The "family values" crowd is MIA in the War on Thanksgiving

Submitted by arendt on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 4:29pm

There really is a War on Thanksgiving(WoT), that commercially unprofitable holiday. It gets stronger every year. This year, we have the pre-Black Friday sales - pushing the Xmas shopping back to at least two weeks BEFORE Thanksgiving. In my town, the homophobic Salvation Army started their irritating, non-stop bell ringing on November first - three weeks before Thanksgiving. The junk email bombardment supporting this time-grab is completely out of control.

The only place there is a fight on WoT is over stores demanding workers to report to work on Thanksgiving Day. Last I looked, Thanksgiving was an f-ing Federal holiday. Interestingly, the history of that holiday shows a complete role-reversal between Democrats and Republicans:

(Roosevelt) made clear that his plan was to establish the holiday on the next-to-last Thursday in the month instead of the last one. With the country still in the midst of The Great Depression, Roosevelt thought an earlier Thanksgiving would give merchants a longer period to sell goods before Christmas...At the time, advertising goods for Christmas before Thanksgiving was considered inappropriate.

Republicans decried the change, calling it an affront to the memory of Lincoln. People began referring to November 30 as the "Republican Thanksgiving" and November 23 as the "Democratic Thanksgiving" or "Franksgiving"...Since a presidential declaration of Thanksgiving Day was not legally binding, Roosevelt's change was widely disregarded. Twenty-three states went along with Roosevelt's recommendation, 22 did not, and some, like Texas, could not decide and took both days as government holidays.

-Wikipedia, Thanksgiving Day

Clearly, Thanksgiving Day has been an economic battlefront since the Great Depression. Only today, it is traditional Democrats (i.e., supporters of organized labor) who fight to keep Christmas selling (and the utterly fake "holiday" of Black Friday) from devouring the least commercialized, most morally uplifiting celebration left to us. The GOP, they only care about the so-called War on Christmas - just a boogeyman to scare the witless with. The hypocrisy of crying "family values" and yet not strongly fighting the push to steal a family-oriented holiday from workers is par for the course with the GOP, though.

I don't have a solution here. I mention the War on Thanksgiving every chance I get during this season. I explain; but most people do not care. Too busy surfing their smart phones. This war is standard practice in the creeping corruption of capitalism uber alles - anything that does not make a buck will be eliminated in favor of something that does. When they write the epitaph on the tombstone of America, it will say "Sold its birthright for a bowl of cheap Chinese crap and died in moral and financial poverty."

Tags:

war on thanksgiving

Black Friday

family values

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Comments

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 5:02pm

My answer to this nonsense:

(Bob Kuhn's answer, too!)

[video:https://youtu.be/tLwtr0ao-IU]

Only assholes shop on Thanksgiving!

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by k9disc on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 5:18pm

Thanksgiving is Gross, IMO. I Love the Idea of Giving Thanks

and being thankful, but the whitewashing of the Native American narrative is completely gross and entirely off putting to me.

No thanks on the fake history story.

—

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Submitted by pro left on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 5:33pm

I agree

@k9disc but Imo any day that can be spent with family instead of slaving for the A'holes is a good thing.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 7:14pm

the fake history story

@k9disc

I Love the Idea of Giving Thanks and being thankful, but the whitewashing of the Native American narrative is completely gross and entirely off putting to me.

The fake history story includes the entire idea that Anglo-American Puritans invented the holiday at all. In reality, the holiday was ancient when the Mayflower's keel was first laid. It was called "Harvest Home", was celebrated in late Autumn with a gorgeous feast (in both senses of the word "gorgeous"!), and was a time for families, loved ones, and friends to gather round, eat, drink, be merry and celebrate the joys of being alive. The feasting is done because the meat critters have been slaughtered, while the non-meat components are also plentiful in fresh form -- the time between today's Thanksgiving and Christmas being the only time in the pre-refrigeration era this was true.

The Harvest Home feast was observed by pre-Christian Britons; like most every other holiday we celebrate, its roots are Pagan, not Christian and certainly not Puritan!

Today's festival combines aspects of traditional Mabon (Autumnal Equinox), Samhain (Hallowe'en) and Yule (Winter Solstice). The transmogrification into Thanksgiving as we know it today, with the phony Puritan-Native narrative, started gaining steam during the Civil War. Per Wikipedia:

Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. From the time of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln, the date Thanksgiving was observed varied from state to state. The final Thursday in November had become the customary date in most U.S. states by the beginning of the 19th century. Modern Thanksgiving was first officially called for in all states in 1863 by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Influenced by the campaigning of author Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday, Lincoln proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November in an attempt to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states. Because of the ongoing Civil War and the Confederate States of America's refusal to recognize Lincoln's authority, a nationwide Thanksgiving date was not realized until Reconstruction was completed in the 1870s.

On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress changing the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had used a presidential proclamation to try to achieve this change, reasoning that earlier celebration of the holiday would give the country an economic boost.

source

So I recommend keeping the good things, celebrate the crap out of them, and shitcan the rest!

EDIT: Added Wikipedia quote and attributions.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by k9disc on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 8:15pm

I Can Recite the American Thanksgiving Story in a Few

simple sentences.

We came. We struggled. They fed us and helped us. Then we killed them.

And of course it's far more complex than that, but boil it all down...

@thanatokephaloides

#2

I Love the Idea of Giving Thanks and being thankful, but the whitewashing of the Native American narrative is completely gross and entirely off putting to me.

The fake history story includes the entire idea that Anglo-American Puritans invented the holiday at all. In reality, the holiday was ancient when the Mayflower's keel was first laid. It was called "Harvest Home", was celebrated in late Autumn with a gorgeous feast (in both senses of the word "gorgeous"!), and was a time for families, loved ones, and friends to gather round, eat, drink, be merry and celebrate the joys of being alive. The feasting is done because the meat critters have been slaughtered, while the non-meat components are also plentiful in fresh form -- the time between today's Thanksgiving and Christmas being the only time in the pre-refrigeration era this was true.

The Harvest Home feast was observed by pre-Christian Britons; like most every other holiday we celebrate, its roots are Pagan, not Christian and certainly not Puritan!

Today's festival combines aspects of traditional Mabon (Autumnal Equinox), Samhain (Hallowe'en) and Yule (Winter Solstice). The transmogrification into Thanksgiving as we know it today, with the phony Puritan-Native narrative, started gaining steam during the Civil War. Per Wikipedia:

Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. From the time of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln, the date Thanksgiving was observed varied from state to state. The final Thursday in November had become the customary date in most U.S. states by the beginning of the 19th century. Modern Thanksgiving was first officially called for in all states in 1863 by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Influenced by the campaigning of author Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday, Lincoln proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November in an attempt to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states. Because of the ongoing Civil War and the Confederate States of America's refusal to recognize Lincoln's authority, a nationwide Thanksgiving date was not realized until Reconstruction was completed in the 1870s.

On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress changing the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had used a presidential proclamation to try to achieve this change, reasoning that earlier celebration of the holiday would give the country an economic boost.

source

So I recommend keeping the good things, celebrate the crap out of them, and shitcan the rest!

EDIT: Added Wikipedia quote and attributions.

—

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Submitted by Pricknick on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 8:29pm

How rude

@k9disc to forget the most modern day version:
[video:https://youtu.be/Fgcd1ghag5Y]

—

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Submitted by k9disc on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 9:52pm

Sad But True... nt

@Pricknick

—

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Submitted by arendt on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 10:51pm

Thanks for "harvest home"

@thanatokephaloides

We desperately need to hang on to true history, lest it all be commodified and Disneyfied into rubbish used to sell cheap Chinese crap and bad politicians.

A very useful post, T-K.

#2

I Love the Idea of Giving Thanks and being thankful, but the whitewashing of the Native American narrative is completely gross and entirely off putting to me.

The fake history story includes the entire idea that Anglo-American Puritans invented the holiday at all. In reality, the holiday was ancient when the Mayflower's keel was first laid. It was called "Harvest Home", was celebrated in late Autumn with a gorgeous feast (in both senses of the word "gorgeous"!), and was a time for families, loved ones, and friends to gather round, eat, drink, be merry and celebrate the joys of being alive. The feasting is done because the meat critters have been slaughtered, while the non-meat components are also plentiful in fresh form -- the time between today's Thanksgiving and Christmas being the only time in the pre-refrigeration era this was true.

