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Buy Nothing Day


Today is National Buy Nothing Day.

National Buy Nothing Day one of the campaigns promoted by Adbusters. Adbusters is a media organization and magazine that supports social activism aimed at combating the destructive forces inherent in capitalism. Much of this effort is focused on waging "meme warfare" against mindless consumerism. National Buy Nothing Day is an example of this.

In an attempt to push back on the frantic shopping going on today--Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year,  some have described as "the most dangerous day of the year for Christians". Recently Pope Francis warned about the "idolatry of money" claming that our current culutles obsession with money is hurting the old, the young and the poor.

And if you want to do more than opt out Adbusters encourages a variety of culture jamming activities. A list of activities from Wikipedia that people have done for National Buy Nothing Day:

  • Credit card cut up: Participants stand in a shopping mall, shopping center, or store with a pair of scissors and a poster that advertises help for people who want to put an end to mounting debt and extortionate interest rates with one simple cut.
  • Zombie walk: Participant "zombies" wander around shopping malls or other consumer havens with a blank stare. When asked what they are doing participants describe Buy Nothing Day.
  • Whirl-mart: Participants silently steer their shopping carts around a shopping mall or store in a long, baffling conga line without putting anything in the carts or actually making any purchases.
  • Wildcat General Strike: A strategy used for the 2009 Buy Nothing Day where participants not only do not buy anything for twenty-four hours but also keep their lights, televisions, computers and other non-essential appliances turned off, their cars parked, and their phones turned off or unplugged from sunrise to sunset.
  • Buy Nothing Day hike: Rather than celebrating consumerism by shopping, participants celebrate The Earth and nature.
Granted some of this might sound a bit odd. Whatever you might think about Adbusters postion they do have at least one point. That is . . . money rules, money talks, money supplies our needs, money provides happiness and so on. Nothing new here yet often we forget about the damage done to ourselves and others when all we do is consume.

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