"It's Christmas. Buy this crap."

from HuffPost:




Peter Smith
"It's Christmas. Buy this crap."
Posted November 18, 2007 | 08:52 AM (EST)


Christmas shopping starts in earnest this week. Spurred on by hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising, more than one hundred and fifty million Americans will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by engaging in a mindless, debt-building, four-week frenzy of consumerism.

They will shop every day from here to Christmas. And every day from here to Christmas, experts will extract some giant rectal thermometer from the sphincter of the economy, read the retail sales numbers, and announce them to a hovering Wall Street.

Then Wall Street will pronounce the numbers, "Not good enough," and go to the whip to spur the offending retailers on. And offending retailers will lower prices in an effort to amp the Christmas shopping frenzy up.

And for what? So you can give that dork of a brother-in-law some object made in China? Rest assured that, whatever you choose to give him, your brother-in-law will still be a dork after you've given it to him.

It might be different if retailers didn't just phone Christmas in these days. But no.

For retailers, fleecing America at Christmas has become a birthright. Like the Bush family's birthright to the presidency. And, like a Bush presidency, Christmas has acquired meaningless form and shed substance at an alarmingly accelerating rate lately.

For retailers, it's down to cliché advertising (kids in scarves, sweaters and stocking caps, snowflakes, trees, lights, etc.) in-store signage, cheap seasonal help, and Christmas music over the PA system.

Never mind the real meaning of Christmas. They can't even get the real meaning of Christmas retail right.

They're telling us, "It's Christmas. Buy this crap." That's all.

Recently, the Fed dropped interest rates and released $40 billion in an effort to coax a few more RPMs out of the sputtering V-8 of the American economy. No doubt, they had the housing sector and the subprime mortgage crisis in mind.

But you've got to believe the Fed was sending the rest of us another message, too. The message says, "It's Christmas. Buy this crap."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-smith/its-christmas-buy-this_b_73152.html

baked goods, great wine, and a few handmade gifts this year. I can't stand this crap anymore. I love the feeling of the holidays, or how it used to feel, but I hate the consumerism, it just gets worse every year.

the focus is on getting together and giving each other less, but more thoughtful gifts than years past. We're all pretty much in the same economic boat.

The overdrive hyping of the holidays as buy, buy, buy is wearing on us all, but we still spend the time with each other and that's the heart of the season.

MKJ

are fun to do.

I'm glad you bought the subject of Christmas buying up. Has anyone else noticed that the Christmas hype this year is down? I think it is. Yesterday I was reading on a giftware industry site the results of a survey of store owners. Almost 50% said their sales would be less than last year, or that they didn't know or that they were keeping their fingers crossed! That's very telling in my eyes. (I live in a semi-rural part of Texas and I don't watch network TV so maybe that contributes to my viewpoint....at least I haven't felt pressured into buying ANYTHING.)

I've a habit of giving people books (in reasonably good condition!) that I bought for myself and have subsequently read.

Home baking's always good, too!

is going to be very different. Due to inflation, people just don't have the disposable income they used to have. Retailers are counting on the Christmas season to prop up their sagging business. I think come the first of the year a LOT of retailers will be out of business.

.....since I'm no economist, brainwashed by the capitalism model of economic theory, I DO marvel at how, when the poor are doing worse and the middle class is tight, the rich are doing better than ever.

Yeah I know, I'm bitching about bitching - but goddamn can people just live and let live for one fuckin' day a year.

If you don't want a bunch of useless crap - DON'T BUY IT. And shut up about the people who do.

Then we can all have ourselves a merry little christmas.

On edit:

Oops. Chrismahkaa.

You saved me from having to point out more useless bitching.

What do you think you're being?

I made a general comment about the endless Christmas threads by arrogant people sneering down their noses at anybody who dares to buy a Christmas present or hang a wreath.

You attack people personally.

And I'm the bad guy. :crazy:

Since the OP doesn't say that.

With a little effort, consumers can still shop without being force-fed.

....Christmas is just another somebody's birthday.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/best-buy-reportedly-talks-vivek/story.aspx?guid=%7BD1AA83B1-973B-4CB8-9487-C1CB691CE704%7D



Why hush-hush?

why dont all of them go away and allow people to embrace and enjoy this time of the year. i have not seen such an attempt to ruin christmas for people from all these different factions.

