Today, in addition to being the biggest consumer debt orgy of the year, is Buy Nothing Day.
Now in its 15th year, the popular Buy Nothing Day is celebrated every November by environmentalists, social activists and concerned citizens in as many as 65 countries.
Timed to coincide with Black Friday (this year on Friday, November 23) in the United States, where the cheerful dead wander around malls, marveling at the blank, comatose expressions on the faces of shoppers, and the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season internationally (on Saturday, November 24), the festival takes many shapes, from relaxed family outings, to free, non-commercial street parties, to politically charged public protests.
Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending.
Buy Nothing Christmas is not really about refusing to spend a dime over the holiday season. It’s about taking a deep breath and deciding to opt out of the hype‚ the overcrowded malls‚ and the stressful to–do lists. It’s about reminding ourselves to really think about what we are buying‚ why we are buying it‚ and whether we really need it at all.
Retailers around the globe are pushing consumers to spend, spend and spend some more in their efforts to salvage what has been deemed as the worst shopping year in decades. You would think the churches would condemn the efforts of the retailers because the real meaning of Christmas is rarely addressed at the malls.
Perhaps we should all wait until tomorrow, then, to buy a ticket to What Would Jesus Buy, a documentary produced by Morgan Spurlock of “Super Size Me!” fame.
It’s billed as “the movie Santa doesn’t want you to see!”
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3 comments:
I work for a multi million dollar internet company and right now purchases with stolen credit cards are getting out of control.
We spend more time verifying credit cards because of all of the thieves.
Shopping today is stupid. More credit cards will be stolen and used today than any other day of the year. The retailers are just too busy saying cha-ching to notice. Too bad for them most of the purchases will be disputed and charged back.
Shopping today because the retailers tell you to is what's stupid. Have we turned into a nation of fucking lemmings that blindly follow what anyone tells them?
Not MY America.
Went to the mall today to see if the retailers are cutting prices fearing low sales. Nope, no good sales at all.
I did check out a few coats to see if practical stuff was on sale. Not much for the women, but dam, they were practically giving away the mens coats. What's up with that?
Read today that the retailers had a good weekend so far. Guess the credit card companies are the ones that will pay. Americans will never stop shopping as long as there are credit cards. Don't care for credit card companies so if they suffer that's okay with me. Until the banks and Wall Street suffer nobody will acknowledge that personal finances are in a shambles.
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