I don't want to buy anything.

I've had long-distance and long-winded talks recently with a small number of friends and relatives. We discourse about the Occupy Wall Street movement, as some have been active in keeping Occupy going in their towns. Some see my logic in declaring the entire Occupy movement as the newest incarnation of Abolitionism, though I hear questions regarding why I do not take a more active role myself. I admit, I have made some Occupy Henpeck shirts for more local family members, but I won't be hitching cross country anytime soon. Why? Because I have been doing this my whole life.

Maybe, the greatest unseen symptom of the plague that our society has become (as evidenced by the long list of complaints from Occupy) is in allowing ourselves to be convinced that, not only is money apparently synonymous with opportunity, but that money itself is the one and only doorway to opportunity.

The deeper into pure and coldly unbridled Capitalism we go as a collective body, the more unchecked we find our individual greed to be and the less willing we are to accept the ramifications of our own actions. As we allow the pursuit of money to become the primary focus of our lives, we end up slaving away too much of our lives for someone else to do our thinking for us, all for something shiny enough to maybe make the whole mess worthwhile after all. We lose our initiative, our independence, and so we passive-aggressively allow our governments to be run as business. If the government is indeed representative of its people, and the people concern themselves entirely with financial survival, financial gains, then how else should such a body of power conduct itself? And more importantly, as incredibly unhealthy as such a system inherently is for every single participant therein, how does such a construct be combated?
After all, businesses can layoff their employees. Are we not now seeing (and living) the Federal government run with business in mind's equivalently detrimental side effects among said government's citizenry? And not just for the mass of the population, but a diseased reality tunnel that affects every single class, every single station, each in its own very worst and inhumane way conceivable? What degree of fire to fight that fire which forges us all into unnatural things?
For starters, you could stop enabling it, the whole damn system.

One great idea to come from the Occupy groups is the notion of taking your money away from banks and instead giving it to credit unions. While credit unions are far from perfect, this is perceived as the lesser of two evils, and you would still be taking money from the hands of bankers who do not even pretend to hold your best interests at heart. For myself, I nixed my bank account a few years ago, seeing the big bailout as the final straw. And I have survived since just fine, without either bank or credit union, or that bizarre compulsion such institutions instill in the populace of paying others for the privilege of holding your money away from you. At its core, the concept of credit cards is also inexcusable. You give your money to those who have not earned it and do not need it, just with the service charges. You do not need a bank account to live. You do not need a credit card to live. The notion of credit is not a concrete, rational thing. Any contented life should be filled overflowing with the concrete and rational, not the ultimately meaningless. A person's credit rating unto itself can neither create or destroy life, so stop treating it with similar importance.
Equally, I have never in my life had insurance, of any variety. Nor do I ever pay protection monies to the mob- which in my mind is no different. You give your money away to insurance companies, and if nothing upsetting should happen then you will never see a return. This is betting against life. It is ethically wrong and just plain retarded. Gambling is considered a sin for a reason. In the same vein, investing in the stock market is nothing less than legalized gambling. Burn your money instead- at least you might receive a moment of warmth in the doing.

Instead of supporting the dastardly habits of big corporations, big conglomerates- from banking systems to insurance industries to the stock exchange- support small business. We all have heard our greener friends spout off about the benefits of buying local, and there is truth to this. Giving your money to small businesses helps to fight monopolization, while helping the little guy is good for the soul (yours and his). Chains do not need your cash. Period. Even in broader terms- let your money do your talking for you (presuming you absolutely must buy anything, anything at all). Boycott freely. Require more than a familiar song on an advert to entice you to shop somewhere specific. I have not stepped foot inside a Wal-Mart in over ten years. Why? Because they openly practice censorship, practice inequal rights, and spit on graves. More mom and pop, less Uncle Tom, anyone?

If anything, I guarantee you that it is far funner to fret over such silliness as the one that got away, rather than fret over how to go about living beyond your means. Minimal paper trail equates to lesser the blemishes on your conscience. Simplify the obstructions to what your life really is, what your life really could be. Cut out the countless unnecessary middlemen and expensive red tape from what constitutes your actual happiness and the happiness of those around you. Unchained, reach for the fucking stars, not for the latest overpriced gadget from some corporation that gives more to lobbyists than pays in taxes.
As I have stated elsewhere- be brave enough to create heaven on Earth for those you love, and be brave enough to create hell on Earth for those you do not love. But always remember- real love is priceless. Because values cannot feed you. They can though, give meaning. They give direction, they give shelter in the storm.
Boycott freely means hunger strike. And that's my whole damn life. By all means and inexhaustibly:

non serviam.

Joe Simon

Rest In Peace.

10.11.13 - 12.14.11

from the underground

Just some quick links I wanted to share, as I maintain my usual holding pattern.

New Comics Day, the crazy new mock-comic book news site is gathering some momentum. My latest contributions include a review of Disney's latest Kingdom Hearts game (guest starring some of the Marvel Universe's finest), and also a look at Diamond Steve Geppi's most recent financial struggles. Only the truth could be more shocking, believe you me.

On a far more serious note- I have started a blog dedicated to the ongoing memories of my elder sister Rebecca. A victim of domestic violence, Becc was a writer in her own right who never had the chance to rightly shine. Eventually I will include private musings of days long gone by, photos, news bites concerning Domestic Violence Awareness, as well as many more samplings of her own work. She was truly a one in a trillion interesting human being, and my own needs in battling domestic violence aside, I hope to share some of who she was (and who she could have been) here.

And while I am on the subject of crusades, I endorse this effort 23 zillion percent, Clifford Meth's Sidekick Foundation. If only something less politically biased than the Hero Initiative had existed for Steve Perry.