A friend shared this video earlier today on Facebook and it got me thinking about the complexity of protests, boycotts, and fighting for justice in America. This video hints at some of the intricacies of attempting to defeat structures that are exploiting people in a 21st century economy.
Who funds the Dakota Access Pipeline? It’s not just an evil corporation primarily motivated by greed. These corporations are funded by OUR (collective our) increasing demand to consume cheaply. 

Dakota Access Pipeline is owned by Dakota Access, LLC, which is a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners. Energy Transfer Partners also owns SUNCO. When was the last time you gassed up at SUNCO? Or drove around town to find cheaper gas? 

Do we collectively pull our money from Wells Fargo, HSBC, Bank of America, or TD Securities? What happens to the jobs that rely on these investment sources dry up? Will the entire system collapse?

Consider this, Pension Funds, IRAs, and Mutual Funds own nearly three-fourths of holdings in Big Oil companies. Meaning that most Americans who have some sort of retirement plan or investment fund is benefitting from oil profits and probably will financially benefit from the Dakota Access Pipeline (Who Owns Big Oil).

In many cases, our stock portfolios are so diversified, that the common person has no real idea of where their money is invested. Many pensions and retirement plans are invested in private prisons, gun and weapon companies, but the lineage is so far removed and difficult to comprehend. Many of us could be (and probably are) unwittingly giving incremental subsidies to the same corporations that we protest on social media and boycott publicly.

Have you ever mapped out your family tree? How long did that process take you? I’ve been working on my family tree for nearly a decade and there is so much information I am still missing. Now Imagine the corporate investment and corporate ownership structure to be very similar to a family tree. 

Dick Gregory made a recent appearance on the Roland Martin show and he described how he was also to blame for killing children in Syria (starts at 4:40mark). Because his money, on which he pays taxes, supports the government military operations. 

Even if we manage to figure all of this out, and pull all of our finances from these corporations, our tax dollars will continue to work to support a system that degrades our environment and brutalizes humanity. How can we fight a system when we ourselves are so entangled in the process? Our homes, our schools, our roads, our transportation, all benefit from this injustice (and many others)

How can we balance the two interest that are at odds? Any suggestions you have are welcomed.