Buy-ting Deals

[briannnac-blog]

On Black Friday, Strikes and Counterstrikes at Wal-Mart's Stores

In protests at some 1,500 stores, Walmart workers pressed for higher wages and more full-time work

I was taking a look on the news for any worker strikes and I came across a recent one at Walmart. On November 29th, Black Friday, protesters gathered at some 1,500 stores worldwide – and a number of them are workers. But the question is... Why?

The group of workers at a Walmart in Colorado is asking that Walmart stores pay higher full time wages and offer more full time work. According to Vice President David Tovar, the average wage for full time workers is $12.81 an hour. Protesters are also upset about Walmart retaliating against workers who participate in strikes, and wish for that to stop.

In my opinion, these protesters are doing the right thing. They are standing up for what they believe in, and by participating in this strike they are creating a change. The time and placement was also well designed, and this only makes me think that this was very important to them.

But here’s my question to all of you out there: is protesting a right? I think that it is. We have the freedom of speech, and so therefore it is right that we get to stand up and talk about what we believe in. Do you think that these workers took it too far (with the protest being on Black Friday), or not?

PS: Wow... Just think about how many less questions we would have about economic inequalities without consumerism...

[lada-t-ea-wisp-blog]

When it comes to consumerism we are always most pressured by the holiday that is supposed to be about giving, not receiving as most of us have come to think of it.

Especially the younger generation. even if those silly, badly written letters to santa seem harmless it’s just imbedding the thought of consumerism into their brains and they’ll carry that through life, always expecting something for nothing.

Christmas isn’t just about the children though the adults are under a lot of stress to find the perfect gift for this acquaintance or that relative, which is not only unhealthy for us it also defeats the original purpose of christmas, It is now just an excuse for major companies to sell you as many things as possible as quickly as possible.

But wait there’s more!

In your weakened, stressed-out-state business and companies attack you with even more advertisements to insure future sales. 

All of this piled up just make the holidays an anti-consumerist nightmare.

http://scotterb.wordpress.com/category/consumerism/

[briannnac-blog]

I mentioned this is a past post, but really, Christmas is ruined sometimes because of consumerism. This photo sort of scares me though I must say...

I'm actually in a play outside of school that we are doing for christmas. In the play, there is a shopping centre, and in this shopping centre people are fighting over "Ronald McDonald slippers" and other ridiculous things that we don't need. One of the lines in the play comes form the store clerk.

<line starts> Stop! Please! That's what I want to say sometimes. Just stop. Everyone go home. Watch "The Gritch Who Stole Christmas", decorate sugar cookies, sing carols, make each other gifts out of yearn and paper and... glue and... popsicle sticks! I took this sales job 3 years ago, and I'm going to be real honest. This store has ruined Christmas for me. Even the carols aren't the same. I hear "Joy to the World", and remember this time a couple screamed in my face because we only have coffee grinders in white not black.They're ranting to pieces in front of me, and I'm hearing "Joy to the World" in the background. I wanted to shout at them, "Stop please! Listen to this for a moment! Doesn't that song make you glow inside?" And is getting what you want so important that you have to treat me like garbage? <end of line>

At this point in the play someone else comes up to the clerk.

<line stars> Miss? Miss! Are you deaf? Can I get this scarf in white or not?" <line ends>

Clerk: I guess it is.

All of this is all too true.

The play used in this post is called "There Must Be More To Christmas" and was written by Brenda Pederson. Thanks for letting me use the lines!

[alyssal123-blog]

In this day and age, almost all children are easily impressionable and influenced by advertising techniques.  From birth to death, we are all consumers and our decisions are directed by the many advertisements that are posted on a bulletin board, played on a television, or even heard on the radio.  Companies spent almost $15 billion each year trying to advertise to children.  At an early age, many kids recognize popular brands such as Mcdonalds and Coca Cola only to add to the experience as a consumer.  Every advertisement that a child sees promotes a product, but also sends a message across that shows that you can only be happy with these luxuries.  An excessive amount of goods only contribute to the feelings of dissatisfaction and promotes over consumption.  Children base their identity and their ideals off of the media that is directed towards them.  

[briannnac-blog]

Wow. We all say that we are protecting our kids from the world and the bad things in it. But are we really? I wonder what would happen if we actually did manage to shield our children from consumerism. What would become of it? I'm thinking something good :)

[sanchit-c-blog]

Is Consumerism an Addiction?

The definition by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines addiction as “A chronic neurological disorder involving many brain function, most notably a devastating imbalance in the so-called reward circuitry.”

So based on the information above we can say that consumerism is in fact an addiction. The million and billion of consumers out there are always informed daily through advertisements that happiness could be “obtained” through consumer products such as iPhones, Tv’s etc. 

Therefor, the “reward circuitry” is in affect as the majority of the population is programmed to want more and more. More and more will result in happiness…

This image shows how we are all caught up in this consumerism “stuff” and slowly, it is killing us and our world.

Do you agree?

Sources:

http://politicos-rkd.blogspot.ca/2011/08/consumerism-is-addiction.html

[briannnac-blog]

Consumerism really is killing us all. This photo really shows how we are all "hung up" in what we buy. Especially now, moving into the christmas season and all. Gifts are great! But it's just when that's all we care about when it becomes a problem. Family, friends, and other aspects on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs are crucial for happy living. We often forget about it and it actually is really sad. So don't let consumerism control you! However hard it is. Fight! Fight! Fight! *chants*

[briannnac-blog]

I was watching a video on consumerism in my Tumblr feed and this ad came up... You need more dresses!

We all say that we are against consumerism and that it is killing us all... best really we are all hypocrites! This ad proves this.

Photo credits go to my tumblr feed and a screenshot. And thanks itsdorothyz for posting. It's not your fault this ad came up...

[briannnac-blog]

This cartoon really spoke to me, since that we all relate. A few things to consider when watching.

- How long did that appliance last until Ed had to go and buy a new one?

- How close was Ed to the store? How accessible was all of the products?

- How much stuff does Ed have already? How many new things do Ed really need?

- Where were the other products in the store? How close were they to the check-out station and how appealing were they?

Enjoy the video! Thanks to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwppBm43eb8 for letting me post it!

[briannnac-blog]

Disclaimer: I am not trying to be rude, or disrespectful in any way, shape or form by writing this post!

I'm not a guy, so I don't know how y'all think, but this comic really gave me an idea of how consumerism really works into our heads. Society has lead us to believe that money, wealth, and beauty are all that matters, when really, personality is an important factor in our happiness as well (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs). And it’s not just the men out there. It is everyone.

Thanks so much to http://wherepenmeetspaper.blogspot.ca/2012_03_01_archive.html for the photo!

[briannnac-blog]

Swapsity is Canadian bartering community that matches you with local swappers so you can save money and live greener. It's free to join and swap!

We have been studying different forms of economic systems, but are there other ways to gain the things that we want/need? This Thursday, we found out just that.

Yesterday, 50 students came together, all bringing at least one item to trade in a “swapsity” (much like the one in Toronto which you can find out about by looking at the link). We had to consider our values and what we were reflecting by trading certain things. I brought some chocolates to the table, and ended up trading once to get a San Pellegrino. This was a valuable trade for me since that I did not like the milk chocolate that I had brought, and I actually quite like the drink.

A few things that came to mind throughout this experience was supply and demand. There were quite a few cookies that were there to trade, but the demand was about equal so there wasn’t too much competition. A free Starbucks delivery, however, had a lower supply and higher demand, so there was a lot of competition.

I also noticed a couple of different services being offered. The first was 12 cookies, 6 chocolate chip and 6 shortbread. The second offer was 12 cookies of anything. The second offer was higher in demand than to the other one, because it could be any cookie that you want. If you don’t like chocolate chip or shortbread, then you are out of luck with the first offer. But with the second, you could choose one that you want.

I think that this was a valuable experience that I actually wouldn’t mind becoming a reality. What do you think?

[briannnac-blog]

In my search for photos relating to consumerism, I came across this one. The thing that really stuck out to me was the representation of music. “I’m going to buy this t-shirt because I like music.” I do this all the time. When I see a City of Bones, or Disney style t-shirt I immediately am drawn to it because I want to share my identity with others. When I looked at this comic, it kind of just came to me that all we were still getting caught up in the web, but covering it up with something that seems okay.

There are so many different ways to show others who we are, what we like, and the things that we stand for, but society has a way of turning these statements into something that will make us want to buy something.

Let’s think about a world where there is a uniformed outfit for each day of the week, for each individual. You cannot buy clothing that shows that you like music, or Big Brother. You must talk about it, or sing. Life would be so different and I bet that there would be way less consumerism. Can we change our lives to look, somewhat, like this one?

PS: Just on a side note, notice the name brand "Gap" on one of the costumers t-shirt. What does this say about who we are?

