28 Arrests at Meditation Road Block in Midst of Black Friday Crowds

EXTINCTION REBELLION NYC PROTESTED BLACK FRIDAY WITH BIG BOX STORE “WHIRL” AND BY BLOCKING ROADWAY AT HERALD SQUARE; APPROXIMATELY 28 ARRESTS MADE

With empathy, humility and frugality, we rebel for all life

New York, NY, 29 November 2019 — Today, Extinction Rebellion NYC, a branch of the international movement Extinction Rebellion, in protest against the appropriately-named annual Black Friday event, carried out two protests in Manhattan: a “whirl” at the “big box” store Bed Bath & Beyond, and the blocking of vehicular traffic with seated meditation on 34th Street at Herald Square, near the location of Macy’s and many other retail outlets.These actions targeted not just those particular stores, but the entire culture of  environmentally unsustainable consumerism. 

Extinction Rebellion branches all over the world are carrying out similar actions today, because countries in Europe and elsewhere have adopted the Black Friday “tradition,” even though those countries don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. We rebel in love and connection to tell the truth about this crisis and to protect life.

“Rampant consumerism has been deplored by countless social critics for decades,” said Susan Rubin, a member of Extinction Rebellion NYC. “But we can no longer simply bemoan it as a cultural practice or a moral failing, because we now know that consumerism is literally killing us. Just as advertising has gotten Americans into the habit of over-consuming on the day after Thanksgiving, so Extinction Rebellion is trying to get people into the habit of refraining from buying anything on that day, as well as buying much less throughout the year, in order to protect ourselves and future generations.”

These culture-jamming actions began Friday morning, with participants at Bed Bath & Beyond silently pushing empty shopping carts through the store, culminating in a lengthy chain of non-shoppers continually weaving and whirling through the aisles. Extinction Rebellion NYC members also handed out Buy Nothing holiday gift coupons outside the store, and performed a “die-in” in the store’s lobby. In this way, rebels called attention to the destruction of the environment and of other species, as well as to the exploitation and hazards faced by workers worldwide.

After the morning action, Extinction Rebellion NYC began a meditation session at noon at the main entrance to the New York Public Library at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street. Interfaith leaders from Buddhist, Jewish, Christian (Unitarian) and indigenous communities all urged participants in the protest to remember their necessary connection to the earth, and the irreversible destructiveness of rampant overexploitation of its resources.

The group of over 400 people then marched with their distinctive banners to Herald Square, where protesters sat down in the road to meditate. The police soon cleared the nonviolent protesters, and made an estimated 28 arrests. Along the pedestrian plaza, hundreds more joined in a mass meditation and in singing “Another World is Possible.”

Footage of the die-in at the whirl action can be found here. Footage of the Herald Square arrests can be found here.