The Anti-Black Friday or, How Adbusters is Helping You Get Your Head Straight

Today is "Black Friday." This is the day when shoppers get up at the butt crack of dawn (I'd bet there was a bit of parking lot camping going on last night, too) to take advantage of "door buster" sales and cherry pick the very best bargains.

By Black Friday, the Holiday Season is going at full bore. The voices of "Dino, Bing, and Burl" start playing steadily on the radio and the malls are solidly busy.

The origin of the name "Black Friday" is often tied to the incontrovertible fact that the heavy shopping day after Thanksgiving is when several shops are thought to become profitable. Companies once recorded losses in red ink and gains in black, a practice that lives on in modern accounting software, hence the name "Black Friday."

However, workers of retail outlets have for years used the term in a humorous way, to note the highly stressful and frenetic nature of the day.

Stress? Don't we have enough stress in our lives? Come on! I think we'd all do well to heed of the message that's been coming out of the Adbusters camp regarding "Buy Nothing Day."

Even though it is "celebrated" on the Friday following Thanksgiving Day, the movement speaks to a much larger issue than fighting against outlets who market to us twenty-four hours a day.

Now in its 17th year, Buy Nothing Day is celebrated each November by environmentalists, social activists and concerned citizens in over sixty five nations around the globe.

Over time, Buy Nothing Day (followed by Buy Nothing Christmas) has exploded into a worldwide movement, electrifying the planet's voters to live more simply and buy a lot less. In a consumption-based society, we are quickly draining the planet of its natural resources.

I get caught up in the hype as much as anyone. Heck, I drool over my brother's new Samsung 52" HDTV, and eveytime football season rolls around, it gives me yet another reason to wish he didn't live so far away in Colorado Springs, CO.

Here is an Adbusters supported video that will make you giggle. It does a good job of reminding us of how powerful media marketing can be. (Warning - it has an Alternative Rock soundtrack, and I think two particularly colorful words sung in the song - but only once each. So, put your earmuffs on!)

If shopping comes into the picture, and I'm going to try to keep that to a minimum, I will focus on supporting local merchants this year. 2 Jay's Java here in Winter Haven, Florida just started carrying a great new line of tea produced by Fine Tea USA (also based here in Winter Haven).

It's starting to become a trend, and I don't think I'm alone, but I'll take my cue from Seth Godin's recent Holiday Shopper's Guide. In the post, Seth offers the following advice: