stores to avoid purchasing new ones. Use your library to borrow books, movies, and other media. Shop with small and locally-owned businesses whenever you can.
Boycotts are a great way to make your voice heard and convince companies to stop supporting bad policies and autocrats. They’re a powerful way to put your money where your mouth is and work with your neighbors to make real change. They’re an accessible, safe way to support people and causes that you care about, and pretty much anyone can participate. History shows that boycotts can be an effective action that convinces pillars of support to defect from an authoritarian regime. And this week’s Disney boycott showed the power of the people when we combine our efforts. We have the numbers to oppose the regime and force key pillars to stop supporting it. Let’s keep that momentum going and build on the huge victory we just won.