“BLACK FRIDAY:” BUYERS BEWARE! SUPPORT BUY NOTHING DAY!

By Terah Ann Green-Von de’Rocque, an Occupy Detroit participant

This Black Friday; be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem.  Instead of supporting corporations, their corruption and greed; Protest Black Friday!  If you should have the need or desire to shop during or around Black Friday, at least, support, non-corporate, local, small owned businesses.   

Buy Nothing Day (BND) is a 20 year old international day of protest against consumerism which plans to organize a whirly mart, Santa sit-in or Jesus walk.  

Please visit the links below to join in with other Black Friday protests near you.

http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd; http://www.occupy-detroit.us/

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/events/297293540295085/

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/events/282656868446232/

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/events/191449514274422/

At about the age of 24, just graduating with my first degree and just starting a new job, making a little more than a livable wage; I didn’t understand the magnitude of Consumerism.  Once I had started working along came the credit card offers.  Sometime around Thanksgiving, of that year, I remember going into a Black Friday frenzy, running into stores and running up around $10,000 in credit card debt within a month. 

Ten years later, and still to my wonderment, I still question what I could have ever bought which came up to $10, 000 in a month?  In some manner, I can remember computers and the internet were new and popular and so, of course, I had to have those.  There were all new types of electronics such as beepers and cell phones, new furniture, clothes, shoes, and on and on but I still don’t know how or why I ever bought those things or, actually, why I don’t even have any of those, today.  I now wonder what ever did possessed me to do this? 

The devil didn’t make me do it but, clearly, something did.  I was just out of college, just had started working a new job and, in a crude way of speaking, I, barely had a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out.  I was living in a small apartment, didn’t own a house, had a car which was not paid for but I was spent $10, 000 in a month?  In essence, something, surely, possessed me to put the cart before the horse and have confidence in buying things way before I could even afford them, even more, way before I could even make the money to pay for them. 

For short, I blame that urge which possessed me to be Consumerism.  The idea of Consumerism, in some short version, has been described as a social and economic order based upon the systematic idea for fostering the desires in people to purchase and consume goods and services in ever increasing amounts and in excess of basic human needs. 

Overall, in this generation, Consumerism appears to be a psyche, an Ideology and, strongly, engrained in the values and rituals of American culture.  Furthermore, Consumerism appears to translate into a generation over-consumed in over-consumption, greed and wastefulness and a main reason for the many social and economical woes our generation now faces.  

One may recall those from older generations may have kept a pair of, nicely, shined leather shoes until the soles were holed or worn through and, once that happened, they would probably even take those shoes into the shoe shop to be mended, repaired or new soles put on.  As well, it was common to take a shirt or pair of slacks, with a hole or tear, into the seamstress to be sewn or mended.  Today there appears to be little need for shoe shops or seamstresses, and instead it appears rather cheaper, if not easier, to just throw the shirt, pants or pair of shoes in the trash and to run to Wal-Mart, Target or any other number of major corporate department stores to buy a new one at wholesale price and then to rather have them repaired.   

Companies now, ingeniously, study social and psychological dynamics of consumers to better determine how to target their desires and temptations for buying and consuming more and more.  Commercials and advertisements appear to send telepathic messages coercing buyers into believing Consumerism is good, Consumerism is the American way. 

Companies seem to invoke social beliefs that what they say we need, we need and what we desire is what we need to get.  It seems a rather cryptic idea of believing we need that next newer, brand name, big ticket item.  That what we bought last year, or even last week, is not new enough, not good enough and that we need that new electronic, that new game system, that new computer, tablet, cell phone or other gadget.  Even more, big corporations play upon our consumer driven temptations and desires through offering layaways, credit cards, deals, offers and sales, during super, mass shopping events and, namely, during days after the holidays, such as after Thanksgiving, and, namely, Black Friday.   

Black Friday-How did a day after Thanksgiving ever translate into a day for super or mass shopping?  “In the spirit of Consumerism,” shoppers, literally, set up tents, camp outside of stores, for days in advance, then rush into stores, even knocking one another down in frenzies as  like the Bull Runs in Pamplona Spain, and then to wait in lines for hours.  People have been injured and there have even been reports of deaths during Black Friday shopping events.  This begs the question?  With the hours that some of these consumers spend camping outside of stores and waiting in lines; couldn’t they just have probably spent those hours working extra hours at work to pay for the difference of those items they are standing in lines to get on sale or discount on Black Friday?  

As tents go up around Best Buys, Wal-Mart’s, Targets and many other malls and stores across the country, isn’t it quite funny or ironic?  This appears quite similar and reminiscent to the Occupy Movements which have sprung up around the country and for the cause of protesting against corporate greed and the very same thing that consumers’ are camping outside stores on Black Friday in support of?   

Moreover, it appears quite hypocritical that while American consumers gather to tailgate, setup tents and camps around stores,  that freedom loving, peaceful protesting American citizens have instead been attacked, maced, had their personal properties destroyed and thrown or evicted out of their tents and encampments for protesting against the very same.  

Many consumers, although, do not appear to understand the connection between Consumerism and the present state of our economy.  Furthermore, some consumers may not even grasp that buying from, major corporation stores and on Black Friday, actually, makes them more part of the problem instead of part of the solution. 

Corporate department stores buy in mass and bulk which allows them to get products at wholesale and sell them cheaper.  So it has made prices lower, corporate profits higher and the temptation to buy, consume and just easier to throw things away because they can probably be bought as cheap as $5 on the clearance rack. Corporations bargain on shoppers falling for these gimmicks, hook-line & sinker, in order to fuel their ever increasing stocks and profits and greed, while they continue to do little in increasing jobs, raising wages or offering reasonable health or other needed benefits for their workers.  In the excesses of their profits, these corporations continue to pay workers, barely, living wage.  Furthermore, in the name of consumerism, corporations have even gone as far to lure consumers and to increase profits by starting Black Friday on Thursday and also limiting the amount of time employees get to spend off for the holiday and with their families.   

Overall, Consumerism appears to be a strong force engrained within this culture.  For me, Consumerism became an irresponsible action, an ever increasing problem and a lesson learned.  While the credit cards I, originally, were offered were at 0% financing, there was a catch.  Once a payment was missed there was then an interest rate of 18% which then rose to 22%.  In essence, by the time I was going to be done paying off the $10,000 mistake I made it was going to be double.  I contacted the bank in an effort to make payment arrangement of about $200 a month.  After making 12 payments,  I then found out the credit card company never dropped the interest rate and the payments I had been making did not make even a dent in the $10,000 I owed.  Instead I was right back where I started.  The payments I had been making, every month, were only going towards interest, not the principle and now so now a mistake which remains a spot on my credit report. 

In the name of Consumerism, it appears corporate manufacturers, banks, credit card companies and big conglomerates all win, while the American people keep getting the short end of the stick: unemployment, decreased hours, decreased wages, non-unionization, outsourcing and loss of benefits to name a few.