I changed quite a bit, and added a bunch as well...I don't know how we should qualify who it is written by, especially since what I said at the end.
Buy Nothing Day
By Andrea Hill with Danielle Lorenz
It’s that time of year again folks; the holidays are quickly approaching, the semester is ending, and everyone is getting ready to go back and be with their families. With the holiday season looming around the corner, corporations aren’t holding anything back. Advertisements for every imaginable toy or gadget are seen on every channel. Print advertisements for clothing have increased ten-fold.
Pressures to find that perfect gift must be dealt with too. Getting one for the special someone is enough stress to deal with; but when you factor in everything else that we students are going through the burden is enormous. The holiday shopping season is about to begin.
But on November 23rd you must resist the desire to purchase. Leave you wallets at home, stow you credit card in the back of your underwear closet and relax. Buy nothing. Why? Let us explain.
Buy Nothing Day is a form of informal social protest against consumerism. The concept was developed by Ted Dave, and promoted by the Canadian magazine Adbusters (linky:
http://www.adbusters.org/home/). The first event occurred in 1992, and has been happening annually since. In the late 90’s it was moved to the Friday after the American Thanksgiving, as that is one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the US. In other areas of the world, Buy Nothing Day occurs on the following Saturday.
People who criticize Buy Nothing Day exclaim that any purchases avoided on that day will be bought the subsequent day, and in a greater amount. Thus, there is no impact on the over-consumption that occurs during the holiday season. However, Adbusters makes a valid point: it “isn't just about changing your habits for one day”; instead it is “about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less
waste”.
Like every year so far, there have been culture jamming artifacts on campus that “advertise” the day. You can get some more ideas, or see past examples of the protest from this website:
http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/ .
If you feel the cause is worthwhile, than please by all means participate. However, I (Danielle) think that it would be more effective if everyone just consumed less in general, instead of trying to make a statement one day each year. To counter that, I (Andrea) am participating this year because I believe in the message of the protest.
It is up to you.