The Harvest Home feast was observed by pre-Christian Britons; like most every other holiday we celebrate, its roots are Pagan, not Christian and certainly not Puritan!

Today's festival combines aspects of traditional Mabon (Autumnal Equinox), Samhain (Hallowe'en) and Yule (Winter Solstice). The transmogrification into Thanksgiving as we know it today, with the phony Puritan-Native narrative, started gaining steam during the Civil War. Per Wikipedia:

Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. From the time of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln, the date Thanksgiving was observed varied from state to state. The final Thursday in November had become the customary date in most U.S. states by the beginning of the 19th century. Modern Thanksgiving was first officially called for in all states in 1863 by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Influenced by the campaigning of author Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday, Lincoln proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November in an attempt to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states. Because of the ongoing Civil War and the Confederate States of America's refusal to recognize Lincoln's authority, a nationwide Thanksgiving date was not realized until Reconstruction was completed in the 1870s.

On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress changing the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had used a presidential proclamation to try to achieve this change, reasoning that earlier celebration of the holiday would give the country an economic boost.

source

So I recommend keeping the good things, celebrate the crap out of them, and shitcan the rest!

EDIT: Added Wikipedia quote and attributions.

Submitted by Wink on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 12:11am

yep. n/t

@thanatokephaloides

#2

I Love the Idea of Giving Thanks and being thankful, but the whitewashing of the Native American narrative is completely gross and entirely off putting to me.

The fake history story includes the entire idea that Anglo-American Puritans invented the holiday at all. In reality, the holiday was ancient when the Mayflower's keel was first laid. It was called "Harvest Home", was celebrated in late Autumn with a gorgeous feast (in both senses of the word "gorgeous"!), and was a time for families, loved ones, and friends to gather round, eat, drink, be merry and celebrate the joys of being alive. The feasting is done because the meat critters have been slaughtered, while the non-meat components are also plentiful in fresh form -- the time between today's Thanksgiving and Christmas being the only time in the pre-refrigeration era this was true.

The Harvest Home feast was observed by pre-Christian Britons; like most every other holiday we celebrate, its roots are Pagan, not Christian and certainly not Puritan!

Today's festival combines aspects of traditional Mabon (Autumnal Equinox), Samhain (Hallowe'en) and Yule (Winter Solstice). The transmogrification into Thanksgiving as we know it today, with the phony Puritan-Native narrative, started gaining steam during the Civil War. Per Wikipedia:

Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. From the time of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln, the date Thanksgiving was observed varied from state to state. The final Thursday in November had become the customary date in most U.S. states by the beginning of the 19th century. Modern Thanksgiving was first officially called for in all states in 1863 by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Influenced by the campaigning of author Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday, Lincoln proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November in an attempt to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states. Because of the ongoing Civil War and the Confederate States of America's refusal to recognize Lincoln's authority, a nationwide Thanksgiving date was not realized until Reconstruction was completed in the 1870s.

On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress changing the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had used a presidential proclamation to try to achieve this change, reasoning that earlier celebration of the holiday would give the country an economic boost.

source

So I recommend keeping the good things, celebrate the crap out of them, and shitcan the rest!

EDIT: Added Wikipedia quote and attributions.

—

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by Wink on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 11:54pm

wah. Nobody gives a damn

@k9disc
about the "fake story" we heard in school. T-Day is the Biggest family holiday of the year, "fake holiday" or not. Bigger than Christmas. When asked, a majority answer it's their favorite holiday. It is THE American holiday. And is why I hate to God the display of force these Corporate motherfuckers show by keeping their stores open on T-Day, "showing workers who's boss!" Kinda like Scrooge holding Cratchit at work on xmas eve 'til it was almost too late to buy a turkey. Corporate continues to chip away at all things American while we stand on the sidelines and watch it happen. "I've got the day off, it's too bad for Wally World workers, but... not my problem... "

—

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by Pricknick on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 5:24pm

I have a solution.

