Rant/Boycotting
I’m not going to get into any specific political debate/talk for the sake of simplicity.
As someone who has lived in Athens for a very long time and has grown accustomed to the community I don’t seem to be able to grasp why we don’t boycott businesses that aren’t treating us well more often (not just Athens, but the US as a whole).
As time keeps going we continuously see worse and worse treatment from the companies that own our ways of life. Whether that’s increasing prices, lower quality items, or lack of jobs to be able to sustain our lives, they are all lacking in value and we can clearly see why. It’s corporations/government pursuing profit over the people. They strive for the most money they can make off of our backs. So again, why don’t we do something about it? I can’t be the only one willing to work, sick of being poor but can’t get a job because they are so limited while prices for everything keep going up. I know everyone is exhausted because it’s the one true thing most of us have in common: we are struggling.
I greatly believe that individualism is going to be the death of us, which is produced/perpetuated by corporatism and backed by the government and their corrupt policies. The notion that every responsibility is solely on the individual disregards nuance and the actual reasons why people struggling can’t just “pick themselves up by the bootstraps.” I believe that this is a huge reason why we don’t boycott as much as we should because the question remains: if we boycott these stores, food services, etc. how will we eat or be able to survive the boycott? Due to individualism we don’t have strong communities, not really at least. A community is supposed to band together, provide resources for all, distribute those with excess to those who don’t. Together we could make things happen but instead we are paralyzed with fear and anxiety about how we are going to make it to the next day. And by no means am I saying this is our fault, it’s unfortunately the result of the system that surrounds us. The idea that YOU have to figure out how to succeed in a failing economy, YOU have to get a job is a limited market, YOU have to manage your time well (even though most people are already over worked), YOU have to figure everything out, is yes, daunting, but more importantly it isn’t based in reality. This sentiment ignores the fact that most people ARE actually trying but are getting nowhere because of the system surrounding us and how no matter which direction we go in we are set back because prices are so high, savings are basically nonexistent, and we aren’t even getting paid livable wages to be able to propel us forward and do the “right thing” by climbing the economic ladder.
If we boycott businesses together, stop working for them, stop buying from them, and all around end being reliant by not funding their corruption then we can get somewhere but it’s hard when everything that we need to live is built on making money to survive. If survival is our only means of moving forward then we aren’t as advanced as we say we are.
I also understand the issue of boycotting work because then we won’t be able to pay rent/bills and honestly I don’t have an answer for that, I’m just one person, but I’m asking the community to come together to try to figure something out. We all want something better for at least ourselves, so I’m asking that you consider wanting better lives for others as well. This also requires a community to work together instead of seeing each other as competitors for survival.
I’m not sure what the next step would be but I want to listen, to learn, and to do something about it because I can’t afford not to. Thank you for reading if you made it this far and I hope you have a good day!