Buy Nothing Day

Turkey Day is the 4ᵗʰ Thursday of November. Cold Turkey Day is the 3ʳᵈ Thursday of November. At least part of Turkey Day is consumption of food, festive food, and perhaps over abundance. The term 'cold turkey' applies to the immediate, and complete cessation of some indulgence or activity. Health organisations have sponsored, and promoted stop smoking campaigns with Cold Turkey Day.

The day after Turkey Day (Thanksgiving) has been called by the retail, and advertising industry 'Black Friday', meaning profitable Friday. In recent years, certain retailers have opened up their stores earlier than normal on that day. Some are opening up at midnight, immediately when the day begins. This means their employees must be there before 'Black Friday'. They are beginning their shifts on the holiday, Thanksgiving Thursday.

Now, Anthony Hardwick of Omaha, Nebraska works for one such store. He noticed the obvious and began an online petition asking for the store to open at 5 a.m. He is trying to change the mind of the CEO of Target department stores to 'allow' employees to spend the holiday with their families.

What are these days? Thanksgiving is an exercise in 'americanism' a forced blending of religion and patriotism. It is one of the few holidays acknowledged in the US. Every country (Scotland is a close second) has more holidays than the US. It is part of american culture, the blending of calvinism and capitalism. Both frowned on holidays, those days when people feasted and didn't work.

The day after was an off day by accident for many. Many came to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but had the Thursday off, and also the weekend. Friday was isolated, and it became convenient to many to take Friday off. Well, that day was then convenient for shopping, and at that point the escalation began.

Television (and other) 'news' have story, after story, after story highlighting, intensely covering, encouraging shopping and spending. Millions of hours of free advertising posing as journalism: reporters acting as advertising shills, drummers, and whores, cheerleading unnecessary, and often conspicuous, consumption all to promote the commercialisation of american society. The golden calves of Mammon are very fat in the US, but these worshipping devotees do not remember that seven ill favoured, and lean kine once ate seven beautiful, and fleshy kine.

Adbusters began in Vancouver in 1989. They are a social activist organisation that questions and challenges the economic establishment. They were the boys who started Occupy Wall Street. They also promoted Buy Nothing Day, which has been the day after Thanksgiving* since 1997 [it began September 1992 in Méjico].

These activists also encourage public theatre activism. During the first summer of the cheneybushjr régime the first zombie walk took place. These zombie events were in conjunction with the showing of zombie films. Romero's second zombie film, Dawn of the Dead [1978], was shot at a shopping center fifteen miles east of Pittsburgh. Zombie walks have become popular there. This Hallowe'en zombie costumes were extra-ordinarily popular. Well, walking around sluggishly, mindlessly, relentlessly in order to feed on human flesh is an apt metaphor for american consumerism and cut throat capitalism.
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*Thanksgiving Day in Canada is Columbus Day (2^nd October Monday). Buy Nothing Day is set for the US, but the day is also marked in other countries.