Stop participating in commercialism.
I read somewhere that most of those who borrowed money last year to pay for christmas bullshit, will still owe money when they borrow for christmas bullshit this year.
Here's another solution. Stop feeding children the santa claus line. The only claus is the interest rate. And that crap about the first thanksgiving only misses one point..............we slaughtered them after dinner.
And hey, stop having children.
Bah humbug.
Have a nice day.

—

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Submitted by Deja on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 5:46pm

Borrowing to buy Christmas gifts.

@Pricknick
Insane! You couldn't pay me to shop on Black Friday, and I'm way too busy and full to even think about shopping on Thanksgiving. Hell, I hate shopping when I actually need food. Yuck! People shop like they drive - like self-centered assholes.

I won't be shopping either day. I might hit a local mom & pop shop here in my tiny little town on Saturday. I forget what they call it, but it's a thing, to help small stores fight the big boxes.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 7:19pm

people shop like they drive

@Deja

Hell, I hate shopping when I actually need food. Yuck! People shop like they drive - like self-centered assholes.

I used to do most of my food shopping at 3:00 AM on a day off.
Practically nobody in the store, keep it friendly with the employees and they treat you like God Incarnate.

Today, I pay a delivery service to shop my food for me -- worth every dime, and I tip, generously, too.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by gjohnsit on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 5:25pm

I found them

Your daily dose of crazy

Submitted by k9disc on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 9:59pm

You Are Not the Bible, Sir. You Are Not a Christian, Sir.

Christian is as Christian does.

People hate YOUR bigotry, hyperbole, and fear mongering.

I am an atheist and I'm more Christian than this asshole. These people will vote for a child molester to impose their values on the rest of society.

Fuck you, Buddy.

@gjohnsit

—

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Submitted by gjohnsit on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 10:09pm

It's worse than that

@k9disc

People hate YOUR bigotry, hyperbole, and fear mongering.

These people have created a victimhood out of pure fantasy that has no relation to reality. They should be holding signs on city streets that say "The end is nigh".
But instead, millions of people believe them. It's a massive cult.

Submitted by Wink on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 6:31pm

Black Thursday is criminal.

Of the damn few holidays remaining for min. wage workers working at places open 24/7/364, only Christmas is left. Talking to one of my ex-assistant managers at one of them Big Boxes open 24/7/364 at the barbershop (where she had taken her elementary school boys), she said, "I've heard of whispers of moving to Wed. next year. Won't be long before it's Black Tuesday. T-day just another work day." Well, sadly, T-day already just another work day. Corporate HQs everywhere should be bombed.

—

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 7:02pm

What do you expect?

@Wink When the billionaires began their decades long organized theft backed by the fire, brimstone and prosperity preaching of the religious right, the working class didn't even try to fight back. They just happily bent over and took it in the ass and have been ever since because those scary scary librul soshlists wanna destroy 'Murica.

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by Wink on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 8:24pm

Managers told us, "if you

@Wink
call in sick or don't show up you're fired." It may not be much of a job but min. wage workers need it, can't afford to lose it. They show up. Working on major holidays is worker exploitation. And where Corporate really pokes you in the eye is you do it all on straight time. "We want to thank you all for working overnight tonight during our Black Friday Event... " "Will we be getting overtime or holiday pay?" "Holiday pay? What do you think this is, the '70s?? bwhahahahahaha... umm, no."

—

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by Deja on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 10:17pm

Adjusting hours so no holiday pay for working holidays

@Wink
Exactly!

Greedy, thieving, bastards up top will be home with their nannys and cooks - likely working straight time - while their other minions toil for pennies.

Submitted by Wink on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 11:58pm

yep. n/t

@Deja

—

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by karl pearson on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 7:23pm

Is shopping on Christmas Day next?

I've been wondering when shopping on Christmas Day will occur. Perhaps stores will open around 6 p.m. Christmas evening after one's company has left. Nothing is sacred in this country anymore, but $$. Tom Lehrer was very prescient.

Submitted by arendt on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 10:56pm

"angels we have heard on high tell us to go out and buy."

@gjohnsit @karl pearson

Dead on target.

