Are you a good consumer?

[Back]

Do you get the “Value Meal” at your favorite fat shack because you think you truly are getting the most fat for your money when its the most expensive thing on the menu?

Are your whites whiter and your brights brighter and a fresh spring breeze comes in a box?

Does a coca-cola really refresh you? Or does it zap your brain with a chemical barrage, dehydrate you, rot your teeth and fatten that gut?

Do you haul stuff everyday with your massive 4x4, or are you just wasting gas and polluting the atmosphere?

Are you aware you are being told what to buy and why? Do you care? Is it a problem?

You’ve probably guessed by now from the tone of my sarcasm how I feel. Of course, I’ve been lulled into consumerism myself. Every now and then I need a wake up call because the money I make is valuable to me and if I’m not careful everyone else is going to convince me I need to give it to them. And by them I mean the corporations who have so much money and power they don’t know what to do with it.

Some of us live in excess in this country. Having a 42oz soda and all. We gobble up what the corporations peddle in an effort to nullify our awareness of whats going on around us.

Who cares? Someone has the money and wants to spend it on the kewlest thing, let them. Go consumerism.

- Arkans

[CrystalTears]

If you are so concerned about the value for your money, ignore what people tell you, use your own brain and commen sense and stop blaming everyone else for what you do for and to yourself. Take responsibility and quit making excuses.

I am a bit excessive, but not blatantly over the top. Even though I drive a Subaru, it was ranked as one of the lowest miles per gallon SUVs. Okay.

I buy only name brand!

- Arkans

[Parkbandit]

Backlash sounds like the type of person that would sue McDonalds for forcing him to eat their food and thus making him fat.

Take responsibility for crying out loud.

[Warriorbird]

I've recently made an effort to put my money where my mouth is as regards that. It also coincides with being forced to pay some huge debts that weren't rightfully mine and not minding my money properly.

There's a whole lot that a strict budget and being aware of what you buy can do for you, even if you HAVE the money.

[SpunGirl]

I like to have stuff, and I'm okay with the fact that I'm targeted by money-grubbing corporations as a consumer. Just because you're aware of the huge push towards accumulating material objects doesn't mean you have to rally against it.

It's like with being a girl, I know I've been socialized in some aspects to do my hair, wear makeup, etc. I'm aware of this expectation. But that doesn't mean it has to bother me. Like with consumerism, like with anything that's not really any kind of overwhelming threat, I'll just do what's right for me and not worry about other people's excessiveness or lack thereof.

Some things just really aren't worth getting all revved for social change over, IMO.

-K

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

I make a good wage and spend a good wage on things I like because they please me :) I can't take it with me, and I have a savings and some stocks for that "rainy day" that could be out there, so I'm focused on enjoying life now.

Sometimes I think "wow, it'd be nice to have back all that money from my 4 weeks in Europe, or the 3 week cruise in South America". But then I realize the fun and memories were worth it.

[Miss X]

For me, the problem comes when we try to apply old social theories to the modern world. Contemporary society has changed the working classes and eliminated a lot of the economic problems that they once faced. We went from 'need' to material 'want' to a mass culture of consumption. There is this inherent desire among people to follow the consumption patterns we see every day on TV and in magazines etc.

The big issue is that most of the workers are living under this false sense of consciousness or as Marcuse called it, the pursuit of 'false needs'. I am a big fan of Marcuse, I particularly like his theories on capitalism. He basically says that because there is this false sense of need, people identify with capitalist culture. They get so drawn into it that it sucks out their desire to challenge or protest against it. All of Marx ideas are lost because the working classes (or proletariat) are no longer agents of change.

I'm guilty of it myself as most of us are. We are so caught up in capitalism that we believe we need things that we actually don't. We find it so difficult to imagine a life without the material possessions we are so convinced we need.

Marcuse does suggest that there are new agents of change, specifically the 'under classes' that he defines as the poor and the unemployed. Basically they don't have the means to consume so they are more likely to rebel against consumerism. He also suggested that students who study social sciences gain an insight into the emptiness of the consumerist culture and are more likely to reject it. I really hope this is true.

Anyway, sorry for going on and on I hope it made sense to someone! It's the sociologist in me!

[HarmNone]

The local retail contingent seem to think I'm a truly exceptional consumer. :D

[Tsa`ah]

In HS we had an art instructor that was so god damned anti-capitolist that it made me sick.

She made her own clothes, she didn't watch television ... not even PBS, when she did shop she only bought generic. She could have been a hippy if she wasn't so fucking uptight.

Every frickin day was a lecture on the clothes we wore to the pop we bought. She was convinced that everyone was brainwashed.

To a degree she was correct, but off the mark in assuming that a person's personal taste could be swayed so much by something like an add on television. As teenagers, sure, as adults ... only if you are a mindless zombie.

I drink the pop I like. I don't like Pepsi and have no taste for Pepsi products. I drink Coke, Dr Pepper, and Mr Pibb because I like them, I like the taste. I drink them when I have a thirst for them. I buy the coffee beans I like, I buy the clothes I feel comfortable in.

If someone wants to crack on me for wearing a suede coat I bought at Wal-mart for 20 bucks on sale, so be it. Most of the time the cracks don't come until the end of the conversation.

"Cool coat man, I like it."
"Is that real suede, or is it fake?"

"It's real ... can't you smell the leather?"

"Is it that thin shit?"

"No, it's pretty thick, heavy enough for a mild Chicago winter."

"How much did you pay for it?"

"20 bucks on sale"

"Internet?"

"No, Wal-Mart"

"Hahaha ... that's so fucking lame, you shop at Wal-Mart."

"Hahaha ... you're so fucking lame, you blow money on shit that no one cares about ... see you at retirement."

I never got into the whole label thing. If it fits, if I like it, if the price is reasonable, and if at all possible ... not made by child labor, I'll buy it.

I keep to that philosophy whenever I buy anything.

[AnticorRifling]

I like name brand items for certain things because the quality is there. For most things though, I could care less what the brand is as long as it functions or does what it's supposed to do. Certain things to me make a difference like coke vs anything else. Coke sucks if I wanted that kind of acid burn in my throat I'd go get an eating disorder. etc. I tend to try many things and the things I like or hold up better I return too.


The big one for me is customer service, if you're customer service is top notch your product only has to be middle of the pack but you're getting my business for life. I'd rather have common courtesy and a certain level of basic respect than low prices and huge savings.

[Overlord]

As far as most things go I'll buy what will do the job and don't get something to excessive. Now my "Toys" on the other hand I probably tend dump entirely to much of my finances into. My car and my electronics (also including entertainment) tend to devour the most of it. (bills and debts aside of course)

[Wezas]

I buy name brand electronics and aftermarket car parts.

Other then that - if there's something that looks just as good in the generic (but cheaper), I'll probably buy it.

As for tennis shoes - I'd be happy if there was one that had no logo on it at all. I just want a plain white tennis shoe.

[Overlord]

White shoes? You sure your a man?

Black shoes > all.

- Arkans

[AnticorRifling]

For kicks I have to wear something that's wide, I can't wear Nike I've found the toe box is just to narrow. Adidas work well though and have always lasted forever so that's the shoe I buy.

[Latrinsorm]

I've always had white running shoes. Who wears black when they're running? :nono: