I'm officially old.
Back in my clove-smoking days, sticking it to The Man was part of my daily routine. Whether the issue was queer rights, animal rights, or abortion rights, a day wasn't complete without a heaping helping of good old fashioned activism.
Not so much anymore. Maybe I've gotten smarter (doubtful) or more jaded (probable) or maybe I've just morphed into The Man myself (though I still have lots of baby fat). Whatever the case, I'm way more skeptical of fresh-faced idealism these days and far more prone toward pragmatism--so much so that I've come very near to slicing the throats of more than a few Zendik Farm hippies hawking their crummy magazine in Jackson Square.
The most recent case in point: last week's mildly infamous Buy Nothing Day and the upcoming Buy Nothing Christmas. Both were conceived by the folks over at AdBusters.org as a way to stem the tide of conspicuous consumerism--which is fine, I guess, except that (a) that consumerism fuels our ailing economy, and (b) while such consumerism does have some ill effects on the environment, its worst offense is that it's tacky, which is hardly a cause to get behind. I mean, Elsa Klensch might start a campaign to stomp out white shoes after Labor Day, but how many people are gonna stand with her?
Anyway, several weeks ago I wrote a letter to the folks at AdBusters. Basically, I said, "Hey, I get what you're trying to do here, but what if, just for this one year, you changed things up? What if this year you made the events into 'Buy New Orleans Day' and 'Buy New Orleans for Christmas'? Not only would it generate some kickin' press for you, but there are plenty of local businesses who could use the help. Most of the places that have re-opened are the small places, not the big, national chains, so you'd be directly supporting our economy--and, in turn, our schools, our police and fire departments, and the city's recovery in general. C'mon, how about it?"
You know, of course, what I got from them.
Bupkus. Not a form letter, not an "undeliverable email" notification, nothing.
While that's probably typical for activist sites, where you've got jillions of nutjobs like moi writing in every day, part of me likes to think AdBusters hasn't responded because they don't have anything to say, no viable counter-argument. I mean, how could you argue against helping one of America's most beloved cities get back on its feet?
If you're listening, AdBusters--and I seriously doubt you are, but what the hey?--wake up and smell the coffee (which was probably routed through, roasted in, and shipped from New Orleans). If you're really committed to improving life on Planet Earth, maybe you should spend a little less time pushing anti-capitalist merchandise in your online shop (I'm not the only one who sees the irony in that, right?) and do something that stands at least a slim chance of making a difference.
