Is there a tradition any more backward or disgusting practiced across America today than that of Black Friday? Hordes of consumers mob stores for great deals on useless “goods” like new TVs or Playstations or clothes manufactured by Southeast Asian or Central American children in sweatshops.
We’re in a pretty messed up place politically and environmentally. Multinational corporations and financial firms pretty much own the government. Global warming is not only a real and present danger, but rapidly accelerating. There is a plastic “raft” in the Pacific Ocean bigger than Texas. And as people we’re constantly being taken advantage of to make this situation last longer so that corporate profits and bonuses can climb even higher than they are now.
The strong link between these two things – our society’s consumerism and the terrible political, social, environmental, and economic situations we’re in – demands action. By buying things from these corporations and feeding into this model of an economy, we only encourage it. So I’m asking you: please join me in buying nothing tomorrow.