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Olivand Jasper

@oliegator.bsky.social

A they/them white settler in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Mi'kma'ki, Turtle Island (Canada). I write sometimes and get angry a lot.

Posts Replies Media

Olivand Jasper @oliegator.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

A #poem to capture a lovely day with friends. It felt good to write from joy instead of pain or rage. I'm thankful I'm allowed to sit on the shore and swim as I please. #Palestinians in #Gaza are often murdered for this. #Israel kills kids #cdnpoli olivandjasper.wordpress.com/2025/07/06/d...

a photo of a lake with sand on the close shore and evergreens on the far shore, all bathed in sunlight. The water is rippled. The sky is blue with white clouds being blown to the horizon. A person's shadow comes from the right and there's a couple forgotten objects in the sand. A poem is written over the left top of the photo, mostly clouds.
The poem in the image:
A checkerboard of white and blue,
and the sometimes gusting wind—
this early summer's day by the lake,
picturesque and chill,
was warmed by friends, new and old,
with far more tea to spill.

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Olivand Jasper @oliegator.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

The #NDP sent me an email today regarding one of the NS candidates. Following is an image of the email and my response. Tldr: Rana Zaman, Tammy Jakeman, and Jessica Wetz all stood up for Palestine, but the NDP didn't stand up for them. #freepalestine #Solidarity #feminism

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Olivand Jasper @oliegator.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Regarding consumer strikes and economic blackouts. A Facebook post from Catmin's Anticapitalist Treehouse of Solidarity: 'Goddamnit, here we fucking go again, huh?' #polisky #leftist #leftists #freepalestine

A Facebook post from Catmin's Anticapitalist Treehouse of Solidarity: Goddamnit, here we fucking go again, huh?

Somewhere in the vast wilderness of social media, an idea was born. Not a good idea, not even a coherent one, but an idea nonetheless: a one-day “economic blackout” to teach the corporations a lesson.

Now, what is an economic blackout, you ask? Well, it appears to mean doing nothing. No shopping, no gas, no online orders, no credit cards—for exactly 24 hours. The logic, such as it is, holds that by refraining from commerce for a single day, we will send a powerful message to the ruling elite.

And what is that message? That some people will buy their coffee on Wednesday instead of Thursday? That billionaires should beware, for a brave band of internet activists has momentarily resisted the siren song of Taco Bell?

The problem, of course, is that this does nothing.

Capitalism doesn’t blink when you skip a grocery run.

Corporations don’t panic when you delay a purchase.

There’s no cumulative damage, no actual leverage.

Just a handful of people patting themselves on the back for an act of pure symbolism. It is the protest equivalent of holding your breath for a minute. Maybe you’ll feel a tiny twinge of discomfort yourself, but no one else will notice or care.

And yet, these kinds of performative one-day “consumer boycotts” go viral again and again because they require no sacrifice, no coordination, and no real effort. They’re easy, self-contained, and most importantly, they don’t scare anyone with power.

Compare this to something that does work: open-ended labor strikes.

A labor strike requires organizing, solidarity, and strategic planning. It requires people to risk their jobs in order to withhold something irreplaceable: their labor.

And when workers do this together, in numbers large enough to grind production to a halt, they create real, undeniable pressure.

It’s the difference between casually skipping Starbucks for a day and shutting down an entire supply chain.

That’s why labor strikes are hard. They demand real planning, real courage, real risk. And that’s why corporations and the government will go to extraordinary lengths to crush them.

But a one-day consumer boycott? That’s not a threat. That’s a distraction.

It’s a pacifier.

And worse, it siphons energy away from actual organizing, letting people believe they’ve “taken action” when they’ve done nothing at all.

So if you really want to shake the system, don’t waste your time on performative nonsense like one-day “economic blackouts.”

Organize.

Strike.

Build power where it actually matters.

Because history isn’t made by people who briefly inconvenience themselves by shifting their shopping one day.

It’s made by people who are willing to withhold their labor from the system and refuse to return to work until they win.

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Olivand Jasper @oliegator.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

We don't make Comfort Zone dollars in this house. #canadasky

Photo showing an old electric heat wall thermostat with Fahrenheit. Between 60 degrees and 80, the words "Comfort Zone" are written.

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Olivand Jasper @oliegator.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

I can't express how much I love this tiny creature. My Peanut has surgery 21/01, because lops have poorly designed faces so she needs help clearing an infection. If you feel want to help, she'd appreciate you urging your representatives to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza. #bunsky #bunnies

A soft, taupe bunny sits on a pale, mixed colour carpet on a medium brown hardwood floor with metal grating and cardboard behind you. She can get the medical care she needs, but not a single child, sibling, or parent in Gaza can access food, clean water, or medicine.

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