May 1 General Strike
On May 1, I will be participating in the general strike.
I’m doing it because something is deeply wrong with a country where a handful of people hold unimaginable wealth while millions struggle to afford rent, groceries, and healthcare.
I do not believe billionaires should exist. I believe their existence is evidence of a failed system. No one builds that kind of wealth alone. That level of wealth is built on the labor of workers and the money of consumers.
Too many companies squeeze workers and customers at the same time. They cut quality, cut wages, cut jobs, and still raise prices. They do not see lower costs as a chance to help ordinary people. They see it as another chance to fill their pockets.
The economy in this country runs on our labor, our spending, and our attention. That means ordinary people have more power than we are often told. A strike is one way to use that power and remind the wealthy who this economy truly depends on.
On May 1, I will not be going to work. I will not be making any purchases. I will be reviewing my subscriptions and cutting anything I do not need. And I will be staying off social media, because tech billionaires profit from our attention just as much as other industries profit from our labor and spending.
And instead, I’ll be doing things that make me feel human again. I’ll go for a hike. I’ll play board games with friends and chat with my neighbors. I’ll spend time in the real world, with real people, doing things that remind me life is supposed to be more than work, consumption, and screens.
One day will not fix a broken system. But it can remind us that we do not have to give every hour, every dollar, and every bit of our attention to the people at the top. We can step back. We can reconnect. And we can remind ourselves that change starts when ordinary people move together.
I also want to acknowledge that not everyone is in a position to fully participate in a strike. Some people work in healthcare, emergency response, caregiving, and other essential roles that communities rely on. I respect that completely. This is not about purity. It is about doing what you can, where you can, and remembering that even small acts of refusal and solidarity still matter.
