Consumer Radicalism

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

I’ll use the line again. ‘Never mind what they’re selling. It’s what you’re buying.’

There is a way to do it. Small ways in your day to day to not give your dollar to the man. And there are more and more ways opening up every day.

If you’re like ol’ Hobbsy here, you’re not a big fan of the Big Corporations that run our country. Not a fan of the War for Oil, and the insanely inflated gas prices. Not a fan of the chemical-laden food that is mass produced and sold to you. (Here’s some food for thought. We use manure in our gardens because it helps things grow. Animal feces is good for plants. Try using human feces, and it will kill everything. Ever wonder why that is? Perhaps its because animals like Cows eat natural things like grass and corn, and humans eat McDonalds and Mountain Dew and things that never would exist in nature). The Corporate Run American System is poisoning you and raping you of your hard earned dollars, and you and bending over, dropping trow, and sticking your wallet in your ass so they can easily do both. You are buying into what they’ve told you to.

Now ol’ Hobbsy here does everything in his power to keep his hard earned dollars in the hands of his peers, rather than forking it all over to big business. Granted, its relatively impossible to do this 100% of the time, but here are some of my methods that help me to sleep at night.

• Gas: I do not give my money to Exxon, Mobil, Shell, or any of the major companies. I simply refuse. The less people who give them money, the less they’ll have to charge for their stinking gasoline. Look at the escalated gas prices, especially since that date I refuse to mention. There is no reason for it, except that they can.
• Phone Companies: Here’s one of the most amazing scams they’ve come up with in some time. Cell phones are all the rage, and these huge companies can pretty well charge you whatever they want, and rope you in with cool gadgetry. T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T. Huge corporations who have cornered the market. Or have they. Ever heard of Working Assets? Started in 1985 as a small company with ethics, Working Assets gives a portion of all income to various charities, such as Greenpeace and Doctors Without Borders. I’ve used them for 15 years. When I joined, you even got a pint of Ben and Jerry’s free each month for a year. They used to only do local phone, but now they do cell phones as well, and I’ve got a damn cool gadgety phone just like you! The company has raised over $50 million dollars for charitable organizations, and also promotes social activism. In each bill are a number of petitions that you can elect to add your name to, and various socially conscious books that you can buy if you’re interested. Just add it to the bill. Their website features Act for Change, the social activism portion where many political and social causes are featured so you can be informed and get involved. All this from a phone company. And my bill is no more than anyone else’s.
• Organic Food: Folks, there are a few easy points I can make here. One is, take a look at the ingredients of many of the things that you consume. Good god! What is all of that stuff? Its chemicals, kiddies. Things that man created in a lab. Things that really have no place in food. Soda like Coke can rot through the dashboard of your car when spilled, but you drink it down into your sensitive little tummy. Ever wonder why we can use animal manure to fertilize a garden, but human feces will kill all the plants? Because there is NOTHING NATURAL in there. Ever wonder why so many Americans are OBESE? There’s your answer fish bulb! And the almighty THEY only know what sort of mind control chemicals are used in Pop-Tarts, Coke, Lay’s potato chips, et al. Let me tell you, once you start eating more natural foods, you can no longer enjoy these chemical cocktails. You can taste the filth. Now, I know you are going to start whining at me about costs. YES, Organic and natural foods are currently more expensive. WHY? Because they are no longer the main staple, but a niche market. However, the more of us who purchase this sort of product, the cheaper it will get. The reason all that other food is so cheap is because THERE IS NO FOOD IN IT! It is cheaply manufactured chemicals. And don’t complain that you can’t get your favorite products either, because you’ll find a brand of cookies just like Oreo’s that aren’t just crap. Support you local farmers and small mom and pop companies that are making real food.
• WalMart: Department stores make me sick, and WalMart is the king of nausea. I can in no way give this company any of my money. I have been to a WalMart once, only once, in the desperate need for a cheap vacuum. And I regret that to this day. We all know the poor practices of this company, and if you don’t, look it up. My hatred for WalMart started with the censorship of music, as they only sell acceptable cd’s and alter cover art that they do not enjoy. People should never buy music from department stores. Yes, its cheaper, generally, but they only sell certain things, and if everyone shopped at department stores, they’d put real record stores out of business, and you’d lose the ability to find interesting and experimental artists (yes, this argument is out of date with the internet and iTunes, but I still feel it has validity). WalMart is pure evil, and no one should ever shop there.

Folks, there are many other ways that you can refuse to support the Big Corporations, and I welcome your ideas. Share them with me, and with others. Fight back against the Corporate Government, and support your local businesses. Use your dollar as a weapon. Use every weapon you have. This is how we will reach true freedom.

-HvW