If You Got It, Spend It Day: It's For The Childrentm
Today is the official AdBusters Buy Nothing Day. It's a day when all the culture jammers keep their hard earned money in their pockets to send a message to corporate America that overconsumption will kill us all in the end.
Not in my backyard, kiddies. Today is If You Got It, Spend It Day. Hell, even if you don't got it, buy it.
Send a message to the world that we are gathered as one to keep our economy going. Send a message to the buy-nothing supporters that it is about the economy, stupid.
While the culture jammers will be having "swap meets, teach-ins, concerts, street theatre, credit-card cut-ups, postering, potlucks," instead of shopping, particpants of Got It, Spend It Day will be tearing up the aisles in toy stores looking for that Princess Barbie, swapping discount coupons, eating at chain restaurants and creating origami with their mile long store receipts.
While the Ad Busters believe that "Over consumption is mother of all our environmental problems," we believe that under consumption is the mother of all economical problems. While they say "the more you consume, the less you live," we say...umm, right.
Now, we are not suggesting that your run out to your nearsest mall or K-Mart on this Black Friday. Anyone who ventures out to a store on this special day has to be insane. No, just sit in front of your computer and click away. Shop through catalogs. Order over the phone. You don't have to leave your house to
participate!
Anyone who is a parent knows what will happen if you hand out gift exemption vouchers to relatives in lieu of exchaning presents. There will be mutinity. Let's face it, our kids aren't Ned Flanders' kids. They won't get excited over an imaginary Christmas.
So buy something today. Buy anything. Just don't buy nothing. Do it For The Childrentm
Comments
Does grocery shopping count?
I'm saving my money for Warley tommorrow - I managed to spend a grand there last year - and none of it was Xmas presents; all toys for me!
And almost all of it supported small businesses, not big multinationals.
Posted by: Tim Hall | November 29, 2002 10:49 AM
Not only am I buying shit today, I'm going to do it at Disney!!!
Muwaahahahahahahaa!!!!
Evil is my one and only naaaame!!!
Posted by: Sekimori | November 29, 2002 11:34 AM
while I dig some of the things AdBusters does, and I agree with some of the philosophy behind buy nothing day, I would be at those long-line crazed shoppers sales if I had any money. I'm participating in buy nothing day, but only because I have nothing to spend.
I know kids of radicals (my generation's and my kid's) who have had to deal with present-less holidays, who instead get to do things like go clean up a vacant lot or attend social events with their parents that serve vegan food and talk about social and political issues. I've lived next to Berkeley all my life, and a lot of that sort of radicalism has rubbed off on my personal philosophies. But damn, the winter holidays are really for our kids. Really. Yeah it's commercialized as fuck but it's all about making our kids happy, ain't it? And no kid wants to go play outside on Christmas day, or go back to school after vacation, and tell the other kids that they got no presents.
Posted by: starmama | November 29, 2002 12:23 PM
Lunchtime was spent dodging war and fur protesters so that I could shop, do I rate a "hazzard-pay" pat-on-the-head? After work I'll probably brave the mall, too. Cover me, I'm going in!
Posted by: Kat | November 29, 2002 01:46 PM
Yee-haw! Off to CD Now for some new albums...gotta get the new Johnny Cash album...Tom Petty...Flaming Lips...Janacek...Ligeti...Xmas comes early!
Posted by: Toren | November 29, 2002 02:02 PM
i'm not allowed to xmas shop this year, because everybody i know's out of work and can't reciprocate. but i bought a $40 tree and a bunch of other cool decorative stuff. and brandy. for my eggnog. dammit.
Posted by: tanya | November 29, 2002 03:09 PM
I'm doing my part to support the US Grand Imperialistic Hegemon and War Machine ™ by buying a bunch of CDs.
And books. I need more books.
Posted by: Pearl | November 29, 2002 03:50 PM
Good grief, Michele, you got me so fired up I actually went to K-Mart. And survived! I've never shopped on Black Friday before. It wasn't all that bad after all.
Posted by: Dean Douthat | November 29, 2002 05:53 PM
However, economically speaking, one of our greatest weaknesses is a continued dependence on increased expenditure by consumer, which can only increase so much.
I mean, credit debt is ballooning, people aren't getting paid any more, and the entire economic cycle is becoming more and more dependent on people spending money they don't really have on things they don't really need to satisfy a desire that isn't really there.
Showing that we can waste all of our money on mass-produced crap doesn't show anyone anything except that we likes our junk. My thing is, you're going to contribute just as much to the economy if you take that money you were going to spend on the Collector's Edition DVD set of the Batman movies and use it to pay off your credit card bill - the credit card company will have money flowing in, you'll have less debt, and you might even get your credit limit extended, thereby making it easier for you to eventually get that car or those renovations or simply the things that will make you happier, rather than poorer. Binge shopping is simply dumb.
Posted by: jesse | November 30, 2002 03:43 PM
Jesse, I don't own a single credit card. All I have is cash, my checking account and a debit card, which are all one in the same thing. I don't pay a dime of interest to retail or credit card companies.
I don't have any credit card debt and the things that make me happy are the things that make poorer. I'm of the school that you can't take it with you, so enjoy it while you are here.
Thanks for the advice, though.
Posted by: michele | November 30, 2002 03:57 PM
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news), the world's biggest retailer, on Saturday reported record one-day sales on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that retailers hope will jump-start sluggish sales.
1.43 Billion Dollars (yup...that's a hell of a lot of donuts there). I think AdBusters just got the Michael Mooring of its life. Well done America.
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Posted by: Tawnee Stone | November 5, 2003 04:23 PM
Thanks Michele! I almost failed to find something worth buying today, but I was so moved by your call to arms that I did add to the evil corporate machines. And since I live in Canada, there's no long weekend so I don't feel that I wasted "family time" by going to the stores.
Full details on my own blog. Shameless plug? Of course. Just trying to get into the spirit of things!
Hope your If You Got It, Spend It Day was as fun as mine!
Posted by: Kelvin | November 29, 2003 12:31 AM