I always look forward to Thanksgiving as a time to be with my loved ones, get absolutely stuffed on too much food, and reflect on how lucky I am to have what I have. Even so, Thansgiving brings with it, for me, three equally annoying and black events to make the season between two weeks before Thanksgiving and Christmas utterly intolerable:
- Insane, drooling-with-rage holiday shoppers trying to get their hands on a limited supply of manufactured, must-have toys
- The constant repetition of really awful Christmas music
- Politically correct AnarchoKids screaming on Indymedia about Buy Nothing Day.
So what do we do about this? Find out on the other side....
I really don't have a good solution for the second problem, except to say that I wouldn't be disappointed if, say, a retail shop were to play London Calling or Plastic Surgery Disasters instead of the usual rotation of holiday music.
For the first and third, I have just the cure: instead of buying corporate or buying nothing, try putting your money into the local economy by buying from local businesses and artists. I first had this idea in 2001, and it's caught on since then. I call this idea Buy Local Day, and the intention is to help boost local small businesses that produce most of the jobs, as well as local artists that produce most of the culture.
One such event is the Oregon College of Art and Craft Art Sale. All proceeds from the sale benefit the individual students (70%) and the College's scholarship fund (30%).
Oregon College of Art and Craft
8245 SW Barnes Road
Portland, OR 97225
Friday, November 24, 7 to 9pm ($7 admission fee for opening night only--includes snacks and wine)
Saturday, November 25, 10am to 5pm
Sunday, November 26, 10am to 4pm
I would encourage other Kossacks to post diaries about similar events happening in their own communities. Let's spread the word and get progressives to buy locally this year.