the paradox of buy nothing day

I am greatly impressed by the ASCII art but I have no idea what it is.

That said, I cancelled my subscription to Adbusters when they seemed to suggest that ADHD was a disorder invented by pharmaceuticals companies (I work with kids who'd be lost without the medications that treat ADHD), so I'm not the hairy-fisted lefty I paint myself as/tend to pose as when my ears get hot

On a mailing list I subscribe to one poster mentioned that she spends the day after Thanksgiving switching from her summer to her fall/winter wardrobe, and culling clothes from these to give to Goodwill. I thought that was a great idea, as is Maura's credit card cutting plans.

And I agree with those who find it distasteful to hassle the retail staff. Has anyone come up with any ideas that would strike at management?

right but I'm talking about the possibility for outreach, here. Surely the goal of actions like this is to expand consciousness beyond the realm of those who would already be aware of Adbusters? I doubt that retail workers who had their worst day of the year compounded by a bunch of people who thought it would be 'funny' to buy-then-immediately-return en masse would be very likely to be receptive to any rationalization behind those actions.

and that's why i said that i thought some of the ideas -- like the credit card one, and the Goodwill-culling idea that jel posted -- were worthwhile. What with the opinion of the left in the US not being so high at the moment, actions that will result in those outside the base to relate to their intentions on a practical level would be a lot more effective than Wal-Mart whirling (wheeling an empty art around a Wal-Mart for an hour in an attempt to "get noticed") or practicing tai chi outside a Starbucks. And both of those protests were proposed by readers on the BND Web site, which I spent a fair amount of time reading last night, because I do think that protests against consumerism are important. I just don't think actions that are ultimately counteractive are the best way to go -- and if anything, protests that affect the front lines of retail first worsen the situation, because it's not like upper management, who's being protested against in the first place, is in the affected sphere anyway.

This is why I'm also not so keen on harassing telemarketers, even though they annoy the shit out of me.

Change "counteractive" to "counter-productive" and I agree 100%.

*boggles*

I love this thread. Mostly middle class people patronising other mostly middle class people because they are patronising.

Has no one here actually done a shit job?

How is one day of having a bunch of self-confessed jokers messing with you any worse than the rest of the year, when you're messed about without it being acknowledged? It relieves the fucking boredom, maybe? That's bad!

education campaign about waste

Ha! These four words! Do it, ya crazy bastard!

Has no one here actually done a shit job?

This is a bit presumptuous - I spend all day working with neglected/abused children for a laughably low wage, by which I mean quoting it inspires comments like "oh my God there's nothing I'd do for such pathetic pay" - unless "middle class" is codespeak for something else, I don't think I qualify

'Shit job' doesn't mean every lowly paid job. Presumably you think what you do is useful.

Do Gap workers believe in Gap?

i hate both sides of the argument

i want a new argument

and new people making it

i am going to buy a spaceship today

i bought a purse today
http://www.theclothinggallery.com/store/images/000_0682.jpg
it's like this but about half the size and w/ a long shoulder strap. $30!

I would like to say that I did not buy gasoline today.

Oh, wait. that's something else.

Okay this is the stupidest thing I have read in the world (from Reuters):

Ebay said in a statement that shoppers are browsing and researching more on Friday, but buying more on the Monday after Thanksgiving, or "Cyber Monday."

i hope tracer figured it out, why this was yesterday.

i haven't bought shit for several days because I am broke

OTM

lol @ "Cyber Monday"

and yes resource depletion, environmental degradation and reduced ecological health is kinda funny to me tee hee hey I'm just sayin

mod plz add breathalyser posting locks

??? 2nd to last comment???

It's like Ethan's thread abt that vexing Slate article...http://consumerist.com/consumer/black-friday/frys-employees-sell-opportunity-to-cut-black-friday-line-326118.php

$$$???

No, and that's the real problem, isn't it. People are happy to use the whole "EVERYONE NEEDS A DAY OF REST, SPEND IT W/ YR FAMILY" arguments like they cancel out religion -- for instance in Bergen County, NJ where the GARDEN STATE PLAZA, this fookin massive mall, is closed on Sun (thereby making every major road for miles in any direction IMPASSABLE on Saturdays because EVERYONE has to go RIGHT THEN), but it's not even the proscribed "day of rest" for an increasing number of NJ residents.

