Christmas Boycotts

pms laflame at mindspring.com
Mon Nov 30 17:16:22 PST 1998



>No, Doug. I honestly don't. What's odd - dare I say - is that you are so
>alienated from your fellow citizens. What's odd is that Friends of the
>Earth should organise a propaganda campaign against children's toys.
>
>Weren't you ever young? Or, haven't you ever hunted down a prized gift
>for a child? I know I have.
>
>People enjoy shopping. It's not so terrible. Where's the harm in it?
>- --
>Jim heartfield
>

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



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