Why are You Shopping for the Holidays This Year?

Why are you shopping for the holidays this year? Today, I had a job installing telecommunications equipment at a bank around Madison Ave and 50th Street in New York City.

I decided (or my body did) to use the restrooms at Penn Station on 34th Street. To my surprise, that place was a madhouse. Then I realized the whole city was abuzz. Then, the horror set in.

THE WHOLE CITY WILL BE OVERRUN WITH ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE-TYPE SHOPPERS FOR THE NEXT 23 DAYS! How does that happen? We are a nation that shops and consumes on demand. From the time we get up to the time we go to sleep. From the time we are born to the time we die.

When we wake up in the morning, we have to run to Starbucks, McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts, or some other place to get an overpriced coffee (we will get into the price of coffee another time). Around noon, we are told to go out and buy a meal. The evil part for me is the pre-programmed shopping days installed on the yearly calendar. Massive shopping for the holidays is the result of that. Any holiday. All holidays.

Somehow, the powers that be managed to morph every holiday into an opportunity to shop. Who the hell was Saint Valentine, and why do men get into trouble if they do not shop and spend money on that day?

Who gets to decide, and why is that AWESOME power to control and motivate the masses to shop and not be used to encourage the masses to do something good for humanity every day? How are they able to get us to celebrate DEMONS on Halloween?

How can they turn the resurrection of Jesus Christ into a day to buy chocolate, rabbits, candy, eggs, clothing, and baskets? That one is particularly clever in my book. Do I have to mention Christmas? Shopping for the holidays is mandatory here. Do you think you see where I am going with this?

When was the last time you saw three or more Native Americans gathered together? You did not see that coming, did you? I ask because I stared at the hurried masses moving around like a frenzied ant hill the day before Thanksgiving and the fact that I was on the island of Manhattan. I was taught in school that the island was sold to the Dutch for 24 dollars and a song (I’m not sure about the song).

If the Native Americans knew what they now know today, would the country be celebrating Thanksgiving? I bet they don’t go shopping for the holidays, so let’s get back to the topic. We consume on demand and take pride in it. The powers that be go so low as to market to your children, and the country sees you as a loser if you don’t keep up consumerism at all costs.

I have been working on projects with a co-worker lately, and he has seen a change in me as I move towards a more minimalistic lifestyle. Now I bring my lunch to job sites. I also bring water everywhere I go; if I buy food, I never drink it. Just cutting out soda has done wonders for me.

As he watched me preparing my lunch one day, he began to tell me what he believed my yearly salary was. I could afford to buy lunch and did not need to eat what I was eating. With pride (as he now brings lunch when we work together), he unpacks lunch and brags about how he purchased enough food the day before for lunch today. He thinks like many and like I once did.

Spending is a sign that you have made it and are doing okay. It’s something to be proud of even when you don’t have readily available funds. Credit Cards and the Christmas holiday are perfect examples of that philosophy. The unhealthy pressure for people to spend and consume is always present in our society, but around the holiday season, it is magnified 100 times.

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Why are You Shopping for the Holidays This Year?

Some people go into debt to keep up. Hell, it is encouraged. They are pressured to purchase and project the symbol of doing well. I was shocked to learn that if you are a native of another country and return to visit from The United States, you are expected to return with massive amounts of gifts and treasures.

Some cannot return home to their native country without it or feel like a loser. I’m not sure if that is true, but it makes sense, given the level of brainwashing we have been subjected to. We are programmed to spend and consume. For example,

I was at lunch and explained to a co-worker that the Filet Mignon and Brussels Sprouts I was eating had recovered from a dumpster on a Freegan trash tour a few nights before, and I had probably taken more than I could have eaten in a week and should have left more for others.

He quickly associated Freeganism with not having the money or being poor. He said I should buy my own Filet Mignon and Brussels Sprouts. His spending and consumer pride programming will not allow him to understand it is about waste, not money.

I am sure the Filet Mignon and Brussels Sprouts were offered for sale a few days ago, and I could have purchased them and done so many times, but they were free a few days later. The cases of Filet Mignon were packaged in airtight packaging (similar to bacon) and looked to be thrown out because the sell-by date had passed the day before. It seemed perfectly good to me and was going to waste. Brussels Sprouts looked good also, and they both tasted suitable for the few days in a row I prepared them.

It took a few days for it to begin to sink in. It was about waste, as he taunted me with his store-bought lunches and insulted me about the fact I could afford to do the same.  It’s ironic that people are killed every year at this time, trampled in doorways of department stores trying to catch a sale but turning their noses up to free items. Today is Thanksgiving, and some stores are already open as I navigate the streets of NYC.

As I work for the next few weeks, I will pretend to be defending myself from the attack of THE PER-PROGRAMMED SPENDING AND CONSUMER ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE as they flood the streets, stores, and restaurants of the Tri-State area.

The waste will be abundant, and my Freegan trash tours should be bountiful. On a serious note, be safe and careful out there, and please, please respect each other and don’t trample anyone to death this year. You have over 300 days next year to purchase that same product for the cousin you hate. Avoid shopping for the holidays, during the holiday, and take advantage of that time.