Keller: Activist calls for "economic blackout" on Feb. 28. Will it make an impact?
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
The Instagram video has been making the rounds: self-styled New York activist John Schwarz, calling for "a 24-hour economic blackout - no Amazon, no Walmart, no fast food, no gas, not a single unnecessary dollar spent" on Friday, Feb. 28.
Vague boycott goals
Other than punishing major corporations he claims have abused working people, his goals are vague. "This is how we change the game - not by waiting for politicians, not by hoping they'll do the right thing, but by finally taking action ourselves," he says.
Some joining the boycott are more specific. One message aimed at Black consumers calls for pressure on companies that have been dropping diversity initiatives. Feb. 28 will be "a day when we stop spending on corporations that don't value us. They've made their choice, now we make ours," it says.
And still others see it as a way to send a message to Donald Trump and Elon Musk that billionaires don't have all the power.
"Very often boycotts do not actually lower the sales of the boycotted organization substantially," says Distinguished Professor Koen Pauwels of Northeastern, an expert on online activism. He says effective boycotts need to be easy for people to participate in, make specific demands, and harness the power of social media.
For instance, after the Parkland School massacre in 2018, an anti-gun group got Starbucks to ban guns from its stores after a Saturday-only boycott. Pro-Ukraine activists have persuaded 1,000 corporations to stop doing business in Russia simply by putting the names of those that do online.
And one woman's online campaign helped force the end of Ivanka Trump's clothing line in 2018.
"You can vote with your money, you can vote with your feet, and you can vote in elections," notes Prof. Pauwels. "And I think kind of the other ways to vote have been underused."
Will Friday's boycott have an impact?
The organizers have more boycotts in mind for the coming months, so if the corporate targets see a sharp drop in revenues on Friday, it might shake them up.
Then again, if revenues are normal - or even healthier than normal - it could brand this movement as impotent. Boycotts can be a useful protest tool, but you've got to have your act together, and it's an open question whether this group fits the bill.