Thanks for the photo! @ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4DCTEPAhaoo/TCkZ1BqwBbI/AAAAAAAAAAc/dctIDf45v4U/s1600/

[briannnac-blog]

“Are these things really better than the things I already have? Or am I just trained to be dissatisfied with what I have now?”

Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby

When looking through a few quotes on Goodreads, this one really hit me. It was like someone had punched me in the stomach. These products and services that we buy aren’t better than the things that we already have, but society literally trains us to be dissatisfied and to keep us consuming. People say that it is rude and disrespectful to treat people like animals. We are such hypocrites. “Sit, dog, sit!” is no different than “Buy, person, buy!” Just like in animal training, if you say the command enough it buries into our heads, into a jail.

Society tricks us into thinking that buying into consumerism is best for the public good. This quotation really expresses that it isn’t. All it does is make us unhappy in the roundabout of things. And the sad part is, our society probably won’t realize it until it’s too late.

[briannnac-blog]

Canada VS. The United States

Throughout our debate, we began to realize that really, the Canadian economy is a lot better than the United States. Overall, it is more fair to all of the citizens, and although there are more taxes involved, it is still much more affordable. The amount and cost of taxes does not counteract the price of the insurance that citizens need to cover even the more unaffordable price of health care. There have also been studies that prove that Canadian citizens are happier, and their economy plays a big part. Canada is ranked 5th more happy in the world, where as The United States is only ranked 17th. This proves how much the economy affects the feelings of the citizens, and their quality of life. And let’s not forget the big economy drop in 2007-2008 (in the United States). Many citizens lost their jobs and more money was used than what they had, so the government had to shut down. This is partially because of the government’s absence in decisions, and the choices that the citizens made. These choices were available in the first place, because of the market economy that the United States has. So, in conclusion, Canada has a better economy because it provides more equality, is more affordable, and overall is a happier country to live in. Mixed economy is best!

This debate proved to be very difficult for both me and my partner for a couple of reasons. The main one is that we didn’t actually agree with what we were saying, and even prior to the debate I found it hard to find articles that were relevant to my argument simply because my inner self didn’t agree. It was also very difficult to find current events, as very recently, the government has been shut down which would not have been a good thing to mention in our case. I also looked at something similar happening in Canada to throw back at our debate partners if and when they brought this issue to platform. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything, so in the debate when they brought this up I didn’t have much/anything to say. The time was so tight anyway, so it was hard to fit all of our information in. Basically, all I am saying it that I fell on the unlucky side. Go Canada!

[briannnac-blog]

Click on the link to view the post that I made on the consumerism and another project that I am working on called the GINS. More info on my blog!! http://booknook24676.blogspot.ca

[briannnac-blog]

The Pursuit of Happyness (based on a true story) is a movie that we watching in class, which explores consumerism and the pursuit happiness.

First of all, I would like to point out author choices. I’m sure you all noticed the “y” that is out of place in the title of this film. Well, this is done on purpose. I think that this was done to put emphasis on the question why. Why are we all caught up in consumerism? Why can’t we just leave it behind? Throughout the whole movie, these questions are beginning to get answered.

Another reason why the “y” is out of place is to create an extra little “literary element”. At the beginning of the movie, Christopher talks about how happyness in misspelled. At the end, the same thing was covered. Also, I noticed in one part of the movie when the main character, Chris, was getting frustrated with his son for misspelling happiness. “It’s not spelt with y it’s spelt with an i!” An I. Does our happiness really come from ourselves, and the sentimental values that we have in family and friends? Or does our “happiness” come from our materialistic things, that only give us this feeling temporarily?

Back to Christopher, I just want to go a bit into his character. His consumer identity really shone through, even though he was only 5 and he didn’t understand. He wasn’t really caught up in the whole “consumerism” “got-to-buy-this” shabang. He was happy with the things that he had and didn’t complain. He really focused on love and relationships rather than materials goods.

The final theme statement that I came up with was “never give up”. Although it may seem like there is no hope, if you look hard enough you will probably be able to find it. This movie shows this through the plot, as well as in a sign of symbolism.

Light is commonly interpreted as hopefulness, and in this movie there is a scene where he fixes a machine that he needs in order to gain some cash. At that moment, there is a sense of knowing that everything is going to okay, or at least better. The movie poster also shows that same light, which makes me think that the light is of even more significance than I thought before. This is why I chose to include the photo of the movie poster. The photo of them smiling was to show that you can be happy in the midst of sadness.

This story is really inspirational, and I definitely recommend watching it if you are looking for a good, inspirational (but funny) look into homelessness and happiness. Later!

