Buy Nothing Day

There's a small, but interesting movement called "Buy Nothing Day" which is a backlash against the "Black Friday" phenomenon of recent years -- the shopping frenzy on the day after Thanksgiving. Stores open hours early and stay open late in hopes of the day being so lucrative as to put their business into the black ink of profitability for the year. (Hence the name "Black Friday.") The movement is trying to reverse the trend of people self-identifying as "consumers" and instead return to being individuals with thoughts and interests beyond acquiring more material goods. There's a lot of this message in the book/movie Fight Club ("You are not your fucking khakis.") and there's even a magazine devoted to the concept, Adbusters, that's worth checking out. They're even starting to promote a "Buy Nothing Christmas" along the same lines, another idea I'd readily endorse.

The day after Thanksgiving is typically a "Buy Nothing Day" for me anyway. I'm somewhat averse to crowds and the idea of spending a day dealing with hordes of people in a mall is not appealing in the least, even with the prospect of "saving" money while buying more stuff my friends, family, and I really don't need. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool packrat and collector, and have way more stuff than I need jammed into my living space. (Ask Andi about the wall of boxes in my bedroom.) So if anyone needs to embrace the idea of having less and living more, it's me.

And while I don't believe that ALL advertising is bad (since that's largely how I make my living), I do dislike the manipulative practices aimed at kids, teens, and even young adults that sell products as a way to find your identity or create artificial needs. The current PlayStation3 stupidity is a great example of the consumer culture gone berserk... Sony does massive advertising for an overpriced game system, then chokes the actual supply to ensure that it sells out and becomes highly sought to the point of people abusing, robbing and even shooting one another to get their hands on one, providing even more free publicity and adding to the cachét of the product, guaranteeing huge sales when it becomes widely available. Brings new meaning to the term "market manipulation."

Consider joining me for "Buy Nothing Day" and stay away from the stores. Spend time with your family. Gather up old stuff from your closet to donate to charity. Enjoy the end of fall weather. Visit a museum. Be something other than "a consumer."

End of rant. As your reward for reading all this, here's a shot of AngelD expressing her rage against the machine, or something like that.