Comments 2005
Let's get a spam-free start this 2005 Resistance season with this brand-new comment space. Rant and rave away!
posted by Nina Paley @ 11/17/2005 08:25:00 AM
27 comments
Christmas Resistance
Official Blog of the Christmas Resistance Movement
27 Comments:
what youre doing is a good idea, but youre taking it too far by saying 'no shopping at all'. presents are a must for christmas, because its a time of giving. the amount of presents you buy should fit your economic class. if you buy outside of your class, you will get into debt. its your own damn fault for spending outside your limits.
and whats wrong with christmas decorations?
you liberals would have everything be monotonous and equal when the world really isnt that way. people need christmas, it fuels our economy and our spirits. do some research before making a group like this, because you'll never win with logic that is flawed. without christmas, we wouldnt be able to provide for our families.
the money your boss gives you every day comes from consumers that buy from the company. by boycotting the companies, they will run out of money. our economy will die, and people will starve.
thats not the kind of christmas i want.
yeah go anonymus dude!
like in one town they banned the word christmas. they don't allow christmas decorations because it might insult non-christians. but they are having a festival of light which is is jewish right? so thatll insult non-jewish
This site, wow, made me think of the simple meaning of Christmas......we want to take Christ out of everything.....now even Christ-mass. The celebration or mass started in the 4th century.
The real meaning....God came down into the darkness, and pierced the darkness with the Light of the World. Since Jesus bith, the world has never been the same. For some He is a stumbling block, for others, GRACE. As you gaze at Christmas Lights, (not just plain old white ones) ponder what the meaning of "the Light of the World" really means to you. Say bah humbug if you need to, I will say God Bless You!! Let's put CHRIST back in XMAS.
Dan
Response to Anonymous:
The more we support big business, the richer and more powerful they become. The richer & more powerful they become, the more say they have in our government policy. The more say they have in government policy, the more state and federal money goes to corporate tax breaks instead of social programs that improve everyone's way of life (fewer people below poverty line = lower crime rate, etc).
By saying I'm not buying into this season's exploitative marketing BS, I'm saying that I have enough material needs for a high quality of life and I don't want companies overproducing just to fill up another landfill of plastic and metal waste and I don't want the holidays to be about buying stuff and I don't want to promote materialism!!!!! BND is a way to get people THINKING about what's really important in this life.
Vive la résistance!
Poster #1 we don't need Christmas, we need steady consumerism year round. Surges are bad for consumers and companies. People shouldn't run out and buy all they can because they feel they have to give these gifts to everyone. Unexpected gifts are much more pleasant than this forced gift trade.
#2 I'm not sure where you are, but I've never heard of such a thing happening. It sounds like propaganda to me.
Obtw, poster #3, X is an abbreviation of Christos, so Xmas = Christmas, just shorter. As you can see here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X'mas
I'm sure you can find other references if you look.
What's funny is that Christmas like most Christian holidays were created by the church to distract new converts from pagan festivals celebrated at the same time and now commercialism distracts Christians from the church holidays.
You know you can't buy the bells from those damn salvation army ringers? Repeated high-pitched noises give me bouts of vertigo, and besides, I hate the idea that someone is trying to annoy me into giving them money. Last christmas I walked around with a 50$ bill in my pocket, trying to buy the bell from at least one of them. You think they'd take it, after all, they're there to collect for a good cause right?
I buy presents for people all right, I just buy them when I damn well please. If I see something and say "Wow, so-and-so would really like that," I'll buy it. And I'll give it to them that day - I don't save it for some random day in the dead of winter just because I'm supposed to! What is the deal with that? And I don't wait until december to give to charity, or to tell my loved-ones that I care, either. Who decided that we have to concentrate our compassion? What happens if great-grandma dies on the 24th folks? Express your feelings for people year-round, or don't do it at all.
Wankers.
That's all the ranting I have for tonight, I'm sure there will be more as my ears develop their annual callouses from wearing headphones at all times to drown out christmas carols.
Do you sell any "Christmas Resistance" Christmas cards? Some wrapping paper would also be nice.
what's up with the website? i can't seem to get to it...
if you want to give presents to people, fine. if you want to face those ravenous hordes of shoppers fighting over the last ugly, annoying, yet for some reason amazingly popular furby, so be it.
but i'd rather stay at home and spend that time with my loved ones. instead of just one day spread out among too many people, i'll spend those days from black friday til christmas eve with the ones i can't squeeze in on christmas day.
but really, as far as i know, the whole point of celebrating christmas is the BIRTH OF CHRIST. whom some believe is our lord and savior. well, if you don't celebrate that, i don't think you should celebrate christmas. i don't for that reason either.
and i don't think most of the shoppers i know are celebrating the birth of christ. they're celebrating the birth of day-after-thanksgiving sales. they're just doing what they were raised to do as good americans, and as everyone expects them to do: go out and blow all their hard earned cash. spend what little vacation time they have at the mall hunting for that perfect required gift.
if i want to give someone a present, i do it. if i see something i think a friend will like, i buy it. if i have the money. i don't like saving up presents so i have something to give on xmas.
i don't like being forced to find something good if there just isn't anything out there that moves me. especially when i don't have much money as it is.
and i sure as hell don't like being guilted into spending time with people just because it's the holidays. hey, buddy, if i haven't made time for you the rest of the year, maybe that should tell you something...
and the same thing goes for all these other damn hallmark promoted holidays...valentine's day, give me a break. if you ain't showing me your love the rest of the year, you're not gonna make it to february anyway so don't waste your time.
and if this damned dirty liberal communist plot angers you, then go out christmas shopping. stop bothering us. and have fun trying to find parking.
Would you please make the cartoons on the site bigger? I'd like to print them out and stick them up places.
Are these christians really so ignorant as to actually be under the delusion that "christ" was born on December 25th???
And, please tell me someone didn't say that crime is not usually commited out of need? Yeah, the big bussiness crimes aren't out of need... but the city crimes, the ones you were talking about, sorry but yeah they're out of need. Of course selling crack is the #1 way to make some money when your in the city. So, I guess we can both get our way... give crack for christmas.
And here I thought "nudie mags" were just for T&A, but the latest edition of Hustler brought your website to my attention. An excellent site! I will be proudly displaying the sticker on my laptop when I have the opportunity to print it off. As a Canadian with an already corrupt government trying for another term in office, I'm happy to be part of a movement that saves money instead of spending it on worthless causes (ie. the 2 million dollar gun registry). Good on you! Can you make some for the other big "Hallmark holidays"? Hallow'een, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, Easter?
I was wondering if/when that Hustler article was actually going to come out. Thanks for the confirmation! Time to go find a copy...
you guys suck. go eat shit and kill yourself.
signed,
everybody
you guys suck. go eat shit and kill yourself.
Now that's what I call the true Christmas Spirit!
Allow me to take a slightly different approach and say that instead of buying christmas gifts, we should MAKE them. Sorry if I get all Marxist here, but I really feel that the average human being doesn't have all that much to take pride in nowadays. But I know I feel good when I DIY something for a friend. alot of people would say they don't have the talent to create on their own, but that's a thought process endorsed by consumerist thinking. People just don't DO things enough anymore. When effort and care is spent on something, it always shows in the end result.
I also just wanted to say that I really enjoy your cartoons, Nina. You can see my own political comic rantings at http://www.deathoftheparty.com
Thanks,
Jonathan
The worst part of the whole mess is that now the stores are getting rid of "merry christmas" because they don't want to offend anyone. i.e. A-rabs (hate america anyway)Jews (own credit-card companies that profit big-time from Christmas). So what they are saying is that they don't want to give credit to people who celebrate christmas for having the holiday that started all the buying in the first place. What they do want is everyone to keep buying stuff from their crappy stores that take away all the small business in an area and then "graciously" replace them with many min. wage jobs. Another great part about the holidays is the credit card companies. They step up their ads to get you to put all your purchases on their card (which takes you till november to pay off, trapping you in a cycle of debt) which goes to the Jews to fund Israel, which in turn results in the murder of Palistinian children. Which in turn raises the price of christmas gifts because the children that could have been used for child labor (to halp Wal-mart make more millions of dollars) are now dead.
Offend that
i believe that families need tradition, ritual and celecration. my siblings and i have found a way to gather and celebrate in our own way, which is festive and loving without being religious or consumerist. it's an empowering concept to grasp: we can make it as we choose it to be. we don't have to conform to the capitalist standard and we don't have to give up our time to rejoice together... we can change it, we can evolve. balance is key. this year i'll be clebrating and i'll be appreciating the season, the solstice, my family, all of it - on my terms. the people that i hold close will be receiving my hand-made art this year. the money i've spent on my art supplies contibute to my local community. the time and energy i've put into my works will touch those i love.
dumbass
Fascists. Hey say hello to Hitler for me.
