Occupy Christmas.

[bleever]

I'm just sayin'.

It isn't even Thanksgiving yet and we're hearing all the Christmas marketing, mostly from (wait for it) large corporations.

And I think about what really has meaning for us as a nation this year and season, and I realize that it's the awakening of the Occupy movement, and the shift in our national dialogue it has produced such that we are now actually talking, even in the generally obtuse mainstream media, about previously "taboo" topics:

The income gap, and how it's grown in the last 30 years. And beyond that, the opportunity gap. The clear and present fact that all the education and effort in the world might not mean squat where there aren't jobs to be had.

So as one more blow for taking back our democracy from corporate hegemony, I say: Occupy Christmas. Remember what it's about, the possibility of a season of joy during the darkest days of the year, and connecting and reconnecting with the people in your life.

I say: Whose Christmas? Our Christmas!

Whose Christmas? Our Christmas!

[chollybocker]

1. Agreed. Why not start with Occupy Black Friday?

"Traditional" shopping days are nothing but corporate propaganda. People need to shaken out of this collective hypnosis.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. I couldn't agree more. nt

[Shagbark Hickory]

7. I agree even more than Sarah.

[butterfly77]

3. K&R!

[Riley18]

4. Agree 100 percent. There was a great post a week or so ago suggesting

that we all give only local "service" types of gifts. Give gifts that benefit not only the recipient, but local business owners and their employees.

[bleever]

5. "...gifts that benefit not only the recipient, but local business owners and their employees."

Great idea.

[Vincardog]

8. +1 donate gift cards to OWS or your local food kitchen instead of buying plastic shit from China

[greytdemocrat]

6. Hmmm...

The OWSers get in the way of Christmas shoppers at their own risk. Just sayin...:7

[socialist_n_TN]

9. Going to a big crafts show today

We do it every year for the last several years. Lots of aritsans and VERY few large corps. Even when we don't buy a lot, it's great for people watching. :)

[TBF]

10. We cut our Christmas Budget in half this year -

not out of economic necessity, but because we decided it was just too much to spend for one holiday and senseless given the current economy. The kids will get a few of the gifts they really want but not tons of stuff, and I've been looking at etsy and other places for homemade items for other gift-giving.

Being able to make bigger contributions to charitable groups who need it is putting me in a very festive mood. :)

[starroute]

11. They're even trying to push Black Friday back to Thursday

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/thanksgiving-day-shop-meets-rejection-123025036.html

Major chains like Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s say they will open for the first time at midnight on Thanksgiving, and Wal-Mart will go even further, with a 10 p.m. Thanksgiving start for deals on some merchandise. . . .

But judging from the negative reaction among dedicated Friday after Thanksgiving shoppers on blogs, Twitter and Facebook, the wave of midnight openings this year has crossed a line.

Part of the objection is inconvenience. To be at or near the front of the line, shoppers say they will now have to leave home hours earlier — in the middle of the turkey dinner for some. But the wider objections reflect sentiments like those of the Occupy Wall Street movement, including a growing attention to the rights of workers and a wariness of decisions by big business.

Either way, many in the shop-till-you-drop crowd have had enough with Black Friday creep.