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In addition to it being Black Friday, today is also trustifarian holiday Buy Nothing Day, a day when well-to-do faux-revolutionaries tell others how to spend their money.
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"...a day when well-to-do faux-revolutionaries tell others how to spend their money."
As compared to the Black Friday propaganda that dominates the media encouraging people with no money to play along with the insanity of capitalist greed - because everybody does it and it's all about Jesus!
Sorry, but I'd settle for whatever you consider "well-to-do" revolutionary resistance any day.
I second this.
I'm not a well-to-do trustafarian either (though sometimes I wish I was) but I don't support buying things for the sake of buying things, and that's pretty much what this day is all about.
Well, I'm definitely NOT a 'trustifarian,' and have always lived paycheck to paycheck and I support the Buy Nothing Day. Mainly, because I'm poor but more importantly because I'm tired of getting crappy trinkets, ugly ill fitting clothing and various other useless gifts that I never wanted in the first place, especially when I said, "just send a card."
I didn't realize it was also spit-in-your-parents'-eye day! If I had known I would have been more excited.
Isn't spit in your parent's eye day on Dec 25...when they open up the wrapped box you gave them that contains an ill-fitting sweater that is four shades of ugly and made of wool just to get them back for giving you socks on xmas day but blaming it on a big fat white man that broke into your house while you slept?
"just to get them back for giving you socks on xmas day"
So... the real problem is, they didn't buy you a good enough present? Wouldn't encouraging some skilled Black Friday shopping alleviate this problem?
No, the real problem is that xmas is merely an exercise in passive aggression, outright aggression, or mere guilt (inducing or reacting). Sure there is an element of the spirit of the "season" and maybe even altruistic (which I doubt) giving but really I don't think that any amount of shopping/purchasing/consumer activity actually translates into a genuine expression of anything emotional or spiritual.
We are talking about shopping not donations or charity. So yeah, the build up to "spit in your parents eye day" really does begin on the day after Thanksgiving.
I wouldn't know that holiday since both my parents are dead.
I bought nothing because I was broke and my paycheck is not direct deposited until Monday :(
Half of it is going to student loans...
I spent a bunch of money I don't have on delicious food and went even further into credit card debt.
At no time, however, did I stand in line, nor was any of it at a discount.
Jews.
Care to expand on the whole "Jews" comment or are you just drunk trolling?
I don't drink. What do you want to know?
Then would you care to explain the whole "Jews" at the end of your post?
Assuming you're already far too stupid to engage in rational discussion, I'll just line it up for you so you can offer up an apologist excuse for ending a consumerism rant with "Jews".
You do the reading, I already know what it means.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism
Since you already know what it means (and you've apparently written my next few responses for me), why don't you tell me, oh clairvoyant soul, you?
A wiki link will not suffice, sorry.
"I spent a bunch of money I don't have on delicious food and went even further into credit card debt.
At no time, however, did I stand in line, nor was any of it at a discount.
Jews."
I've dealt with douchebags like you before and you are a douchebag.
And you're a kike-loving usury apologist.
Nice alias!
I third peej66.
Saying Buy Nothing Day is "...a day when well-to-do faux-revolutionaries tell others how to spend their money." is thoroughly offensive.
I would not deny being a faux-revolutionary... however I am by no means a well-to-do trustifarian. I work full time, making just enough money to buy groceries, pay rent, and occasionally go out for a drink or a show.
"We" aren't telling you how to spend your money, "we" are suggesting that people as a whole take a look at our wasteful and unsustainable ways, especially in the US where we consume more of the worlds' resources than any other nation.
Buy Nothing Day is an important symbolic day crying out for people to stop, think and consider their impact before they're consumed by the sea of messages constantly telling them to BUY! BUY! BUY!
Do you really need that new phone after you just bought one a year ago? Do you really need five new sweaters that you'll only wear once? Do you really need that toy that your kid will be bored with in a week? Probably not.
I usually enjoy reading SFist, but I find the comment made about Buy Nothing Day to be in very poor taste and just perpetuates our zombie consumer culture.
I'm going with Brock. It isn't that the concept of 'buy nothing' is necessarily wrong, it's just galling to be told by a bunch of Mission hipsters what our priorities should be. You aren't 'suggesting' anything; it's more self-righteous drivel from San Francisco's own Operation Rescue. I like the Illuminati eye too, because of course Black Friday is a conspiracy of corporate greed (aka, the trusties' daddies). Stick to stenciling the sidewalk, pls.
These two remarks are really special: "it's just galling to be told by a bunch of Mission hipsters what our priorities should be." and "Stick to stenciling the sidewalk, pls."
I have no idea who came up with the concept of Buy Nothing Day and if its a hipster plot (whoever those people are and whatever the goal of the conspiracy might be) then good for the hipsters and anyone else that isn't stumbling along slackjawed and drooling outside of Best Buy at 5am waiting to get their hands on consumer electronics.
Is a compulsive purchaser of unnecessary electronics a more legitimate person in your world view? Do you think people that aren't hypnotized by cell phones and i-pods aren't hipsters?
Furthermore - i have no idea where the sidewalk stenciling comes from (do you?) but I find everything that is "brought to you by" that increasingly permeates our existence to be far more offensive and disruptive and damning than any asshole that leaves a fortune cookie sentiment on a sidewalk.
It's far too easy to just keep doing the same thing year in and year out...buy buy buy borrow borrow borrow pay the interest pay the interest pay the interest...but its not necessary. Not as necessary as we are brainwashed into thinking.
But thanks for being a lemming. You help reinforce my desire to resist.
Then you missed out on the sales on black bandanas at Target. Pity.
No one who posts on SFist is a revolutionary. No one, by definition. No matter what they taught you at Antioch. And some of us are smart enough to make the distinction of 'brought to you by' and real life. Sadly, you are not. Again, self-righteous drivel.
Who keeps talking about revolution here? it's not me...
But i guess if you think that anyone that won't say they don't buy into mainstream xmas whorishness is somehow more authentic a person than people that do say something about how cheap and awful and shallow our consumer culture is then you win, Sleestak.
I have no urge to convince you or anyone that not participating is a revolutionary idea, but if it makes you feel better to say it, then you go right ahead and run to the mall and say something about Antioch like you are an authority on me and everyone will believe you because you obviously are much more rational and compelling.
You're right. I apologize.
I should have said Hampshire.
I already had my Christmas list ready to go before black friday, and you know what? I actually found a really good deal one item.
So fuck the naysayers.
Amen! While I think it's a shame that many people stay up all night to spend much more money than they have on things they don't need, it doesn't mean that people shouldn't take advantage of the bargains on things they were already planning on buying with money they have.
The Buy Nothing Day people should turn their heat off for a day - they're buying the gas or electricity to heat their house, no? That might be too radical. Or they could take a day off from buying water and skip the shower...oh, wait, hippies don't shower.
Every time blacks get something, somebody's gotta complain.
I never did the whole "Black Friday" thing because I watched the news and it looked like a bunch of bottom feeding savages clawing over one another just to buy a cheap TV.
The girl convinced me to visit Kohls last year because they had some single item (I think it was dishtowels) she wanted to give as a gift and they were on sale. No big deal - we got there at 8am and the aroma of body odor and wet blankets permeated the air. And that was the parking lot.
"Savages" would be a nice term for the animals who were in that place. The entire store was totally trashed. The aisles were littered with items that the animals could not grab and go and most aisles were completely impassable.
If you really need the $200 TV or $150 laptop and are willing to act like a total animal to get it at 4am then you deserve neither. Just go buy a gun and shoot people as they exit the store so at least we know where you stand on the pecking order or humanity.
The bottom feeders.
Animals.
Care to expand on the whole "animals" comment or are you just racist?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animal
It's # 5.
"an inhuman person; brutish or beastlike person: She married an animal"
It sounds to me like you are trying to dance around having described people of color as animals. I can read your mind, so I know this.
See previous post - you are a douchebag and obvious troll.
Hey RobInSF looks like you painted yourself into a racist corner here. Good job! RacistInSF. Furthermore, say you're not a racist. You're certainly a classist judging by your comments. The two are pretty related, so I'll lump them both on you.
I'll just allow the Monday morning crowd to weigh in on SFDELY and CRYPTOMAIL and their obvious stupidity. Go read my posts - I am an equal opportunity offender.
And crypto/sfdely/gavin/chris - if you're going to troll somebody - at least do it more than 6 minutes apart from someone else who is clearly trolling me. On a Saturday night?
Lol, "equal opportunity offender". I've heard that claim before. Are you some sort of hipster version of Lisa Lampanelli?
Easy to be one until someone touches you in your no-no place. Hell hath no fury like righteous indignation.
I've read your posts. You're boring. Go suck off Nevius.
*YAAAAWWWN*
You're boring and likely a DRUNK AND OR HIGH Daly or Newsom operative because I embarrassed both of them. But not as much as I could have. If either one had any balls or if you were a regular and vocal contributor.
I'll allow the Monday AM peeps to tear you a new one. Is Gavin moving closer to Whitey Town? Is Daly moving closer to Dad in Law's house?
I no longer respond to you - whoever your multiple personalities proclaim to be.
LOL you are mentally ill, holy shit
Have to agree with Brock on this one, thank you for this post! Don't tell me to buy nothing. I did not get my current job by looking like my entire wardrobe was purchased at a yard sale in Santa Cruz. Since money is tight nowadays I buy my business/work clothes ON SALE! Yeah. Don't tell me I shouldn't be getting a good deal on nice stuff.
Screw you "buy nothing day" people it's clear to me that in order to rebel against your suburban upbringing you're donning a hideous hairdo/clothes/demeanor and trying to tell me when it is or is not righteous for me to go shopping. But in all fairness, I was too lazy to leave the house to go shopping anyway.
ILUaimee
yes, Brock, this was a great conversation. Let's review:
Those that encourage people to think before they shop are trust fund children that live in the suburbs not the city. They are unconventional dressers and have odd haircuts. They hate their parents and want to tell people how to spend their money as part of some kind of communistic plot to do something that has yet to be explained. There is definitely a conspiracy at work here and it must be insidious...anyone that isn't fully committed to shopping when they are told to shop is clearly a ne'er do well.
Also - it is one thing to simply not participate in these kinds of ideas, but it is completely another to talk about doing it. Just don't buy anything and don't talk about it or you really are ridiculous and are from somewhere called "Hampshire."
Finally, aimee, let's break this down a bit further. The topic of this post revolves around something called BUY NOTHING DAY.
Nowhere in those three words do I read the idea that you (or anyone) should buy your clothes at full price. Nor does it say that people should NOT buy things when the price is reduced / marked down. In fact, both of those would contradict the first two words which are BUY and NOTHING.
Also important is the third word: DAY. This word generally refers to a 24 hour period of time marked by sunrise and sunset that beings at one 12am and ends at the next one. One day. Not always. Also not because you (or anyone) should pay full price *only* every day that you shop and also not that you should miss the chance to ever save money.
How would that make sense to people that are written off as revolutionaries that live in the suburbs and resent their parents and are rebelling by telling you to spend MORE money on your work clothes? (Because that's gonna make my momma cry and that's what my goal is?)
Yes, great conversation, Brock...I'm reminded once again about why advertisement saturation works in our extremely dumbed down Fox-fed culture. Please, by all means....shop until you drop, people. In fact, step up a bit, would you. I think the "drop" part might be our only chance.
Phew. Good thing you're around Peej66(6?). I had no idea what the topic of this posting was cause I am retarded, and all the Fox news I watched DID in fact cause me to forget the meaning of the word "day". Thanks for clearing that up for me.
I am extremely crushed your mom will not cry for me about all the deals I may have missed on Black Friday but I'll get over it. I guess at the end of a 24 hour day that started at 12am, this really is just about you, me, and your mom.
And the fact that anyone who dares tell me not to shop is a pinko. Obviously. COMMIE! How dare you try to make me think about stuff. This is clearly a conspiracy.
dont buy shit you dont need with money you dont have
All this is well and good but I still want to know what the deal is with the "Jews." line. Is this some hip-cum-ironic thing I'm out of the loop on or what?
Basically, Jews.
Case in point.
Genius.
Please everyone just shop.
Note:
One moron is trolling the board under a few different screen names. All postings are from new people nobody has ever heard of before, who have never posted before.
Obvious trolls are obvious.
I thought you flounced already?
Nice channer meme, by the way. I imagine you as slightly (to grossly) rotund, aspergian, and nasally, with a definite wheeze.
" The truth of something does not depend on its source."
Uh,people Brock may have been attempting to be sardonic in his description of the Buy Nothing phenomenon.
Let's just leave this thread as a datapoint in the argument that Capitalism is the national religion.
didn't adbusters start buy nothing day?
He said trustafarians, so yes.
Just got back from a weekend away for Thanksgiving...and I'd almost gotten the taste of SFist comments out of my mouth.
Ah, but it was a productive weekend and I made some new friends.
: )
And to their credit, neither Gavin nor Daly boiled any rabbits. That we know of...
Yet.