Counter-culture Journals (文革)

Counter-culture Journals (文革)

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Black Friday—and buying lots and lots and lots of crap!

By SJ Otto
We stand on the edge of time for another Black Friday, a corporate consumer holiday designed to send the bold and adventurous, in the early morning hours of the day, to try and buy cheap stuff. Yeas cheap is the word. They want all their stuff to be bought cheap, but at a pace that brings them huge profits.
The corporate captains of our day have changed the story of a little baby in the manger into a crass orgy of consumerism and greed. From Thanksgiving until Christmas day, that important holy day for Christians around the globe, capitalist corporate pirates will be trying to entice people into buying various products for themselves and as presents to their friends, relatives and children.
As a child, I understand the joy of getting new toys on Christmas day. But as I get older I realize that trying to fulfil my needs, wants and desires from this season are mostly good for the capitalists who make all the money providing these things.  And let's  be serious folks. A lot of what we are enticed to buy is useless crap that most people don't need. And there are always those items we think we will enjoy but they become forgotten so quickly.
I'm not a Christian. I do like the holidays but as an Epicurean. I celebrate Winter Solstice rather than Christmas. That is a holiday that allows the same traditions. (they were taken from early Pagans by the early Christian Church.)  But I avoid buying a lot of crap from name brand stores.
I don't buy many gifts and the ones I do buy I try to get from small local businesses- not large corporations like Wal*Mart. 

So for me on Black Friday...I'm home relaxing and drinking a beer.

Frank Zappa/ Mothers- Uncle Bernie's Farm



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