Buy Nothing Day 2009

[APS8369]

Fucking whiny pussie bullshit grow some balls

[Rocker0719]

@APS8369 well, i think this comment roughly sums up the message of this video..

[40degreesS]

We live in a 'consumer society' that has been programed to consume. The power of advertising ensures that we are in a constant state of dissatisfaction with what we have and have an insatiable appetite for more. Fashion and built-in obsolence ensures that.

[TheArtofKevinDockery]

I spent no money on BF. I spent the day with my family at home. Thanks for the video.

[oh2love4love]

I practice this and have for years.. great video!

[imax1971]

Buy nothing today? And what, hurt the economy even more?? That's just stupid...Why not make the same video (without all the "American waste" crap) and urge people to donate money, food or clothing to to local shelters, rehabilitation centers and food banks, as well as charities overseas? I wonder why the author of this piece didn't mention how much Americans as well as the American already donate the the less fortunate domestically as well as abroad... Hmmm... I wonder why?

[oh2love4love]

wake up

[imax1971]

Wake up to What??

[oh2love4love]

wake up to the machine and the power that is being given to it!

people go out and buy crap they don't need and usually don't actually want because they've been conditioned! they/you believe the economy will fall out its ass if they/you don't BUY BUY BUY purchase more shit you cannot afford or your world will break! consider this if you will, maybe the world needs to BREAK in order for people to WAKE UP! life is not about how much crap we can accumulate friend..or who has the fastest car.. sigh

[imax1971]

People are buying things that the don't want??? And they are doing so because they are conditioned by the "machine"??!!?? Holy shit pal, you are out there where the buses don't run!

[oh2love4love]

hmm did you line up for your swine flu shot like the president commanded of you?

[imax1971]

Hell no! I would not have me or my children injected with an untested drug.... What's your point?

[oh2love4love]

I was checking too see where your head is at, that's all. :)

and yes, people buy stuff they don't need or want.. have you ever thought about how people go into credit card debt or buy homes that are far too big and cost way too much money.. the list is long on the way mankind has been duped into believing they NEED material goods to be something in this world - and - its a big fat lie.

peace~

[imax1971]

I do agree with the fact that people do try and live above their means... I still don't agree with your statement that people buy things they don't want... But I do acknowledge that people buy things they cannot afford... With that said.... I don't believe that shopping should be boycotted... You seem like a nice person... Let's just agree to disagree..

[faylinameir]

i rarely buy anything, i save my money,and i have very low income. I usually don't have enough money to spend on any christmas preasents. But I'm sorry this year when my 9 year old camera finally broke down I went out this morning at 5am and bought a very nice low priced camera. And I'm not gonna donate what little money i have to a bum who isn't willing to get a job. Thats harsh i know but true for most "homeless" around here.

[oh2love4love]

that's not what this video is about.. open your understanding.

[TimmyHaag]

BUY NOTHING ?!?!

Is that honestly the best you got ?

Shit ... I donate all my old clothes, one pair of kick ass used jeans or a jacket I just won't wear anymore does a hell of a lot more good then just sticking my thumb up my ass and not doing a damn thing.

Why do all the fuckers that try to run the show think we are all morons ?

[oh2love4love]

what are you rambling on about? you do not understand the concept obviously.

[TheVOddity]

Buying absolutely NOTHING tomorrow!!!

[CovStudent]

fantastic cause, good luck!

[bad4ever2001]

@astralseeker

Stuff you need to be honest.

There are always things that you need and things that you don't. The average human being does not need much to survive, we are only being brainwashed that we do.

I base what I need and don't need by sheer practicality. For example, I wouldn't replace my two year old mobile phone because a new model came out. I do that with everything.

[carec15]

awesome video. mindless consumption should never be okay tomorow i plan on standing outside of my local walmart with a sign thats says buy nothing

[CanadaLarry]

Every day I see people come in where I work and take out a 10$ bill and buy smokes and most of the time the wallet is empty until the next friday.

