[Rockitz]

I personally went out after work and after my class that ended at 7pm and spent $820.46 before 9pm. I know there were a lot of other FReepers out there doing the same. Add it up and post it here. I'll summarize the top "in yo' face" counter-protest efforts on Saturday.

[Darkshadow]

I spent $240 on a new digital camera and a 1GB memory card.

[GrandmaPatriot]

Over $1,000. We saved our spending so we could do it today. Bought a hearing aid for grandpa, some shopping at Wal Mart and Office Max and of course groceries. Loved the thought of spending today to show the illegals.

[Serenissima Venezia]

I'm not telling! (One of you might tell my husband.)

[LegendHasIt]

I spent about $400 above and beyond the usual. Most 'frivilous' purchase was a new stereo for my 'beater' off road vehicle. Also picked up a larger American Flag for the front of the house... Made in America (NJ) amazingly enough!

---

Here is my report on today’s situation locally

Just for background: I live in a small mountain resort town 140 miles from the border… Until the last few years, despite our proximity to the border, we didn’t have a big hispanic population locally (other than old Spanish families that have been here for 200 years, who are ‘more American than most ‘white’ Americans’).

Population here has about doubled in the last few years. And about 3/4 the new people are Mexicans; I won’t say that any particular percentage of them are illegal, but in public places like stores, restraunts and etc. you are just as likely to hear Spanish being spoken as English around here these days, and a lot of them seem to be unable to speak any English at all, or very limited 'pidgin' English mat best.

Looking around today I only saw three restraunts closed. One of the local Italian food places and the other two were Mexican food places that are both owned by a (nice) ‘Green Carded’ LEGAL Mexican alien family; But they employ mostly non-english speaking and very likely illegal aliens.

Post Office was just about deserted mid-afternoon and late afternoon when I went by…. Usually about 10 people in the lobby at mid-afternoon, 15-20 people late afternoon.

Stopped by a convenience store for a soda; Business there is normal. There was a young, non-English speaking hispanic man in front of me in the checkout line purchasing eight money orders… So after making everyone in the checkout line waste fifteen minutes each, it looks like ‘remittances’ are continuing apace today.

The ‘tourist traps’ along the mid-town main road were pretty quiet, but that may just as likely be because it is Monday and we are ‘between seasons’ here… But it seemed to me to be a little quieter there than I would have expected.

The bars seem to have about 1/2 the normal vehicles in their parking lots this early evening. Restraunts are very busy though.

Spent a lot of time in Walmart. It was pretty crowded; about 90% of the normal number of shoppers; Under normal circumstances, at any given time about 80% of the customers in the store are obviously Mexican. Today though, only about 10% of them for the three hours I was there were obviously hispanic.

A lot of people were pulling /pushing two full carts, so I wasn’t the only one doing the ’shop til you drop’ thing… So, I don’t think that our local Walmart will notice much of a reduction of income today despite a 70% reduction of one particular group of customers. There is a Subway sandwich shop inside Walmart here… It was packed, about double or triple the number of people there as is usual for the time of day I was there.

Had to go to Checker Auto Parts twice this afternoon. Seemed to be fewer people in there than normal, but the cashier said that business today is about normal in terms of money coming in, even though fewer people.

The grocery store was about as busy as normal, but noticably fewer ‘Hispanic faces and voices’ than is common there. Cashier said that she didn’t notice any less money going into the register than usual.

Lot of new local street and sidewalk repair / construction projects begun today. I noticed quite a few ‘obviously Hispanic’ people working on those projects as I drove around town.

Didn’t see ANY Mexican flags today; Usually see several (bumper stickers and the like) on any given day. No protesters, picketers or immigration related signs etc. were to be seen.

Normally, I see at least five (and often many times that) Mexican license plates on vehicles on any given day. Didn’t see any today.

I did get a compliment on the embroidered US Flag patch on my shirt pocket from a cashier at the drug store; That was about the only nationalistic, cultural or ‘patriotic’ thing I saw or heard locally today.

[Stat Man]

I spent about $15, plus my health. (I'm disabled with a disease that stays barely under control only if I do absolutely nothing... I can go out of the house from time to time, but if I do, there's a high probability I'll spend part of the next day sick in bed.) I live in the non-Hispanic part of San Pedro (LA harbor neighborhood) and checked to see which of my local eateries would not be getting my business ever again. Our favorite Mexican restaurant was indeed closed, as also was a cafe/grill that makes everything fairly well. So we ate at the second best Mexican place, which was open and will be getting more business from us from this point forward.

[Rastus]

Only about $46 all told, but I did find a couple of local Mexican restaurants to never go to again.

[joebd_man]

About $400: at Hechts (Mothers Day presents), Dicks Sporting Goods (ahem, small metal projectiles in boxes of 50) and Giant supermarket (red wine in copious quantities while a pro-immigrant demonstration was taking place next to the parking lot).

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Not much monetarily, but symbolically, wife, friends and I went to a local Gringo owned eatery, and pigged out on their Monday special of 50 cent tacos, and washed them down with a cold pitcher of Gringo cerveza.

[drew]

Well, I had to get a brake job for my car today, so I took it to my local mechanic, who is a Chicano. He was, bless him, open and because he was slow today (he gets a lot of business from other Latinos and said he thought he wasn't busy because of the marches) he finished my car in no time. So I chipped in 135 bucks against the boycott and to a Mexican-American business owner who defied the madness. Makes me feel warm all over.

[opinionator]

I boycotted Taco Bell.

[singfreedom]

Hubby and I signed the contract (and paid the money) for a new sunroom and we bought lawn furniture. Total=$28647.29

[Salamander]

$350 on ebay for a DVD/VHS recorder with HDMI upconversion.
$200+ for plumbing/electrical supplies.
$150 on two 5' Dwarf Hinoki Cypress [it *is* May Day, ya know]
$44 on large pots for the shrubs.
Hubby spent a couple hundred on various body/paint supplies for the motorcycles...not sure of the exact total.
$6 for the June issue of 'American Iron'.
$8 for notepads.
[and another $8 on Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips]....LOL!

[RexFamilia]

Greetings from West Africa.

I wonder if there are statics on how many illegals did not pick up their welfare check on may 1, how many did not go to emergency clinic, the number of hit and run accidents, stabbings, muggings etc.

It would be interesting to compare may 1 2006 to a typical day in CONUS.

[gattaca]

I went to see United 93, saw some real American heros.

[bondjamesbond]

I went out and blew about $160 at the Lowes Garden Center. I figured they would be hurting most, except for maybe Home Depot. And I just can't work up any warm fuzzies for Home Depot, no matter how hard I try.

[Carl LaFong]

I spent about $100-included a trip to Wal Mart for a bag of Rold Gold pretzels-(they were out of the wheel spray paint I neede in the Auto dept-damn Bush!)

[grania]

KMart: $58.00, including something with a Martha Stewart tag, since she went to jail for (supposedly) breaking the law.

Boutique: $59.00 for made-in-USA dress.

Meals, snacks: $28.00.

Normally, I would've spent $6.00 yesterday

Total: $145.00

[visualops]

I did what I could- stopped at the grocery store on the way home and spent $20.
I will say it was just as busy as usual.
The only businesses I noticed closed were the insulation place next door to where I work, and a construction site I pass on the way home.

What struck me funny was many of these businesses shown on TV that closed were hispanic. I think the main economic impact will be a day-short paycheck.

[P8riot]

I bought a new Sig Sauer yesterday, and 150 rds of ammo to go with it.

[oblomov]

I bought a chair (made in the US) at Pottery Barn for $1350.