Culture Jammers Kick-off Christmas

* MANCHESTER, UK: A radical samba band storms a mall with their
irresistible rhythms.

* MONTREAL, CANADA: Shocked downtown shoppers witness the terrifying
"shopping spree of the dead."

* TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Frolicking "buy no evil" monkeys entertain crowds in
the shadow of the world's tallest building.

* MADRID, SPAIN: Despondent "shoppers" wail and grieve to passersby in a
crowded commercial district.

* NAGANO, JAPAN: Corporate brands compete to wallop the Earth in a game
of Global Cup Soccer.

* MUMBAI, INDIA: Young activists celebrate what is quite possibly the
first ever BND in India!

* PHILADELPHIA, USA: The USAntiheroes use their considerable superpowers
to throw a massive downtown block party.

* NEW YORK, USA: Reverend Billy and his faithful followers exorcize the
consumerism devil from a Victoria's Secret cash register.

* PIRACICABA, BRAZIL: University students hold a conference on
overconsumption and its consequences.

* COPENHAGEN, DENMARK: Experimental theatre group Terra Nova brings a
frenetic display of gluttony to a city square.

* VIENNA, AUSTRIA: Santa Claus sets out lawn chairs and free soup and
coffee to help shoppers take a break from consumption.


I'm having a stress-free shopping-less holiday. I will throw some cash to the ingrates at home. Send some to Rwanda, where it's needed.

For more info on reclaiming your Christmas - adbusters.org...

[edit on 10-12-2006 by clearwater]

Originally posted by clearwater
For more info on reclaiming your Christmas - adbusters.org...

"Buy Nothing on Christmas"???

Thats damned unamerican! Its all part of the War on Christmas! Christmas is about buying things on sale! Why else do you think that major focus on the 'war on christmas' is whats happening at stores, rather than churches?

Jesus man! Put santa back in christmas!

I suppose it's not really necessary to buy anything around Christmas, though I hope you will still give gifts to those that you care about.

I like to buy people things on Christmas but I don't go overboard and I try to promote to my children that it's more about spending time together and what not.

I think we just need to learn a little moderation.

What's really funny is that I bet many people who celebrate Christmas aren't even religious. Kinda like me.

"Buy Nothing on Christmas"???Thats damned unamerican! Its all part of the War on Christmas! Christmas is about buying things on sale! Why else do you think that major focus on the 'war on christmas' is whats happening at stores, rather than churches?

Jesus man! Put santa back in christmas!
Nygdan

Au contraire, the retailers and manufacturers are probably salivating at the thought of removing Christ from Christmas once and for all. Freeing up holiday shopping frenzies to include more of the otherwise religious and non-religious.

A generic 'Happy Holidays' does away nicely with any thought of Christ's pesky message of giving to the poor and underprivileged, removing any necessity to think of the remaining 5 billion people eeking out Christmas on the remaining 15% of goods on the market.

I suppose it's not really necessary to buy anything around Christmas, though I hope you will still give gifts to those that you care about.
southern_cross3

Isn't what they really want cash? For the real shopping sales of Boxing Day?
lol

I like to buy people things on Christmas but I don't go overboard and I try to promote to my children that it's more about spending time together and what not.
snowflake_obsidian

Anyone named after such a stone must be spiritual and not religious. At any rate, I read that parents are taking out loans and jacking up credit debt to give their children everything asked for at Christmas.

Imagine what it must to do their sub-conscious to see mom and dad driven into the poor-house in order to provide an over-abundance of stuff?

Time is much more important. I think many people spend so much as a way to make up for the lack of time they have for their children. Most families require two working parents just to survive.

Children would rather have more time and attention and less stuff. That is until they're completely brainwashed by the constant media message of 'you are what your corporate logos feeds you.'

Involve kids in sending a pig to a family overseas so that they aren't compelled to sell their daughter into slavery that year.

Kids like that.

Yeah I heard about parents taking loans out just to buy their kids presents. That is crazy. It's no wonder why are kids are so spoiled and demanding nowdays.

I mean, I know that they mean the best. I know that a lot of parents want to give their kids things that they didn't have when they were young and everything. But I don't know, you have to draw the line somewhere.

Yeah, it's kind of sad that parents feel they need to do that.

But HOLY CRAP - someone just gave me a # load of money and I'm going SHOPPING!


LOL

Really though, I think the emphasis is too much on the material. And I appreciate the creativity of the Jammer's protests.

Originally posted by Nygdan

Originally posted by clearwater
For more info on reclaiming your Christmas - adbusters.org...

"Buy Nothing on Christmas"???

Thats damned unamerican! Its all part of the War on Christmas! Christmas is about buying things on sale! Why else do you think that major focus on the 'war on christmas' is whats happening at stores, rather than churches?

Jesus man! Put santa back in christmas!

Not anymore, shops put there prices up on Christmas to bring in as much money as possible. I went to buy a book last week only to find they will not give out discounts to students over the Christmas holidays. Other shops were the same and a few had increase in prices.

The Christmas season is vital to the retail economy and as much as 60% of the annual turnover in products takes place over Christmas.

Consumers are hostage buyers at that time. Hostage to the guilt that they must compensate their children for whatever suffering exists in life, coupled with the crazy idea that to do that requires stuff.
Or the greed of wishing to appear to have the only credibility recognized on TV- wealth. Or the fear of death or lack of meaning, or whatever desire, fear, guilt is goaded by the next commercial.

It's called emotional blackmail.

So yes, they do put up prices and flood the market with cheap goods at high prices that noone would buy other than to pass off an easy gift.

There is a reciprocal relationship in the consumer/retail market that is exploited by the millions spent on psychologically manipulating the consumer. All the market research spent on predicting needs and trends and the best way to subliminally manipulate children in the future has blossomed into the collection of personal information for the Total Awareness Surveillance dreamt of by those waging a war on terror.

That in conjunction with less consumer awareness, fair trade products and boycott campaigns. Since the media is centrally controlled, campaigns that encourage consumer power and responsibility are rarely if ever mentioned.

There is a great deal of power in the consumer dollar. Slavery was all but overcome by Quakers with a boycott on sugar.

These days, they gouge at Christmas and everyone says please sir, can I have some more.



[edit on 15-12-2006 by clearwater]