Dear friends,

Many of us have seen the news from Minneapolis (and elsewhere) about the unconstitutional use of force from ICE and DHS. It seems like an obvious thing to say, but just in case there's any doubt: this is terrible and we wish it would stop.

But you might wonder, what can we do? Well—we can start by not spending any money tomorrow.

A "National Shutdown" is taking place tomorrow, January 30th. On this day, anyone who's able to stay home from work or school is encouraged to do so.

Not everyone can do that, of course. But we can also not SHOP tomorrow. One thing the Administration seems to pay attention to is economic impact, so it's time to send a message.

All across the U.S., lots of businesses are closing for a day to avoid sending any transaction costs through the financial system—and so are we.

Ticket Sales Paused for 24 Hours

We support this effort. Starting at midnight tonight, we'll turn off ticket sales on the site for 24 hours.

How does this affect you?

• Haven't registered yet? You can still sign up today! Or on Saturday. Just not tomorrow.
• Registered attendees—no action needed. Just wanted to keep you in the loop. We'll be doing more in solidarity with immigrant and migrant groups at the event in March, so stay tuned.
• Expo vendors—if you owe us money for something, just wait until after the weekend to pay.

Last but not least: I know it's easy to feel hopeless in the midst of very scary situations. But there's always something we can do, so consider not buying anything for a day an easy first step. (Take it from me: I order DoorDash almost every day! And sometimes I shop at Amazon. But I won't be doing either of those things tomorrow.)

And of course, I look forward to sharing more about NeuroDiversion topics again soon. 🙂

In solidarity,

Chris Guillebeau
Founder and Janitor

P.S. Learn more about the shutdown at NationalShutdown.org.

P.S. International friends: we know many of you are watching these events with concern as well. Many financial transactions are tied to the U.S. even in other countries—so if you'd like to participate in solidarity, go for it. 🤗