Reverend Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping

I have fallen prey to it.
Lord forgive me.
I know that I have fallen off the righteous path and have followed the devil into Nordstrom's. I have sipped his fine ambrosia of moccahinos and raspberry-orange-mango-jamba-buzzes. Forgive me lord, I was entranced away from the saintly and honorable small businesses. I did not mean to forsake my brother and become a denizen of the hellish trans-national corporations. Their words were sweet, and their pastriess were tempting, and I became their lifeless willing slave. But NO MORE!

It is for this reason I am thankful that you have brought me unto the light of the Reverend Billy. I shall quote him presently as I feel the strength in his words:(Taken from SF Bay Guardian)

We are radically depoliticized in this culture...We don't think the things on the shelves come from anywhere. We don't have a labor history, a resources history. I close my eyes and try to think about what that really means, about walking into a store in San Francisco Center and picking up a pretty spaghetti-strap tank top or a scented candle. All most people think about are the stories that will be created after they walk out with their purchase.

And another inspirational quote from the great Reverend:

Power wants the powerless to stay nice and polite, of course. But we are Americans. The British Empire in the 1770's was outrageously hypnotic, the King and the Queen came straight from God with their massive ships and miles of red coats and bayonets. Can you imagine? How would you oppose that? Transnational corporate marketing is now the empire on which the sun never sets, and it isn't a nation, it is a biosphere of advertising and greenhouse gasses. It is world-wide, but it is whispering in our ear, doing a great job of imitating our most private thoughts; it tells us we are almost happy; but we're one purchase short of heaven. Shop a bit more.

I think that I shall join his choir, and become a true beliver in the faith of "stop shopping!"


join me brothers and sisters... stop shopping.