If You Can’t Beat Them…

My BIG, BEAUTIFUL Adventure in Boycotting

The Goal:  To Spend Joyfully and with Purpose

By Chalmer Thompson

September 21, 2025

. . .  join them.”

This common expression suggests that there’s something worthy about giving in to a struggle or cause that we appear to be losing. Perhaps most of us have found ourselves conceding to actions we consider despicable. Over these past several months, with the stream of tyrannical policies and practices targeting assorted groups of people, there may actually be very little we could have done in many situations. 

But even after regaining our composure, some still refuse to take action. This concession may be due to people not having the confidence to act against the conditions or to the belief that “things will work out on their own or when certain people step in to turn things around.”  There may also be partial concessions:  “I may not agree with everything you’ve expressed about this particular issue, but I agree with ____________,” typically some general topic like immigration or the reformulation of DEI programs, but lacking in expressing their concerns about the havoc, corruption, and often violence that is inherent in executing changes in these areas.

I have heard many people express feelings of overwhelm and fear about the unfair changes occurring around us, both locally and globally. The fear may result from the possibility of retribution, real or imagined, such as being fired from one’s job. “And what if others disapprove of me?, some wonder. These feelings can leave many feeling defeated right from the start.

When we feel fearful or defeated, we tend to disengage ourselves from the world. We also disengage from our “true” selves, that aspect of who we are as members of a typical human family. Chapter Elder Dr. Doty Simpson-Taylor calls this disengagement “moral injury.”  Moral injury is a profound sense of pain that resides within us, preventing us from seizing opportunities to help resolve our personal challenges and from constructively acting against injustice. This pain also blinds us to the reality that the struggle for justice and harmony at the societal and global levels is not a losing one. 

Moral injury can be passed across generations, emerging from traumatic experiences like war, rape, child neglect, and emotional abuse. We suppress the pain using various strategies like alcohol or drug use, spending, sex addiction, workaholism, and denial of feelings, which only lessen its intensity temporarily. We lead healthy lives when we recognize the pain and pursue pathways to heal ourselves. We can also participate in the process of healing when we realize our power to create positive change, not only within ourselves but also outside.   

What Do We Do?

When the struggle is for justice, then to “join them” is to sink into a madness that has long plagued societies worldwide. It is the madness that has compromised the truthful reporting of local and world events, rendering safeguards for fairness and equity obsolete in public institutions and within other entities that have long relied on federal funding. It is a madness that jeopardizes people’s lives by removing their sources for basic needs by enacting policies that translate into tax cuts for the extremely wealthy.

“Action” takes many forms. It happens in the form of protests with placards (and even with crawling), donatng money to organizations who committed to social justice, writing letters or attending town hall meetings with local, elected officials, starting or meeting regularly in groups to find ways to tune into one issue to help create a fairer existence for all people, teach children, your own or others, about making sense of what’s happening in their lives and modeling constructive actions described heSeeking evidence-based news to becomeming aware of the limitations of mainstream news meews is also an important strategy, especially at this time. 

These are perfect opportunities to show our light. For example, I applaud those who have publicly faced the struggle with persistence. These include elected officials like Rashid Tliab, the sole Palestinian-American elected to Congress, whose campaign against tax dollars to bomb the Gaza Strip has been relentless. Nikole Hannah-Jones felt she couldn’t resist responding to recent media attention from a celebrity who shared inaccurate knowledge about the enslavement of Africans and its impact on current society.

Joining them might mean sitting on a school board and saying little or nothing as others approve the adoption of school curriculum changes based on distorted knowledge.

I suggest another adage:  Whenever the struggle for justice seems insurmountable, then retool and persist in your actions.: You stay the course and act in ways that are consistent with your beliefs about fair and humane treatment for all humans. Everyone deserves fair and humane treatment.

Because whatever the outcome of the actions to urge justice, you’re at your best when you act against society’s madness.  

Boycotting 101:  Lessons I Learned This Month

I did it again. I purchased items at my local Lowe’s store, an establishment on my boycott list. The reasons for my descent into a boycotted store were good ones, at least for a boycotting newbie. The reasons? I already did my due diligence—online searching, calling another store to see if they had the item, and then discovering that the local store I intended to patronize charged more than twice as much for one of the items. And yet another reason:  I was squeezed between two appointments and felt spent from all the research. 

The saving grace is that Lowe’s used to be my go-to store, so having selected a few excellent alternatives over the past few months has dramatically reduced my shopping trips there. Incidentally, I live in an ageing house in need of many repairs and replacements, which is why I focus on home improvement.

Just a reminder: since taking this boycotting journey, I’ve become more conscious about spending money, which has become a real treat. My goal is to direct all my spending to a small group of vendors whose values closely align with my own, which means I no longer grab things at the local convenience store when I’m late for a meal. Instead, I carry the food I eat with me, at least most of the time. That means carrying around a freezer pack for my yogurt.

I’ve also found that I’m much more attuned to the quality of the products I purchase. Therefore, because I am spending less overall, I’m able to spend a tad more on a product I like. For example, I no longer buy Procter & Gamble products (like Tide, Colgate, and Dawn), and have found some excellent replacements that cost only slightly more.    

Cosmetics

The same sentiment about spending for quality applies to cosmetics. 

 I’ve worn makeup since I was 14. I was a super-shy and self-conscious teen who had acne breakouts and looked for anything to cover them up. I tried all kinds of makeup, some of which made me break out even worse. With the help of my parents, I went to a dermatologist who specialized in Black skin, and things improved significantly until I was on my own and too poor to continue the treatments and medications. It wasn’t until I was in my late 30s that I began to manage the acne better. 

Most recently, I’ve been pleased with a set of products from Black-owned companies that are plant-based, often vegan, and free of toxins. All are ethically produced. I like Laws of Nature ( and Plain Jane Beauty). And while we’re on the subject of naturally safe products, check out the Coalition for Safe Cosmetics. I recently discovered Well People Cosmetics for eyeliner and mascara. To the best of my knowledge, there are no Black-owned companies that produce these latter products. (But if you know of any, do let me know! chalmerthompson@gmail.com). 

By the way, I took this photo after sitting for about 40 minutes with a makeup artist. My sister, a filmmaker, invited me to an interview for her latest documentary and kindly treated me to this makeup session before the taping. (I take no more than 10 minutes to apply makeup on my own.)

And speaking of ethically-produced products, does anyone know the current status of toxins in synthetic hair products? Here’s a link to learn more.