Well I have just decided not to do it this year and I feel quite empowered already. I don't have to stare at a hideous artificial Christmas tree any longer. And it is so peaceful when you turn off the TV as well. I'm giving away all my decorations to the charity shop tomorrow and will not be sending any card or presents or eating turkey......
Yoou people are so fucked in the head it aint even funny i mean get rid of christmas jesus christ im an athest and i celebrate it its like the only holiday that normal blue collar people can say up ur ass world and spend spend spend i mean its like being anti american and if so u should be shot u muslim sob now stop ur whineing and grow the fuck up u stupid bastards
It fills me with sadness to see how blind more and more people become. Especially in the wetern world (that's where I live btw). More in't enough, BIG isn't big enough, consume till you die. And don't give a f*** about anyone else except around x-mass or when a massorginized charity event takes place . Blind and afraid and paralised because deep down these "consumers" know wath they do is wrong, but they don't know how and/or are afraid to change their lifestyle.
Keep the masses dumb! Merry X-mass!!
Hi : )
I'm a born again Christian & I have never celebrated the pagan festival of 'Christmas'.
For all you Christians out there - in case you never realised - practicing what Jesus taught did not include lying to your children, wasting your lives & money & energy on consumerism & gluttony, following the crowd, filling your homes with luxury goods & creating unequality.
I live in an intentional community where we share all our posessions with each other and share ALL our money in one common purse. We live as simply as possible & we show our love for each other & Jesus in daily living - serving & caring & sharing our lives with each other. We don't need to give presents on one day a year - we give love daily.
I just wonder if anybody realises there is an alternative to this destructive, money loving, pleasure grabbing, selfish society where so many people are really lonely... create a new culture create Christian community & really celebrate our revolutionary Jesus!
Kat, UK
I gave in and spent up.
Maybe next year
Honestly, is it not understood that the reason all these pagan holidays exist for Christians is because it was taken up by Christianity in an attempt to ease people into conversion? The Romans did it, and it worked out beaufitully for them, and last time I checked a good portion of the Western world has thought pretty highly of Christian Philosophy for the last 2000 years. I mean even when you read John's gospel there is a very heavy platonic theme to it. The point is that Christianity is probably the most flexible religion, and you just have to look at the enlightenment to see that.
So no, Christians shouldn't hate Christmas because of its date and origin, they should embrace it as they embraced the pagans and others that accepted the Christian life.
As far as consumerism goes...I'm pretty sure you're ALL using the internet to post on here, unless you managed to think of something else. How many computers does it take to keep your ISP servers online? How much power is required to run all those computers and servers? How many computers does it take to keep those servers and those other computers online? How much energy do THEY use? Where is that energy coming from? I think you see where I'm going with this. It doesn't make any sense to single out one particular instance of consumerism, especially one that mediates so much joy and becomes an intimation (its a word, look it up) of good. The truth is consumerism only obstructs your view of human relationships and God if you let it. Stop blaming big corporations and start taking responsibility for your failure to see clearly.
If you have trouble with the reasoning behind using just one instance instead of making EVERY DAY Christmas, consider laughter. Laughter is special because it is a singular instance of joy. We do calculate it, and there's proof of that in the concept of "sense of humor". Yes the Christian life should be paramount, and yes we should remember the birth, life, death, and ressurection of Christ throughout the year. But just as lent teaches us to think about God the universal before we think about the particular, Christmas is a symbol representing charity and community. And I sincerely doubt anyone can argue that they are so perfect as to not need symbols and representations to mediate some pretty difficult concepts.
Christmas is very poetic for a lot of people, and poetry is what gives meaning to fact and lifts spirit. You won't think of the big corporations (and lets face it so long as you're going to live in a FREE society, you're going to have capitalism.), you won't think of injustice. You'll recognize that freedom can be terrible and its the task of symbols LIKE Christmas to keep us from sinking beneath all of that.
It is very true that this kind of maniac behavior is close to a menatal illness,however we in Croatia do not have such a problem,this problem exsits mostly in big lands like america,where the people have forgotten the spirit of christmas, for example,santa claws...in christian religion there is no man on christmas named santa claws,we celebrate thr birth of christ not the climbing of a fat man down a chimney,but your banner goes against you...i think you will experience much more problems by saying to stop celebratring christmas...you should make more clear that you are against the shopping and not against th holiday...i apologize for my bad spelling...im not paticulary good in English.
Who say Christmas is a time for giving? It is a time for giving kindness, love, to do good things for people, forgiving others, not just to rush and spend the money you don't have! I love this movement!
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