-- Laurel, Friday, November 23, 2007 5:02 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Link

Laurel have you been to the Costco in Hackensack? They let you buy food and essentials but all the clothing and electronics and such are roped off on Sunday. A bizarre resonance of this is that the string around those areas reminds me of that Orthodox Jewish string that's used to section off areas in which sabbath rules don't apply (I forget the name), which is especially funny since the people most affected by the blue laws are Bergen County's large population of Orthodox Jews.

The only law I know about being invalidated by the eruv is the prohibition against carrying objects outside your home. I think symbolically it makes everything encircled into one household? So you can, like, carry an umbrella (I guess) or carry your children to shul or push a stroller or whatever. Otherwise if yr kids can't walk there, someone has to stay home with them.

Yeah, that sounds right. Anyway, I just thought it was funny that the string that keeps Jews from buying certain stuff on Sunday looked like a reverse eruv.

They use velvet ropes and chains down here in the South on Sundays.

Only in the beer aisle, tho'.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/11/28/2008-11-28_worker_dies_at_long_island_walmart_after.html

Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede
BY JOE GOULD
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Updated Friday, November 28th 2008, 11:20 AM

A Wal-Mart worker died after being trampled when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island store Friday morning, police and witnesses said.

The 34-year-old worker, employed as an overnight stock clerk, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.

Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him...

horrifying

I can totally imagine the look that would be on this commenter's face if he were saying this to you in person:

When I only heard that this happened at a Long Island Walmart, I just knew it had to be the Valley Stream store. To those who don't know the area, the customers at this Walmart and the adjacent Green Acres Mall are predominantly residents of southeastern Queens, so the demographics of Valley Stream do not provide an accurate portrayal of who was most likely in that crowd of savages. For a little perspective on what it's like in that area, the movie theater outside Green Acres had to install metal detectors because of a shooting a few years ago. You can read between the lines and draw your own conclusions.

Jesus, a quick meander thru Youtube has walmart/best buy black friday stampede & riot vids from the last 3 years from across the country, including one from 2005 where a lady did fall in the initial rush and had to be helped out by EMTs

I worked at Walmart on one Black Friday and it was the worse day of work I've ever had in my life. And I've been threatened by crackheads at one of my other jobs!

Buy Nothing Day I never heard of until now. I'm all for not leaving the house and spending money but going to stores to protest/harass workers is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.

That's so tragic because it's so stupid...and yet at 2 PM today, I went to Wal-mart because I had to get an ironing board before traveling tomorrow, and it was just like any other normal day.

buy nothing day is right up there with gas boycotts as some of the dumbest, most ineffectual shit ever

I get the critique of BND as smug middle class activists taking out their self-righteous alienation angst on low-paid clerks. But if it's targeted at people with expendable income, ie yuppies, I don't mind it so much. It's worth pointing out the madness of a stampede at a Wal-Mart not to take food to feed people but pay $599 for a widescreen HDTV, esp. at a time when the world economic system is collapsing mostly because Americans buy shit we can't afford.

some sweet deals out there

2 shot dead at Toys 'r Us in CA. Black Friday neatly encapsulates much that is wrong with this country.

I get the critique of BND as smug middle class activists taking out their self-righteous alienation angst on low-paid clerks. But if it's targeted at people with expendable income, ie yuppies, I don't mind it so much. It's worth pointing out the madness of a stampede at a Wal-Mart not to take food to feed people but pay $599 for a widescreen HDTV, esp. at a time when the world economic system is collapsing mostly because Americans buy shit we can't afford.

Yeah, I agree with all of this. I'd also like to see more targeting of high-class commodity fetishism -- so much needless luxury gets masked as "eco-friendly" "healthy" and "ethical."

good luck combating smugness

buying an LCD TV is actually good for both you and the environment! of course I wouldn't nec advocate buying a replacement tv just for the hell of it without some plan to freecycle any working equipment.

http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/PUB/LCD_vs_CRT_AH.pdf

Black Friday neatly encapsulates much that is wrong with this country species.