If that 10$ were saved in a bank account they would not have to run arround with an empty walllet. The best thing you could do is refuse to buy any smokes or booze or drugs on black Friday. Better still don't buy these useless things every Friday....Mondays to Thursdays too.

[LucidDreamTricks]

If you don't buy anything you'll put people out of business and then there will be MORE poor people, not fewer!

Instead don't buy stuff that you don't need, rather than not buying anything at all.

[bad4ever2001]

@lucidreamtricks

This is true. Although you will find that the majority of shoppers in industrialized countries do buy unneccessary products simply for the sake of buying it. This must be addressed. I know a few friends who simply go out to shop because...well, what else are they supposed to do? If pains me so much to see that, I really should talk to them though.

[SilentGuitarist]

Better yet, donate some money or buy clothing, food, etc. to donate to a local shelter on Black Friday instead.

[XtremePacifist]

Hey America, Stop Shopping!

The rich powerful criminals on Wall Street are laughing at you, they know that you will run out and buy things that you don't need with money that you don't have. Wake up and tell them "Game Over", we will not feed their machine with our hard labor, and hard earned cash.

[jcisneros02]

You people are ignorant. Learn economics.

[zwest135]

@jcisneros02 How much do we have to stimulate the economy before the 1 billion starving people are fed? How much to educate the throngs of people who can't work? How much do we have to buy before we can provide healthcare to the so many in the world without it. You have to understand... Our chosing not to buy anything is not our solution. It is the open rejection and boycott of a competitive, scarcity driven system that creates such inhumane conditions, inequalities and false divisions.

[jcisneros02]

Only in a free market can someone pursue their own self interest and improve their own condition.

My friend competition, and a price driven system are not bad. It is not a zero-sum game. Both people benefit from a transaction.

[zwest135]

@jcisneros02 If you want to know what our solution is look up the zeitgeist movement. You have to understand as long as we live in a monetary system that makes scarcity and inefficiency profitable and creates vast inequality and allocates power in the hands of so few, we will never come close to a sustainable, stable or peaceful society and that's a fact. We've been in this system long enough to know that. Lets try a system that's doesn't allow establishments and mechanisms for power allocation.

[oh2love4love]

and, not to mention that the goods these folks purchase are not even created in our country.. so to the naysayers, just what economy are we supporting again?

[jcisneros02]

exactly. The goods be consume are made all over the world. Free trade benefits both parties. It is not a zero sum game.

[oh2love4love]

no no no.. that's not what I am saying.. those "goods" as you call them are made like CRAP and are meant to end up in the landfill.. are you an American?

[jcisneros02]

I have seen the zeitgeist movies. Who will organize society for us? Where are these angels? Any system you devise will run on greed. What you talk about is a utopia. It cannot ever exist, and would never work.

[SophistAssassin]

Science isn't a Utopia, it's just a more accurate system at arriving upon solutions. Greed won't run a society that produces abundance -- it can't. Ego is a different story, but will become much more manageable in time through a more sociologically relevant education. These are testable propositions, not idealistic philosophical opinions, which is all politics is founded on.

Ever heard of technological unemployment? You won't hear that on the mainstream media, and for good reason....

[rikk06]

please have a look at the zeitgeist movement. a bit of sanity, in an insane world. our conclusions are based on logic with life at it's core. not some abstract BS, or invisible worlds and dieties. not based on imaginary credits system etc. we have the most realistic plan for a sustainable future for everyone. we totally welcome the robot age, we will make the best quality items, with the best technology, as to take the resource only once from the earth, regardless of the absolete monetary system

[GTRrocker666]

I am not as optimistic as the protestors though. I just choose not to participate in the economy anymore, unless I really need to buy something for my survival. The funny thing is that most people are horrified by this. They can't even conceive why someone wouldn't spend money, so they get angry because to them they perceive it as you are questioning the way they live their life.

[GTRrocker666]

Everyday is buy nothing day for me, so this black friday isn't really much of a change for me. I buy food and gas. That is why I have $17,000 in the bank and am only a college student in my twenties. I realized a long time ago that the economy was fake and we were only surviving on our own self destruction. Sooner or later we will all be screwed because how we live our lives.

