Black Friday: Buy Nothing Day and Boycott WalMart

First, here's my general opinion of the day.


Second, watch Kalle Lasn, the founder of AdBusters, who came up with the idea of Buy Nothing Day (and Occupy Wall Street for that matter) on CNN last year explaining the rationale for his boycott of consumerism. Also note how much the CNN interviewer scoffs at him. Too bad for her that's he's more right than she'll let on.


Last year, I was able to comply with Lasn's request, but I don't think I'll be able to this year. However, there is one boycott I will do my absolute best to comply with. Gawker gives two reasons why.

Walmart, the ninth circle of Black Friday Hell, looks like it will be even more nightmarish than usual, and "usual" is that someone gets trampled to death.

The second reason is one of the reasons why last year's Black Friday was Buy Nothing Day for me, but the first reason is new. Gawker can explain that one, too.

Knick-knack monster Wal-Mart is facing an uncharacteristically well-organized worker strike this Friday, on what is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. The company is scared enough to try to get the NLRB to tell the company's own employees they can't protest. Since we can't imagine that that long-shot attempt at crushing dissent will be successful, you should be ready for Wal-Mart Black Friday: Protest Edition.

Will you drive on over to your local Wal-Mart on Black Friday morning, only to find yourself confronted by capitalism's misdeeds, in the form of protesting Wal-Mart workers demanding something approaching a living wage?

No. I'm going to support the strikers by staying away.

Speaking of demanding a living wage...

Also, if you're interested in the economics of this issue, here is a study that Demos released yesterday that says that raising the salary of all full time workers at large retailers to $25,000 per year would lift more than 700,000 people out of poverty, at a cost of only a 1% price increase for customers...

We will also note that Wal-Mart has decided to pay its dividends early in order to minimize its taxes, in a move that could save members of the Walton family "as much as $180 million in federal income taxes." Please contrast this to the ostentatious displays of patriotic rhetoric generally associated with Wal-Mart.

Time for another book/movie poster.


As Gawker concluded their article, "have a black, black Friday."