Marching, shifting... 'Buy nothing' advocates act out

It's the day after Thanksgiving. Moms and Grandmas are waking up at 5am to hit Wal-Mart and Sears for the big sales. It'll take them an hour to find a parking spot at Barracks Road Shopping Center, burning gallons of gasoline while they wait with all the other shopping sheep. It takes 20 minutes to get a cup a coffee. To top it off, it's pouring rain, so they're getting soaked running from store to store to max out their credit cards.

Sound like fun? Then you're crazy.

In response to this grim yearly ritual, November 29 was designated national Buy Nothing Day (BND), a consumerism awareness event spearheaded by Adbusters Media Foundation, whose website describes their membership as, "A global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators, and entrepreneurs who want... to topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we will live in the 21st century."

When the local branch of the power structure-shifting group got together for BND, nature was not cooperative, as buckets of rain toppled from the skies.

But that didn't stop the 30 to 40 protesters parading down 29N. Starting at the intersection of Greenbrier Drive and 29N, the group– dressed as zombie consumers and carrying effigies of corporate monsters– brandished banners proclaiming Buy Nothing Day.

They hiked down 29, though Seminole Square, to end at Barracks Road Shopping Center with a staged pantomime: corporate monsters turning keys into the backs of the zombie consumers. After the demonstration, the group headed to ALC copies and set up a Barter Fair.

See? Buying nothing ain't so painful– you still get stuff!

Catherine Newkome rehearses the Buy Nothing chant.

Christina Faulknier is ready to spread the Buy Nothing word.

Jennifer Conner addresses the demonstrators about the plan.

   If it weren't BND, this might be a car ad. But it is, so it is not.

Within five minutes of the parade, the marchers had already stopped traffic.

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