Right here, I think Jim's got a point. Do we want to be righteous, or do we want to have a real effect on people's consciousness? An assault on children's toy's, during Christmas season, a broadside like this anyway, is just bad pr. and a road to marginalization.
I hate shopping, I hate malls, and I think the day after Thanksgiving shopping is nuts, but, it is near and dear to peoples' hearts, and all this campaign does is give right-wing radio hosts some fodder.
On another list I commented on the call to boycott Wal-Mart. Another dumb idea. Why not boycott Nieman Marcus, where stuff made by cheap labor is sold at outrageous prices? Attacking Wal-Mart, or worse, my beloved Mcfrugal, endangers my ability to afford Christmas decorations. I know Wal-Mart is bad, but the working class loves it.
A year round compaign questioning the wisdom of letting children be brainwashed by advertisers might be good. Articles talking about the lives of the children , or the parent, that makes this toys would be good. But messing with folks now, when the kids little greed meters are registering high is a bad idea, propaganda-wise.
As far a parents in line at absurd hours, the emptiness and moral decay require heroic purpose of some sort. You can't mess with that stuff. Martydom saves a lot of people's asses. They need it.
Some years I pretty much skip Christmas. This year I shall treat it like Carnival and embrace it. It's a mood.
And ya know what else, in some families, this is the only time of year when there's relative peace. Man, this is a sick set-up. But it's the actually existing set-up.
How did the Left get labeled as a source of effective propaganda. What a joke.
pms