Would Nudity Work Better Than Buy Nothing Day to Stop Consumerism: Some Thoughts of a Wild Cat General Strike

Today is Buy Nothing Day, an international protest again consumerism. It was launched to be a counter-weight to Black Friday, which is when American merchants finally go into the black in the run up to the Christmas holiday. In Europe and other places, tomorrow, November 28, will be the day.

The organizers are calling for "a Wildcat General Strike. We’re asking tens of millions of people around the world to bring the capitalist consumption machine to a grinding – if only momentary – halt.

"We want you to not only stop buying for 24 hours, but to shut off your lights, televisions and other nonessential appliances. We want you to park your car, turn off your phones and log off of your computer for the day.

"We’re calling for a Ramadan-like fast. From sunrise to sunset we’ll abstain en masse, not only from holiday shopping, but from all the temptations of our five-planet lifestyles."

I'm not sure what effect this kind of campaign will have. Those who are concerned already have begun to cut their foot prints on the earth: if you never bought a clothes dryer, it's not going to be a sacrifice to dry your clothes in the air after all.

Just as importantly, those whose lives are empty of meaning except for what they consume will not be reached by such Puritan-like appeals. Making frugality sexy is going to take some doing--although going without clothes might help.

Well, Lee bought The Globe and Mail today, but I think that's all we'll buy. Now this gray panther (who paid her dues as a wild cat) will go down to the basement to hang up the clothes on the line to dry. But no nudity here: it's too cold even if we're not too old.