[gina7177]

I still do not understand the logic behind "buy nothhing day", if you're budgeted to spend $1,000 on xmas what does it matter if you do it Friday the 27th or Monday the 30th? You're still spending what you anticipated. Do you encourage everyone to give away their xmas money to the poor?

[roycegracie11]

it's just an experiment... imagine if everyone in one counrty, one continent, or eventually the world did not make a single monetary transaction for an entire day... could you see how that would shake up our fraudelent economy? whether or not spending is in your budget or not is irrellevant

[JNickS33]

good video. and I get the message even if others don't. The point is to stand in unity and protest against this corporate consumerist economy. And maybe, just maybe, if we all do it and it has some type of obvious effect, we will see our power and move forward, together.

buying less, as well as supporting companies whose proceeds go to good causes or at least do not further exploit poverty and impoverished people is useful.

It's about standing up and saying we are not your consumerist pawns.

[Rocker0719]

wow, thanks ha..someone's actually catching on..

[xavi927]

keep JAMMING, Rocker0719 ! :o)

[gina7177]

...and you're typing this on your computer whilst checking your cell and listening to your ipod. I suggest you make you're own clothes and live in an amish community because ALL companies take advantage of the disadvantaged to turn a profit.

[Rocker0719]

it's simply an advertisement saying the average american, though mostly directed towards teenagers and young adults, consumes much more than they need when there are people who have nothing at all, and that we need to cut down on how much we consume..it's promoting people to not buy any products on black friday, the day following thanksgiving

it's also just an english project, no need to be so negative

[chorseshoe1996]

not trying to be negative but just didn't understand why we should "buy nothing" on the busiest shopping day of the year. maybe the message should be buy less or buy only what you can actually afford, or even take a portion of the money that you were going to spend shopping that day and donate it to a local charity of your choice. Don't take the negative comments as criticism of your creativity, just criticism of the idea itself.

[Rocker0719]

essentially that is the overall message..yea it refers to buying nothing on that specific day, but overall the message is to only buy what it is you need, which is really the idea of buying nothing on a day like black friday

[Phaegian]

you should buy nothing, because you don't need anything. you don't need a cell phone, you don't need to have christmas, you don't need to do most of the wasteful and gluttonous things you americans do.

[vanmfan01]

Not all Americans are gluttons. I don't own a cell phone, a tv, and lots of other things that you think I might own. We plan on giving mostly homemade gifts and we don't buy xmas tress either.

Please don't pigeonhole all of us. We don't all fit your preconceptions.

When I do spend money, I buy local, I don't go to W*lmart or any of those places. I work at an independent bookshop and make not very much $. I work there because I enjoy being around people who are not sheep. End of story.

[vanmfan01]

My comment was in reply to Phaegian.

[MrWorldpeaceplease]

@Phaegian In a way you're right, but please don't generalize, especially something like the term "americans" we are all so different here it is silly to put us in one category.

[Phaegian]

oh no sir, there are just enough of you who are the same that it ruins it for the rest. sorry to say, but the rest of the world still sees you as GW Bush. we still look on at america as a group of fat, consumeristic whores who can't even stand up for their rights or against their leadership.

[MrWorldpeaceplease]

kind of hard to stand up to a government that takes any voice of dissent as a terrorist threat. i'm doing my best dude, but i'm only one man. education is what we need to spread, not hate. when you name call, you only make others not want to listen to you. if you truly care about the world and want to change it I suggest you change the way in which you communicate to people.

-Namaste

[Nickel1Nine]

You are only one man, but together we are two. And there are more... of us.

[MrWorldpeaceplease]

Haha, that's right buddy. We are growing in numbers everyday

[chorseshoe1996]

How is this supposed to help our local economy? or anything for that matter.

[Rocker0719]

also, this is supposed to promote people to not buy from all the big companies as well, but instead to buy from your local market

[remorsefulgirl]

stupidest thing i have ever heard of.