November 26 is Buy Nothing Day.

And it gives me the shits.

It's like the logic behind "buy no petrol day" that someone was emailing round earlier in the year.

Fine, buy no petrol, stick it to those OPEC bastards. But what happens the day after buy no petrol day when you realise, 'shit, I've got no petrol, I better buy some'. The day after buy no petrol day is just going to be twice as busy as the day before it.

Yes, the reasoning behind buy nothing day is logical, and I support the idea. However, eventhough these items are not necessities, you don't need them to live, you're still going to go out and buy them at some point in the future.

Shouldn't they be promoting the idea of consuming less? Or consuming items produced under better circumstances (labour, environmental, etc), every day of the fricking year?

It's simple, if you don't like big corporations, don't wear Nike or Addidas, or drink coke. If you don't like EXXON, don't drive unless you have to. Buy a fucking push bike or ride the train.



http://www.adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/

You are quite right in principle, and I do agree with you - how much STUFF do people actually *need*? I guess the point of the buy nothing day though is just to bring peoples' attention to consumerism and how much power they have.

lol, good luck spreading the word. Last year was buy nothing day and hundreds of people were camped out at 5 in the morning at Best Buy (I work in retail right now). People are retarded and God help me get a meaningful job!.. I goota work at 3 am because of these fuckers! Fuck materialistic people! Give a hug for Christmas. Write a letter. Do a good deed. Help a friend out. Don't but them shit!

I'm sure everyone would agree that we don't really need many of the things we have or think we need.

However, shopping and buying is pretty much a thrill (at best) or addiction (at worst) for many people. This is especially true in America, as we can see by the numbers of camped out folks during the predawn hours on November 26th. Sometimes, I'm not sure if it is the drive to buy, rather than just the thrill of a sucessful "hunt" for a great deal. It has kind of become the modern day equivalent of hunting and gathering for humans....almost instinctual.

Ridiculous? Yes. But we won't hear any retailers complaining!

Cha-ching Cha-ching go the sounds of the holiday season in America.

I'm not sure I understand the logic behind "buy nothing day"

But then again, I don't think capitalism is the downfall of humanity.

I have a distinct feeling it is merely a publicity stunt anyway.

Recieving $ from people who decide to shop and buy is also a livelihood for many people.

Exactly!

I'm not saying it is good or bad, just observing how things may be for some folks.

But yes, you are correct on that!

Yeah, so is their turn off your tv week and such....

If you hate TV that much, chances are, you don't have one to begin with.

Right-o!

I instead propose "Buy Nothing From Walmart Lifetime"

We debated this pretty extensively last year, as well.

I think that the idea shouldn't be so much "buy nothing" as it should be "buy smart"--i.e. , do you really need to give people presents that you know they will forget about forever a month after Christmas?

If you can afford it, I'd say it's best for everyone if people buy more...especially if its from a small buisiness.

what do you call a "buy nothing month" because I have one of those about 11 out of the 12 months of the year. Lack of fund is usually the cause though...not by choice.

However, I always save money for my BLING BLING!

I won't be buying anything that day.

I don't understand why people go shopping the day after Thanksgiving when they know damn well it is the busiest shopping day of the year. Do these idiots enjoy standing in line and having to wade through a shitload of people to buy their gifts? People are stupid.

fuck that.

the best sales are the weekend of thanksgiving. i go every year. hell today i went shopping there were some great sales. everyone should go to william sonoma this weekend. their samples are turkey, mashed potatos, and stuffing. it's a free lunch. and it's good.

Eh, my mom always wakes up at like 5 in the morning to go shopping on that day. Likes to get to the places early that gives out free shite to the first so many customers. I'm usually the person that has to go drive her around because I'm always awake at that time anyway. I never actually buy anything though.

There's always good sales, but usually all the good sale crap is gone in minutes because the stores don't carry very many of whatever is on sale. It's basically just a stunt to get people into the store and buy more things they may see.

I've actually seen fights break out in some stores between people trying to get the last of something that is on sale. It's kind of sad, but amusing to watch.

Saying "buy nothing" to a predominantly capitalist world is like saying "don't pee" to a diabetic support group.

that's true too - i hate being in stores, so a buy nothing day happens on as many days as possible for me.

i think a lot of people shop that day because so many people (except the retail workers) have that day off from their jobs.

This is the funniest thread ever