Thanks so much to the following websites for their photos!

http://inspiredground.blogspot.ca/2010/08/pursuit-of-happyness-2006-struggling.html

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2010/jun/16/fathers-sons-film-clip-joint

[briannnac-blog]

“I didn’t know. I feel sometimes like…there are all these rules. Just to be a person. You know? You’re supposed to carry a shoulder bag, not a backpack. You’re supposed to wear headbands, or you’re not supposed to wear headbands. It’s okay to describe yourself as likeable, but it’s not okay to describe yourself as eloquent. You can sit in the front of the school bus, but you can’t sit in the middle. You’re not supposed to be with a boy, even when he wants you to. I didn’t know that. There are so many rules, and they don’t make any sense, and I just can’t learn them all”

Lelia Sales, This Song Will Save Your Life

This quotation comes from a book that I just read, that book being This Song Will Save your Life by Lelia Sales. I really enjoyed it, and it actually has quite a bit to do with the topic of consumerism. In this part of the text, our main character is struggling with fitting in at her High School. She talks about how consumerism creates this "rules" of how you are supposed to act in order to be a likeable person. Although she's not talking about it directly, from prior knowledge I know that this is what she is having a hard time with. And to be honest, we all have these hard times. All of our lives are controlled by consumerism. But the question is... Will we ever be able to escape?

In short, I think it's all really just a pursuit of happiness. If we can be satisfied with the things that we have, then this whole world would be a different place with much, much more equality. Think about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Things like respect, friendship, family, and love can give just as much (probably more) happiness as money.

Sources:

https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/21490415-this-song-will-save-your-life

http://ishawithaneye.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/women-and-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs/

[briannnac-blog]

Anything and everything affects who we are and where our identity stands. Today I am going to be talking about how the groceries I buy support and shape my consumer identity.

The photo above shows the food that my family and I eat for about a week. My family is made up of my mom and dad, and my sister at the age of 10 (I’m almost 14). According to those ages, my father and I probably eat the most with my mother coming not far behind - my sister doesn’t eat too much.

Because I live in Canada, many of the things that we have available to us are name brand products such as Old Dutch potato chips which are on the chair. You may also notice that there are a bunch more chips on that chair with the sour creame and onion ones. Well, um, they were on sale. See, this the problem with a lot of our society these days. People in poorer countries don’t even have enough to get more than a piece of bread per meal. And here we are, buying 6 bags of junk that we will consume in a week.

Another problem that we face as a society is how accessible that we have money and products. My family actually just moved 6 minutes away (walking!) from a shopping centre with probably over a 100 stores close by. With this we can visit and buy as much as we want, whenever we want. This has something to say about me as a person. I mean, people on the other side of the world work for hours trying to provide and get just a little bit of food. Us here, well, to be honest we are all a tad bit lazy.

So that’s all I have to say for now! I hope you enjoyed this and stay tuned for more!

[briannnac-blog]

Safeway is a large store that many people buy from to provide food for themselves and their families. But what are we really buying? What are we supporting by buying from Safeway?

Safeway.ca provides some awesome information on what they do “behind the scenes”. Each October, Safeway comes together with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In the month, Safeway provides awareness and  fundraising in their store. In April, Safeway employees join together to support Easter Seals and work towards sending many disabled children to camp. Safeway also works with Prostate Cancer Canada, Special Olympics Canada, Muscular Dystrophy Canada, and works towards hunger prevention.  [We are] contributing over $24 million annually to those in need - Safeway website.

I am extremely proud with what Safeway has (and is) doing to help those in need. Although I haven’t been directly affected by cancer, disabilities, or hunger, but I have gone to many measures to help those who do suffer from these things. It makes me really happy to see Safeway providing for these people, and creating a smile on their face as well.

After I did this research, I looked up any boycotting that has been against Safeway, and I found quite a few things. However, many of the results were from a long time ago, or were in different countries. The only thing that really spiked my interest was a boycott against the organic section of Safeway. I read an article on it, and I’m not on the side of Safeway, but I don’t think that the issue is enough of a reason for me to join the crowd.

So, from what I know, I see no reason to boycott against Safeway. Boycotting means an attempt at change, and I see no reason to change what Safeway has already done and continues to do. If they stopped helping these organizations, I may consider boycotting against them (depending on their reasoning). But as of right now, I think Safeway is doing a great job. Keep it up!

http://www.gazette.net/article/20121130/NEWS/711309603/1018/maryland-corporations-show-their-many-faceted-charitable-side&template=gazette

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/06/12/sobeys-parent-empire-snaps-up-safeway-canada-for-5-8-billion/