A first hand account of the impact of Friday's "24 Hour Economic Blackout." [View all]

[PeaceWave]

In my car, driving to the Safeway in the Bay Area suburb where I live - the same store I have shopped at for decades - I am sincerely curious as to the effects of the much hyped "24 Hour Economic Blackout." The county where I live (along with all the other counties in the Bay Area) was easily won by Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential election. Perhaps the battle cry for economic change would resonate more here in this bastion of liberalism, I thought. But, as I approach the store, what I find is similar to every other Friday at this suburban grocery store surrounded by small restaurants and various eateries. The parking lot is filled to near capacity at a little past Noon (not unusual since the pandemic ushered in a wave of remote employment throughout the Bay Area). Plenty of people are out and about enjoying a splendid sunny afternoon in Northern California. Colorful fiberglass helmets float atop the nearby regional trail, weaving their way through and past joggers shimmering with perspiration under the bright sun. First impressions that a rebellion is in the works are anything but promising.

As I get out of my car, I scan the frontage of the Safeway. I can feel my stomach churn slightly. Is that a group of protestors I see just outside the entrance to the store? Am I about to be bullied by a suburban version of Che Guevara brandishing a day old French baguette who's going to scold me for my brazen embrace of Capitalism as evidenced by my desire to catch some Friday food specials? As I get closer, I realize that what I see is just three soccer moms and their kids catching up on family events. Anything my gut is feeling is more likely the after effect of the probiotic pill I took the night before. Entering the store, I again look for any sign of true change. No again. The queue to reach the deli and Starbucks counters are just as annoyingly long as ever. Then again, it occurs to me, wouldn't any revolution worth its weight in coffee beans have to be fueled with at least a few Venti sized Frappuccinos? The lady behind the counter waves to me. She bikes to work. I admire her eschewing of the combustion engine. Her routine is her defiant act against a world reaching its RPM threshold.

Meandering through the various aisles of the store, filling my cart with all the usual suspects (many of which I will later need to cop to at my equivalent of confession - the doctor's office), I spot another worker stocking shelves. "Have you had any fewer customers today with this economic blackout going on?" I ask. Turning from arranging the big spice display before her, "What's that?" she asks. "People online were saying there would be an economic blackout today. No shopping for 24 hours." Her brow furrows a bit. "Not that I've noticed. Who started it?" I realize that I don't really have an answer. To this day, the creators of "viral" content remain elusive to me, the Wizard of Oz before Toto pulled back the curtain. A few minutes later, my cart now full, I move on to the checkout counter. One of my favorite checkers, a man in his 30's who attends junior college at night, ushers me through. Swiping my debit card, I ask. "Did you hear about this 24 hour economic blackout?" Surveying the job being done by the teenaged bagger at his side, he responds "Did I hear about it? Yes. Did I actually see it? Nope."

Maybe things are different over at Target, I thought. It wouldn't hurt to try. I wouldn't want to miss out on anything.