"every kiss begins with kay." and my personal dis-favorite "he went to jarred's (sp)"

i don't want diamonds even though the tv and the women in my office tell me i do.

that is one that is a real funny to me when i hear it and hubby sittin next to me... i say the same thing to hom. geez baby you dont love me unless... i hear ya. and a woman doesnt want a man if he isnt taking viagra or something yup yup. can't remember which commercial and product

Mind you, both peddle overpriced cheap jewelry so we'd end up with MC Hammer's tailor...

It is possible to embrace this time of year yet still not want to buy things no one really needs.

I love the time of year but not the commerical part of it. But nothing about this post "ruins" it for me.

to go out and find gifts for people. (he was just talking about this the other day as a matter of fact. remembering the past and anticipating the future in joy and happiness and a glee) it is not buying useless things for people to him. it is being young, going out for alone time with me, late at night that he doesnt get to do often and feel like a much older kid. we hit barnes and noble spending time over a hot chocolate chatting in a very mature fashion. he thinks of those that he loves. and has a blast.

so bully for you that it is simply too commercial. i spent a couple decades of my life feeling that too and having the attitude all should feel that way, until my children and hubby that so gets into the spirit taught me better. and thank you to them. i have nev er seen christmas they way i have since thru their eyes

that is just one of the many many tradition this family has creatd, and it is about love and connection and happiness and joy

not things

About one goddamn day of the year? What do you care whether somebody buys something they want, whether they need it or not. Do you own more than 2 shirts? More than 1 pair of shoes? Cologne? Sweets? Chips? Music? Movies?

Unless you are actually living in a tree and on a computer you use for work - you're engaged in commercialism.

that you didn't buy his kids expensive enough crap.

Call me lazy, but my nephews are getting gift cards or cash. Last year I bought them nice gifts, which they loved, but paid $25 for shipping. Heck, I'd rather give them the $25 and let them buy what they want. Their parents make them save half of whatever cash they get so it's not a bad thing.

My sisters and I exchange ornaments and have for years. That's fun.

As for the rest? I make a damn good bourbon ball.

"Spurred on by hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising, more than one hundred and fifty million Americans will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by engaging in a mindless, debt-building, four-week frenzy of consumerism."

It is most definitely NOT Christmas that is driving this binge of consumerism, and people do not celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ wben the engage in this frenzy.

Rather it is "Holiday" and the warm feelings associate with "Holiday".

As in "Holiday Sale."

Or "Just in Time For The Holidays!"

Or "Happy Holidays".

It would be much more accurate to say, "It's Holiday, Buy This Crap".

as has been the case for many years now , ever since the early 80's when around here it was apparent the spirit of the holidays died .

I won't be shopping on the internet either , the last thing I need is crap , I made a great effort to rid myself of crap that I never needed but at the time thought I did .

I am still in the process of getting rid of crap but I am getting there . Not that I had all that much but less is better as far as I am concerned .

So they can have their fake santas and whatever christmas music which to be honest I have not heard in any stores around here for years , it's just the same piped in musak that sends out subliminal messages on what you should buy .

i see it all around me during the christmas season. amazing where you live it is dead, and where i live it flourishes. leads me to believe maybe it was not theirs that died.

The fact is that people like giving presents at Christmas. And retailers like serving that need.

But the problem I have is that "retailers" have turned into "retailer." Wal-Mart.

When there was genuine competition, when there were MANY stores to buy from, there were lots of options, lots of jobs, lots of money in the economy. Now there's just Wal-Mart and the "cheap Chinese crap" you talk about.

Now my major Christmas shopping is already done. I'm giving hemp bags to a bunch of people for their grocery shopping. (And I got them from some lonely eBay seller who had 7000 made...and can't get rid of them because the stores are starting to sell them.) And the people to whom I'm giving them are a bunch of impoverished actors and techs who can't give me anything...except for the entertainment I enjoy from them all year.

I know that almost nobody I give things will be able to give me anything back. They're all unemployed, underemployed or struggling. But I like the idea of helping other people in the limited ways I can. And I have purposely avoided buying anything from Wal-Mart or the other big box stores.

So I ask again. Is it Wal-Mart and outsourcing that made you a Scrooge? Or have you always been a hater?

and how Starbucks is a barometer of disposable income. Sales there are down, and the piece said one of the reasons was less disposable income.

Mindless consumer spending is the bedrock of our shell game of an economy. It doesn't just happen one day out of the year, that's just when it reaches its fever pitch. What Would Jesus Consume?

...at $350 for 100 gallons of K1, any 'consumerism' that I would like to do is going to be used to keep the immediate family from freezing up here in Maine (15 degrees this morning!). So, a photo-copy, and a card...And togetherness...which is what it's really all about...

retailers and corporations do they really deserve what money we have left?