No I think it's mostly just us.

BLAME AMERICA FIRST

I can totally imagine the look that would be on this commenter's face if he were saying this to you in person:

When I only heard that this happened at a Long Island Walmart, I just knew it had to be the Valley Stream store. To those who don't know the area, the customers at this Walmart and the adjacent Green Acres Mall are predominantly residents of southeastern Queens, so the demographics of Valley Stream do not provide an accurate portrayal of who was most likely in that crowd of savages. For a little perspective on what it's like in that area, the movie theater outside Green Acres had to install metal detectors because of a shooting a few years ago. You can read between the lines and draw your own conclusions.

― nabisco, Friday, November 28, 2008 9:08 AM (14 hours ago) Bookmark

this commenter is more or less right about the customer base of the green acres mall, although nobody but a troll would use a word like "savages."

buying an LCD TV is actually good for both you and the environment

that may be true if you're choosing among new equipment and displays of equal size (your link refers to computer monitors), but the UCS says:

While display technology has become more efficient over the years—liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology uses less energy per square inch than older cathode-ray tube (CRT) technology—energy use increases with screen size regardless of the technology. Some of today’s HDTVs, as a matter of fact, can consume more electricity in a year than a refrigerator.

my understanding is that my ancient LCD (don't think more than 20") will consume less energy than a new model, in no small part because it doesn't go into sleep mode when I hit the power button the way many/most new tvs would.

Although Energy Star's new methods of measuring energy efficiency are more useful to consumers, it can still be hard to tell how the HDTV is going to impact your electric bill. Liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions draw much less power than similarly sized cathode ray tube (CRT) sets, but most people replace their old tube sets with much larger flat panel TVs. Doubling or tripling the screen size cancels out potential energy savings.

According to Energy Star, a typical 42-inch LCD television draws nearly four times as much power as a CRT television under 30 inches—the kind of TV most consumers are looking to replace.

http://www.wapa.gov/ES/pubs/esb/2008/nov/nov084.htm

Most people are not like you, replacing their old TV sets with "similar-sized LCD units." They are buying 42-to 47-inch units. Bigger image, greater resolution —using more power than the old TV you used to have. EPRI's estimate, based on its own test data, was that a new big-screen LCD TV would consume 350 to 400 kilowatt-hours per year, compared with 200 kWh for an old-fashioned tube.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/beyond-the-barrel/2008/1/17/seeking-an-energy-efficient-tv-yes-its-confusing.html

why does us news & world report hate america

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=monitors.lcd

haha whoops there I go talking about the totally different problem of computer monitors instead of televisions

the range of monitor size, and therefore energy use, is far greater for TVs for most consumers, than it is for computer monitors

Credit card companies have been working overtime, judging from the mail I and my friends have received. I think there was a moment during the bailout mania where CC companies found a reason to sign up a ton more people and went ahead and did it. So that contributed to Black Friday, as well as that great post-9/11 meme of "A good American is a good consumer". You know, cos if you're a real patriot and not some commie scum you're going to want this new Philips 50" plasma screen.

Support the troops, the ones that charge into Walmart.

my understanding is that my ancient LCD (don't think more than 20") will consume less energy than a new model,

i meant CRT, of course

But on the run-up, Newsday offered a "Black Friday blueprint," with store openings listed so shoppers could plot strategy, including noting that at 5 a.m., the Green Acres Wal-Mart would open and customers could expect to buy a 42-inch LCD television for $598. Many continued to pursue that particular bargain even as Mr. Damour lay dying.

I take it all back.

"I didn't know him, I didn't kill him, where's that dang ol' TV."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/nyregion/30walmart.html

“It was crazy,” said a worker in the electronics department who was in the store during the stampede. “The deals weren’t even that good.”

Soooo, he wouldn't buy that for a dollar?

In this week's City Pages, GM dealership ad: "Savings worth getting trampled over."

that's some seriously callous shit there.

oh my god

So if you can't skip work for the general strike on May 1, can you avoid buying stuff?