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Show fODMUl 6 tDeceu&ex 7, 2005 In the godless Soviet Union Post Holiday Alternative If you believe that people have the right to make deci- SLfSRr, sions based on information instead of propaganda, if you believe that overconsumption is selfish, if you believe that shopping can become a compulsive disorder and if you believe that it is the vehicle for getting one The day after Thanksgiving is known for people getting up early to wait for stores to open, and standing in line for endless hours. This biggest deeper and deeper in debt, then please do participate. shopping day of the year, An estimated again, made its way onto the If yOU bcIlCVG that million people nightly news. Corporate pe0plo have the right laak decisions marketing the based OH Information America was successful at buy thing It every- day. is the big- - gest day of the year for retailers and the holiday flows spirit as fast as the cash registers can ring it up. But day the after Thanksgiv- - ing has been targeted by a lesser-know- n nstead of propagan. overlooked da, If you bellevo that it,or havent Is heard about the movement- selfish, If you believe I am famil-thOVerCOnSURiptlon at shopping can the urge you get right after Thanksgiving t0 look forward to Christmas, she said. I am sorry to say I wasnt one that participated this year, but I admire what deeper and deeper in debt, then please do participate. Day. From the most popular Xboxes and ipods to the obscurities, Christmas gifts disappear quickly, and the phrase of the day is: Buy it now! Each year, the decorating and advertising for the big day happens earlier and more elaborate. Through all the hype of consumerism, it did not seem as though many were listening anti-consumeri- philosophy. Lasn, founder of Ad busters Magazine , and the first Buy Nothing Day, was an advertising -- executive-turned-anti-consumer- ist ac- tivist. His ads (see Adbusters. org) are against current commercialism in the United States. His goal has been to target the biggest shopping day of the year to make the statement that materialism is eating away at the lives of citizens. He says on his Web site. not-so-bo- ld iar with Lasns campaign, become a compulsive juor disorder and If you sait! Jackie Morgan. bellevo that It Is the But it's so vehicle for getting one hard t0 resist movement, one that many people do not Kalle Lasns Buy Nothing to Lasns Par,iciPated in the world- acknowledged campaign. But many more where I grew up, Christmas was something for sillv Western children. Thats how my mother justified the difference in our holidays. Instead we had a New Years tree and Father Frost and his much sexier Ice Princess daughter knew who had been bad or good. After my family moved to America, my elementary school teacher instructed us to write about the meaning of Christmas. Presents, reindeers and trees were not allowed, because, after all, there is so much more to this holiday. That was the year I met Jesus Christ. In later holiday seasons on the west side, a hot bed for immigrants, I met Jewish people and learned that there are options to Santa Claus. Soviet utilitarianism didnt offer outlets for all these variations and the idea of no tree was a shock. I didnt know there were Jewrish people. History professor. Dr. Susan Cottiers, story is the opposite. Growing up in a predominantly Jewish city (Newton, Maine , recently voted safest city in the nation) where kids didnt go to school on Yom Kippur or Roshashan, Cottier recalls, I didnt know that everyone was not Jewish. Although the Jewish population is only 1 percent of the total U.S. population (CIA. gov), the lack of awareness of Hanukkah (aside from Adam Sandlers song) is limited. While it is not the biggest Jewish holiday of the year, the fact that it falls on Dec. 26 this year makes it appear as if its competing with this countrys Christian holiday. Recently, it seems that any inclusion of other celebration is an attack on Christmas (USAtoday.com, Christians protest actions that play down Christmas religious nature). When Super Target decided to switch its ads to read Happy ChrisHobdays, right-win- g tian groups decided to boycott the store. Bib OReilly even read a Ust of retailers who dont wish their consumers a Merry Christmas ( San Francisco Chronicle, Falwell fighting for holy holiday. Hell sue, boycott groups he sees as muzzling Christmas). But isnt that really what Christmas has become all consumer spending? about Why do people feel they must get up at five a.m. and trample each other to death to buy ugly shit and the newest gadget? Im sure thats a sign of something, but I dont know what. says Cottier. Although she does not feel angry about being left out, Cottier is still reminded of being a minority. For example, the Christmas Ughts and decorations on her street were partly paid for with her taxes. In my passionate years when I was going to change the world, if offended me and made me sad, but she has since reaUzed that she will never find a menorah to put on her lawn that is as big as i he stands for. Lasn tells people that participating in the cam- simply stay paign is easy home and buy nothing at all. Even if people go to work, Lasn encourages them to bring a lunch and plan for the day beforehand. He and many others strongly believe that by making a pact to not give in to consumerism just for one day, a great impact can be made. Lasn has relied on grassroots networks and word of mouth to spread knowledge about the campaign. Intense supporters of Buy Nothing Day have gone to the extremes to get their point across. Every year, such supporters cut up credit cards and drop huge buy nothing banners across shopping malls that have frightened and angered some retailers. CBS, ABC and NBC still refuse to air ads promoting Buy Nothing Day. Presents 50 years of artwork by Harrison Groutage. Including many never before seen pieces. Opening Receptions December 9, 0 p.m. and December 10 8 p.m. 6-1- 5-- 1058 East 2100 South Salt Lake City, Ut www.groutagegallery.com 801-486-13- 09 i |