Wishing You a Merry Resistmas!
And a Happy New Year
Several years ago, my family decided to throw out the usual tradition of spending all day (or days) preparing Thanksgiving dinner and instead embarked on a trip up north. In Michigan, “up north” is a general term that those of us in the lower third of the state use to refer to anywhere roughly above the state’s midline. To go “up north” means dense forests, spotty wi-fi signal, sparkling lakes, and, generally, outdoor recreation. It’s where my family has always gone to escape, and I’m sure fellow Michiganders would agree.
This evening, as I was posting the out-of-office auto-reply on my work email, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks; work-wise, politics-wise, and mental-health-wise. I’ve packed books and a notebook for journaling, bourbon, of course, and a plan to force myself to disengage for a few days. When we return, December will be upon us and we’ll be thrust headlong into the manic race towards Christmas. My kids (teen and pre-teen) are beyond the Santa years, the Elf on a Shelf, classroom parties, and dozens of presents, so it’s been easier for me to slow down and do less. But I still feel a subtle anxiety about the business of the season. This, coupled with the news of Trump’s new tariff plan (worse than we thought), has me wondering what next Christmas might look like.
With billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk funding Trump’s campaign and taking center stage in America’s dialogue, I’ve seen a lot of new content about resisting consumerism this year. I think we’re all starting to feel fed up with corporations growing richer while our wallets get thinner. Yet at the same time, we’re now used to the convenience of it all, so it’s hard to think about making big changes. Many of us have become reliant on Prime, on free, next-day shipping, on having any item we could need or want just a few clicks away. So how do we begin to break our cycle of corporate spending? Below are some thoughts I’ve put together based on some of the content I’ve seen online. But remember, we’re all in different places and any action is movement forward. We have a long fight ahead of us and baby steps are the way we will begin building momentum. If you simply can’t fathom leaving Amazon now, don’t! There are a lot of ways to make change and still have a Merry Resistmas!
Cut your ties with Amazon
The most dedicated amongst us are canceling their Amazon Prime and refusing to order from the retail behemoth. I have really been trying to decrease my usage, but I’m not ready for a full-out boycott yet. (I’m currently researching if boycotts even work, follow along for that post soon!) Something I’ve been working on is, after I find the product on Amazon, I go to the direct seller’s website and purchase there. This has led me down a few rabbit holes as a lot of products on Amazon are coming straight from Chinese warehouses. While we’re on this topic, I have sworn off Shein, Temu, and TikTok shop (Tiktok shop was hard for me!). I know the stuff is cheap, but those sites offer a variety of questionable practices from child labor and poor working conditions to questionable security practices to poor quality items. There are a lot of articles about it, but this one does a nice, quick summary.
Shop Local
This is my favorite recommendation because I love to find local treasures. This also includes independent online storefronts and Etsy shops. Every dollar you spend at a local business is quite literally keeping that business afloat. I would also include Trump-voting businesses here. You have to decide for yourself, of course, but I don’t get too wound up about the politics of my local businesses unless they are actively behaving offensively. I’d rather support a local Trump voter than a corporate giant of any persuasion. That being said, I have some exceptions. There’s a local restaurant where I live that was very anti-mask when schools were reopening during Covid. They were posting all sorts of false information about the disease and vaccine - from their business page - during the pandemic. Since then, they’ve also taken a very loud stance against a recent school millage. Or a local Christmas tree farm that put up several billboards with offensive slogans and statements about abortion and opposing women’s right to choose. I choose not to spend my money at these places. You have to decide and spend your money in places that align with your own values. I also like to seek out businesses owned by women, people of color, or members of the LGBTQ+ community. I figure there are people who won’t shop at these places on purpose, so I like to cancel those people out by supporting them whenever I can.
Thrift Instead
Years ago I watched the film Poverty, Inc and was appalled by the part of the film that showed dump trucks dumping a mountain of clothes in African countries. You can see pictures (and accompanying documentary) on the Textile Mountain webpage of clothing mountains in Nairobi. This was when I really refused to buy from Shein, but also when I knew I needed to start being more mindful about what I was buying. These examples focus on clothing, but our landfills are also overflowing with cheap gadgets and toys that only last a few weeks or months and then get tossed. There are so many goods already in this world, I try to think of it as simply recirculating them by thrifting - secondhand shops, consignment shops, and antique stores are all great places to find unique gifts as well.
