Black Friday Occupied by Protesters Hitting Big Retailers Where it 'Hurts'
A segment of the Occupy movement plans to disrupt Black Friday by occupying some of the biggest countrywide retailers to demonstrate economic solidarity.
According to the Stop Black Friday website, the demonstrations will specifically target companies with many revenue, companies that are publicly traded, and companies that traditionally make huge profits every year on Black Friday.
Companies like Walmart, Verizon, Neiman Marcus, Target, Best Buy, Sears, Macy’s, Toys R Us, and Dick’s Sporting Goods will be boycotted and possibly occupied this Black Friday.
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“Hit the 1 percent where it hurts-in the wallet,” said the movement's blog.
Occupiers are encouraging shoppers to take their holiday shopping elsewhere. Buying from local businesses would support local economies, which would not affect federal government regulation through lobbying, they claim.
“Keep in mind that we are not occupying small businesses or hardworking people-we must make a distinction between the businesses that are in the pockets of Wall Street and the businesses that serve our local communities,” said the blog.
The idea behind the protests is to definitively affect corporations, because the large corporations are the ones able to afford lobbyists, bigger campaign donations, and end up influencing American politics in ways that are not always positive.
Although many do not agree with the Occupy movement, some of those who do agree think stopping Black Friday is a bad idea.
Sally Kohn of the Movement Vision Lab agrees with the economic injustice idea, but thinks that occupying Black Friday could “hobble the economy,” according to her interview on Fox News. In addition, she said that working class folk need Black Friday for their holiday shopping needs; otherwise, the holidays would be too expensive for many.
The Occupy Black Friday Facebook page took it upon themselves to respond to the variety of concerns many have about Stop Black Friday.
They surmised that spending in other places besides big retailers “would just allow many more businesses to hire more people,” and pointed out that few employees would lose their job because of one day of occupation.
Regardless, the Occupy movement will affect Black Friday. It is unknown if just one day of boycotts can affect consumer demand.