IMHO, its not as good as the Werner von Braun song. That was just perfect.

Submitted by arendt on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 10:43pm

Thanks for all comments. Just want to clarify.

I don't care about the Pilgrims/Indian thing. That is as dead to me as the idea that General Custer was a hero. That story is propaganda long past its sell-by date.

I wrote this because of the ongoing push to steal yet one more holiday from working families. To force them to give up a nice time at home that is not accompanied by the need to go broke buying presents.

The rats have looted this country, sending the factories and jobs to China and the money to offshore banks. But that isn't enough. They have to steal one of the few holidays the working class has left. I despise their relentless greed, their heartlessness. They make the "before" version of Ebenezer Scrooge look like Francis of Assisi.

Submitted by Pricknick on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 11:02pm

Hard to clarify.

@arendt

I wrote this because of the ongoing push to steal yet one more holiday from working families

.
Show me the holiday. It will never be one due to false story lines and pretenses. It's only tradition.
What thanks do I owe? A federal holiday to push false stories?
Never forget the truth behind the lie. Those that have, rarely care about those that don't.
Best to you and yours. That's the best I have to offer.

—

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Submitted by arendt on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 11:10pm

Not sure what you are getting at.

@Pricknick

Its a day off work, and they are stealing it.

I don't care if its to celebrate polka-dotted unicorns. Its a day off.

Have I made myself clear.

Submitted by pro left on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 11:49pm

I agree

@arendt and Polka dotted Unicorns Sounds good to me, and I bet the kids would have a lot more fun making them instead of those lame ass turkeys they have been making for years.

Submitted by Deja on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 11:38pm

A time to be thankful

@arendt
That's the way I see it; and, yes, not working for "the" man, though, at least in my family, a woman's work is never done.

My favorite movie for this holiday, is one I actually own. It's especially good for estranged families:

Pieces of April (SPOILER ALERT - DON'T READ MOVIE DESCRIPTION, because they ruin the reason for so much of what's going on. JUST WATCH IT!).

Trailer:
[video:https://youtu.be/3-bw5QJePG0]

April and distant family getting up for the big day, which is telling:

[video:https://youtu.be/RuPWLi5ifL0]

Submitted by WIProgressive on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 2:32pm

Deja

@Deja Probably should PM you so you see this, but I just finished watching this movie after your recommendation. Definitely worthwhile. My old lady hormones kicked in and I cried like a baby!

—

O.k. When is the next meeting for the revolution?
-FuturePassed on Sunday, November 25, 2018 10:22 p.m.

Submitted by Deja on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 2:37pm

Glad you enjoyed it, WIProgressive!

@WIProgressive
I really like it, myself. A motley bunch of cooky characters, and a nice little story.

Submitted by Wink on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 12:00am

Exactly. n/t

@arendt

—

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by Centaurea on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 1:21am

I was working in retail

I was working in retail (part-time job while in college) back in the '70s, during the time they started keeping stores open on federal holidays and requiring all employees to work. Ironically, one of the first holidays to go was Labor Day.

—

"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi

"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone

Submitted by travelerxxx on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 1:50am

Or not so ironically

@Centaurea

Ironically, one of the first holidays to go was Labor Day.

No accident, that. Probably personally recommended by Justice Lewis Powell and/or the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. For Capitalists, it would be the equivalent of pushing a dog's nose into his poop pile ... great satisfaction for them.

Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 5:32am

The winter holidays have

been pushed to the back of my bus. I'm working hard, every year, to minimize them, to relegate them to memory.

We go out of town with friends to play in November. We eat what we want. I can have nice dinners with family any time of the year.

We stay home and binge watch teevee in December. I take my, now adult, grandkids shopping or buy them what they need this time of year - usually good shoes and a good winter coat. My adult children are grateful that I save them money because I don't need anything that they can't buy me any other time of the year.

I refuse to participate in the consumerism game. They can think of more ways to separate me from my money. I resist that and will continue to resist. It's all about enriching the wealthy. I also particularly resist enriching Jeff Bezos - I have nothing to do with Amazon and, hopefully, any of his enterprises. I am one person trying to send a message. My voice is small, but it is still a voice.

—

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11