Buy Nothing Day!

Workers On Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day, Ethan Nichtern Twitter, Cyber Monday, Adbusters Buy Nothing Day, What Would Jesus Buy?

After a Thanksgiving day in which many workers were forced to work instead of having a holiday with their families, today is the traditional "Black Friday." I posted a fake quote of the Buddha on my Facebook and Twitter feeds decrying Black Friday as a "bad idea." While not a direct quote (I'm always shocked when we take these things too seriously), I feel pretty confident he would have agreed.I like to shop as much as the next bourgeoisie Buddhist hipster from Brooklyn, but today feels like a good day to ask ourselves "if we have to engineer our economy to manipulate people into a shopping hysteria at certain key moments, shouldn't we reconsider how we arrange our economy? Why does our sense of wealth have to be so constructed, and lack so much imagination?"I am in full support of Adbusters' Buy Nothing Day.Do you like to shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? No judgments. I'm just wondering where everyone is at on this issue.Also, What Would Pope Francis Buy?Follow Ethan on: