We’re really going for this one. And we will come back and keep updating with our material on it, which ranges from comic book stuff to cold wisdom or hot ideas & actions in the field … easy win predicted.
You can smell it in the threads, read it in the posts, grumble over it in the daily rags. The word consumer is under fire; no longer will it be acceptable to be called a consumer, even by the local hero or sustainable marketeer.
Whatever happened to the customer? Was that title simply too much privilege?
Maybe losing consumers was less of a big deal. [ opens the day’s deadly vintage reports ]
Five Reasons To Kill The Word ‘Consumer’ Right Now!
The Oxford English Dictionary tells us “consumer” comes from the Latin “consumere” – “to destroy, wear away, to kill, annul, extinguish, wear down, exhaust, to eat, devour, to take (a medicine), use up, expend, swallow up, merge, to spend (money, resources or time), waste, squander.” It’s rooted in the rapacious — Forbes
Out with the vapid corporate colonial lingo; we must reinvent ourselves into something more human, more empathic. Less robotic, less meaningless.
Reframe human beings as citizens and as caretakers of each other and the natural world, instead of as consumers
Frame consumerism as a human rights and environmental issue
Utilise human rights treaties and commitments to campaign against consumerism and to hold government and corporations to account
Celebrate the progress being made and maintain momentum and action
Quite a turnaround it would be, to strike this word from their livid lips, when they realise just how fascist the term has become in the collective conscious; of those who give a damn.
What do all the dirty dozen corporations & their well-paid accomplices, have in common?
No problem with calling living breathing humans; a consumer.
That’s going to change real soon people.
[ update; quick interrogation with the ai ]
What are the problems with calling humans ‘consumers’?
1. Calling humans ‘consumers’ reduces them to an economic function and fails to recognize their worth as individuals.
2. It implies that people are only valued for the amount of money they can spend, which can lead to feelings of worthlessness or inadequacy.
3. It can contribute to a culture of materialism, where people are encouraged to buy things for the sake of buying, rather than for the purpose of meeting a need or enhancing their quality of life.
4. It suggests that human behavior is predictable and controllable, which is not accurate in many cases.
5. It reinforces the idea that people are objects to be sold and marketed to, which can be damaging to both individuals and society.
How has the word ‘consumer’ fallen out of favor & even become a slur?
The word “consumer” has fallen out of favor because it implies an individual who is passive and simply consumes without thought or consideration. It has become a slur because it implies an individual who is irresponsible and lacking in knowledge or sophistication. It connotes an individual who is gullible and easily manipulated. In a society that is increasingly focused on sustainability, responsibility, and making informed decisions, the word “consumer” has become a symbol of wasteful, careless consumption.
What will replace the word ‘consumer’ in the future?
In the future, the term “end user” may replace the word “consumer.”
What is a cooler word for ‘consumer’ ?
Shopper.
What place do non-consumers have in this world?
Does non-consumption even register as the inability to purchase and use? or even boycott? And why would the ruthless marketer have a place in their hearts for such wretches.
…
Your mission should ye chowse to accept it; is to make consumer, the dirty word of the next decade. You will strike fear into the hearts of salesmen who crave the plunders of this day, with no fear of what they once did say in shame.
And a free poster to raise the roof in your office, or local high street. [ linked below ]
Good luck compadres.
Dee
[ … the next morning ]
I just had a mindbomb last night & realised I DO NOT EVER call people ‘Corporates’ either …
… I mean that is like literally calling them the soulless masses, in a casual manner.
Sure I’m guilty as charged of slating people for being corporate-loving muppets. But, never never have I ever in my life, used “Corporates”.
It’s dehumanising … 😑
[ … ] edited.
I started going off on the meaning of corporeal rant again here, to be expected on a war of the words post, but, I’ll spare you that and say this …
“Corporeal friends are spiritual enemies,” wrote Blake, but he had a talent for alienating people apparently, even from beyond the grave.
And what he’s talking of; are the legal fictions of corporate personhood, at the tail ends of the 1700s. Which is interesting considering how badly humanity & nature has been screwed by the fictions of corporate personhood in the 20th Century alone, and worth referencing now we are challenging it in the 21st.
And that’s the thing folks I don’t even think most people understand the meaning of the wretched word corporate in the first place … it’s just one of those words, that by definition means basically a void of ‘nothing’.
We seem to know it’s something a little soulless though; “Hey Dee, can ye fix this Battery Acid Ad? … it’s feeling, a little too corporate”.
My Mexican lawyer knows the meaning of the word I tell ya.
You cannot see a corporation, it’s intangible, sure you see its logo, some property that it apparently owns, but that’s all legal fiction.
If you’re a mad designer though, that logo; it’s alive damnit.
‘Where the real world changes into simple images, the simple images become real beings and effective motivations of hypnotic behavior.’ — Guy Debord
“And on the left here, Corporations are not People, 2011.
Opens Sketch … [ we’re at therapy ]
Ethical Consumer; { 👎 Ethical Shopper; { fine.
Note; Buying cool T-shirts does not make you consumerish …
Consumption is what you look at when the electricity bill comes in, nah meme? Snap out of it.
Furthermore, some theorists & therapists have concerns with the place commodity takes in the definition of one’s self. Your better, better than that. Using the term as a “commodity self” to describe your identity built by the goods you consume. It’s dark mate, stop it.
[ cont. prognosis ]
Subvertising hypnotherapy is a form of treatment that focuses on helping individuals overcome the effects of subliminal advertising. Subliminal advertising is a form of advertising that uses subtle or hidden messages to influence citizens into consumer behaviour. This kind of indoctrination often starts early in citizens lives, children are tracked and targeted by big business & exploit their vulnerabilities. It exerts commercial pressure on the young, it’s effective and powerful because it is insidious. Subvertising hypnotherapy works by helping individuals to become aware of the subliminal messages they are exposed to and how they are impacting their decisions and behaviors. Through this awareness, individuals can begin to make more conscious decisions in their lives and thereby reduce the influence of subliminal advertising.
I recommend 3 black pills a day for this kinda thing.
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Consumerism is the corporatisation of everyday life.
Living, breathing … Is mere consumption all this life adds up too?
Words can become obsolete and are lost for many reasons—slang that was once current can fall out of favor, words can develop taboo senses, and old-fashioned, regional and even scientific and technical terms may no longer be needed by a different generation
I’ll add this up there tomorrow. But I’ve been asking ai abootsit;
What are the problems of consumer advertising?
1. Alienation: Consumer advertising can create an artificial and often superficial view of the world and what it means to be successful, leading to feelings of alienation among those who don’t have the resources or access to the advertised products.
2. Exploitation: Consumer advertising can exploit vulnerable members of society, such as children, to buy products that they may not need or be able to afford.
3. Misleading Claims: Consumer advertising can make false or exaggerated claims about the benefits of products, leading to an uninformed public that may make wrong purchases.
4. Manipulation: Consumer advertising can be used to manipulate people’s emotions and desires and pressure them into making decisions that may not be in their best interests.
5. Waste: Consumer advertising can increase the amount of waste generated by encouraging people to buy more than they need or can use.
…
Could do a poster or social media rampage kit with it
Consumption means Waste! Consumerism is Alienation! Consumerism is exploitation! Consumerism = Manipulation
