Some people climb Everest. We decided to bring down a giant corporation. Because it was there. It isn’t anymore.
It wasn’t about protest or politics or ideology. I don’t care about any of that. None of the half million people who participated with me cared about that stuff either. We were just tired of being powerless, ignored, taken for granted.
Corporations, at least the big ones, appear to be invincible. That’s why we targeted one. That’s the only reason.
So, anyway, I talked with my ex-husband who was a big businesses man back in the day. He told me about all the weak spots. That’s how I got the ball rolling.
I talked it over with some friends, my crochet group. We decided to target the second biggest oil company. We figured it would be easier than tasking down the biggest one and that the biggest one would be pretty pliable after that anyway.
We had an assist from the economy. The downturn lowered the demand for oil so prices we down. These guys needed revenue—bad. But they had friends and they found opportunities worldwide. They weren’t too worried about weathering the storm until we arrived on the scene.
I wrote the CEO a letter and I tried to hand deliver it, but the guards wouldn’t let me inside. So, I stood in front of the corporate HQ and handed out copies of the letter. I’m attractive, young, black and visibly pregnant, so the media decided I would make a good visual. I was picked up on local news and inevitably worldwide via YouTube. My image and letter became famous overnight.
It was a couple of steps from there to a highly decentralized national (and even international) movement.
They tried using police and then the National Guard to stop us—but targeting women pushing strollers containing small children and spraying them with mace—or bullets—seemed like a bad idea, so they backed off. They tried to smear us with words, but boring guys in suits are just boring.
Our message—listen to the people, not the corporations—dominated.
We declared victory when Delaware revoked the oil company’s corporate charter. The remnants of the corporation were auctioned off. Politicians all of sudden noticed we are alive and they are trying to win us over. But we’re running our own candidates.
See you next year at the White House.