> For the past eight years, a few self-described "culture jammers" from
> Adbusters Magazine have dubbed the last Friday in November "Buy Nothing
> Day."
>
> From their stylish home base in Vancouver's upscale suburb of Kitsilano,
> the Adbusters' brain trust has encouraged conscientious citizens worldwide
> to "relish [their] power as a consumer to change the economic environment."
> In their words, Buy Nothing Day "[p]roves how empowering it is to step out
> of the consumption stream for even a day."
>
> The geniuses at Adbusters have managed to create the perfect feel-good,
> liberal, middle-class activist non-happening. A day when the more money you
> make, the more influence you have (like every other day). A day which, by
> definition, is insulting to the millions of people worldwide who are too
> poor or marginalized to be considered "consumers."
>
> It's supposed to be a 24-hour moratorium on spending, but ends up being a
> moralistic false-debate about whether or not you should really buy that
> loaf of bread today or ... wait for it ... tomorrow!
>
> Well, this year, while the Adbusters cult enjoys yet another Buy Nothing
> Day, accompanied by their fancy posters, stickers, TV and radio
> advertisements and slick webpages, a few self-described
> anarcho-situationists from Montreal's East End are inaugurating Steal
> Something Day.
>
> Unlike Buy Nothing Day, when people are asked to "participate by not
> participating," Steal Something Day demands that we "participate by
> participating." Instead of downplaying or ignoring the capitalists, CEOs,
> landlords, small business tyrants, bosses, PR hacks, yuppies, media
> lapdogs, corporate bureaucrats, politicians and cops who are primarily
> responsible for misery and exploitation in this world, Steal Something Day
> demands that we steal from them, without discrimination.
>
> The Adbusters' intellegentsia tell us that they're neither "left nor
> right," and have proclaimed a non-ideological crusade against
> overconsumption. Steal Something Day, on the other hand, identifies with
> the historic and contemporary resistance against the causes of capitalist
> exploitation, not its symptoms. If you think overconsumption is scary, wait
> until you hear about capitalism and imperialism.
>
> Unlike the misplaced Buy Nothing Day notion of consumer empowerment, Steal
> Something Day promotes empowerment by urging us to collectively identify
> the greedy bastards who are actually responsible for promoting misery and
> boredom in this world. Instead of ignoring them, Steal Something Day
> encourages us to make their lives as uncomfortable as possible.
>
> As we like to say in Montreal: d=E9ranger les riches dans leurs niches!
>
> And remember, we're talking about stealing, not theft. Stealing is just.
> Theft is exploitative. Stealing is when you take a yuppie's BMW for a
> joyride, and crash into a parked Mercedes just for the hell of it. Theft is
> when you take candy from a baby's mouth. Stealing is the re-distribution of
> wealth from rich to poor Theft is making profits at the expense of the
> disadvantaged and the natural environment. Stealing is an unwritten tax
> on the rich. Theft is taxing the poor to subsidize the rich. Stealing is
> nothing more than a tax on the rich. There is solidarity in stealing, but
> property is nothing but theft.
>
> So, don't pay for that corporate newspaper, but steal all of them from the
> box. Get some friends together and go on a "shoplifting "spree at the local
> chain supermarket or upscale mall. With an even larger mob, get together
> and steal from the local chain book or record store. Pilfer purses and
> wallets from easily identified yuppies and business persons. Skip out on
> rent. Get a credit card under a fake name and don't pay. Keep what you can
> use, and give away everything else in the spirit of mutual aid that is the
> hallmark of Steal Something Day.
>
> Download our detourned poster, make copies and stick it up wherever you
> can. And don't forget, send your scamming and stealing tips to us at
> lombrenoire at tao.ca. See you next Steal Something Day which, unlike Buy
> Nothing, happens every day of the year.