• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

Social action groups are urging Americans to refuse to shop or even work this Thanksgiving to send a message about the widening wealth gap.

“Mass Blackout” is a “coalition of grassroots groups that are protesting the Trump administration’s policies and urging consumers not to participate in this year’s extended Black Friday sales,” according to Fast Company. 

The groups include Blackout the System, The People’s Sick Day, American Opposition, the Money Out of Politics Movement and The Progressive Network.

The effort is urging “Americans to stop all spending and refuse to go to work during the ‘Mass Blackout,' which runs from Nov. 25 to Dec. 2,” according to USA Today. 

Avoid travel and restaurants and cancel streaming and digital subscriptions, organizers said. If you must spend: Support small, local businesses only. Pay in cash. Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30 is exempted from the blackout.

The effort is not political, according to the organizers. 

"We don’t see this fight as left versus right. We see it more as top versus bottom," says Carlos Álvarez-Aranyos, founder of American Opposition, which helped organize the "No Kings" protests and the Tesla boycott, told USA Today. "This is about Black Friday because, honestly, what we are seeing across the board is just unsustainable. We are being taken advantage of. Prices are up. Inflation is through the roof."

There’s a second boycott underway targeting Amazon, Target, and Home Depot. It’s called “We Ain’t Buying It.”  That campaign is made up of a coalition of progressive groups including the No Kings Alliance and Indivisible.

The reasons for boycotting each of the companies is different. Amazon is under fire in part due to its working conditions while Target continues to face criticism for rolling back its DEI initiatives. 

“The protest's organizer also calls out The Home Depot, saying the company allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to illegally detain and kidnap laborers from its stores,” according to Newsweek. “Previously, the company denied these claims, saying in a statement that it ‘is not notified that ICE activities are going to happen, and we aren’t involved in the operations.’”