Shop with a Conscious
There are many websites and apps that can help you spend your money at places that align with your values. Open Secrets is probably the most widely used site to track a company’s political donations. One thing I’ll caution you on, most large companies donate to both sides. Some will donate to a state candidate of one party and the national candidate of the opposite party, for example. Some just donate to both presidential candidates. They do this as a way to hedge their bets. This way, whoever wins, they can say they supported said candidate. If you use a site like Good Unite Us, for example, it will show you by percentage. Many are already boycotting Hobby Lobby, so I decided to check out Michael’s. It showed that 88% of their donations go towards Democrats and 12% to Republicans. Yet, you might see Michael’s on a list somewhere of “Companies who Donate to Trump.” You’ll have to decide what kind of purist you are. Accountable.us is an interesting site that tracks companies and people who have given money to election deniers.
If you’re interested in finding brands that are ethical in terms of cruelty-free, vegan, etc, there are many sites like Ethical Consumer or Leaping Bunny that can give you ideas. And I just want to give a personal shoutout to Imperfect Foods. I’ve subscribed on and off over the years and love this company and its mission. I’m not getting paid to tell you this. I just like the company!
Consider Homemade
The thing about being middle-aged is I find myself not needing much anymore or really wanting any more household items. I love it when someone gifts me something I can use (or eat!). Over the last few years, I’ve tried to gift teachers and co-workers with useable gifts: homemade soap, spice mixes, bath salts, or cocktail mixes. This year I’m thinking of birdseed ornaments! Even if a person doesn’t maintain a bird feeder, they can hang one outside (or throw it in the yard!) and avoid another unneeded item that might eventually end up in a landfill. The downside of this is, that it’s time-consuming, so finding these items from local artisans (it is craft show season) is a great hack!
Buy / Gift / Read Banned Books
The news seems to have tired of covering Moms for Liberty lately, but book bans are still happening all around the country. During the 2023-24 school year, “The number of books banned in public schools over the past year skyrocketed to more than 10,000, with two states — Iowa and Florida — responsible for most of them” according to EdSurge (citing a PEN America study). As a former English teacher, I’d need a whole separate post to tell you how angry book bans make me, but I will rein that in for now. Instead, I’d urge you to do a little research and buy, read, and gift banned books this holiday season. If you have a Free Little Library near you, drop one in there! If a school in your area is allowed to keep these on the shelf, consider a donation. There are a lot of lists online, here are a few to start:
Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2023
A list of 300 books banned in Florida during the 2022-23 school year
These 450 Books were Banned in Iowa
A Users Guide to All the Banned Books in Texas
And remember to use your local library or purchase from a local bookstore. If you don’t have one, you can use mine! They ship anywhere in the United States - Bookbug: This is a bookstore
Give Back
The holiday season provides a lot of volunteer opportunities too. Fascist governments are more effective when the populace is divided and isolated, so get into your community and connect with others. If you don’t have the time to serve, consider making donations to food pantries, toy drives, coat drives, etc. I’d encourage you to first find out what specific needs the organization has (food pantries tend to overflow with some items while lacking others). If you are interested in making financial donations, you can search reputable charities at Charity Navigator online. I’d always recommend donating locally as well. Small charities have less overhead, so more of your donations go straight to the people they’re serving.
It’s also a good time to send some emails to Democrats reminding them that they have your support and encouraging them to stay strong in the upcoming months. You can also email your Republican senators and remind them that they need your vote to stay in office and you do not support the path they’ve chosen. You can find contact info for your elected officials HERE.
Unplug and Get Outside
Finally, use the holiday season as an excuse to unplug here and there. Say no if you’re feeling overwhelmed or overcommitted. We don’t know what next year might hold, but I do imagine it’s going to be a wild ride. We have to take care not to burn ourselves out. Find a podcast or an audiobook and make a habit of getting outside for a 15-20 minute walk whenever you can. The fresh air, especially the crisp winter air, is rejuvenating. If you’re looking for book recommendations, check out The Mindful Librarian. She is always curating thoughtful reading lists. If books aren’t your thing, find a TV show or movie that cheers you up or helps you unwind. I like to rewatch Ted Lasso when I need to feel warm and fuzzy and Schitt’s Creek when I want to forget the world and laugh. I often find myself in a cycle of feeling obligated to keep up with everything that’s going on, but simultaneously weighed down by the heaviness of it all. It’s ok to miss a news story here and there (I tell myself almost daily). None of us can fix everything, so each of us needs to just tackle a little bit. Focus on your little bit and don’t get overwhelmed with the enormity of it all. I find, when I’m outside, everything just feels lighter.
Let me know what ways you’ve found to resist this holiday season. How are you making time for yourself? What are you reading or watching?
Thanks for reading!