A segment of the Occupy movement plans to disrupt Black Friday by occupying some of the biggest countrywide retailers to demonstrate economic solidarity. Some don't want people to shop at all. Others just want to divert shoppers from big chains and giant shopping malls to local mom-and-pops.
This week the protesters will occupy parking lots rather than campuses and Zuccotti Park, in hopes of pushing consumers away from shopping malls and big changes, towards local, small businesses, the Associated Press reported. Some will even encourage people to not shop at all this Black Friday.
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. Nearly each one promises some kind of surprise action on the day after Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.
In Seattle, protesters are carpooling to Wal-Mart stores to protest with other Occupy groups from around Washington state. Washington, D.C., is offering a "really, really free market," where people can donate items they don't want so others can go gift shopping for free.
Although "Occupy Black Friday" is not meant to be an anti-capitalist movement, according to the group's website, supporters of Liberate Philadelphia/Liberate America claim that the entire "Occupy Wall Street" movement is not in support of a free market. 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.
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