Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed.
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Why do we buy?
I was cleaning out my bathroom today and thought about how easy it was for me to do so.
~There is almost nothing in it.
Sometimes I think I am a bad freegan, but then sometimes I look at myself from the perspective of the ultra-clean-freak overconsumer, and I realize that I own almost none of the regular all-american cleaning products that you see in almost any household.
I will start with Shampoo.
I threw out my shampoo and conditioner bottles today. They were a year and 8 months old. I know this because I remember when they were given to me. I didn’t buy them. My mother forced me to take them when I went to the hospital to give birth. She said I would need things to wash myself with, which was not true. The hospital provided almost everything.
I used them sparingly over the course of a year, and when they ran out, they just sat there for 8 months. I have not bought any more.
Soap is enough for me.
There may be problems with my hair that I am unaware of. And perhaps I don’t get treated by some people as well as I would if I were to fix those problems with shampoo. But for me, the thought of spreading chemical waste all over my body repulses me.
Indeed many companies produce chemicals that would otherwise have no place to go if they did not so shrewdly sell their waste to beauty care companies.
And anyway, natural soap and natural shampoo is all made of the same stuff. So I see no need to have both.
But this isn’t all I don’t have.
I don’t have any chemical cleaners. I don’t have air fresheners, none of the stuff that you would see in a regular bathroom. Vinegar, baking soda and H2O2 is all I need.
I am proud of this. As far as I can see, life is nothing more than being happy, making others in your life happy, living out your purpose in life and being part of community.
I have had that in my life without the bleach, chemical hair and face washes, and whatever else people go crazy buying.
If my hair is not up to Hollywood standards, that’s fine. I still feel like a human being. I still live my life fully. And I do that much less to contribute to capitalism, class society and ecological damage.
It makes me wonder, really wonder, why, if I can go so long without hurting, without feeling any sense of struggle or inconvienience, why do people feel so strongly that they need these things to live a good life? It’s bad for so many more reasons than it is good.
Saturday, June 20th—Sewing Workshop
Saturday, June 20th—Sewing Workshop
Learn how to turn found fabrics into clothing & make and repair your own clothes. We teach and learn hand and machine sewing, patching, darning, quilting and alterations. If you have sewing skills, please come and share them! For more info call Jason at (610) 764-7587. NOT open to media.
When & Where? 3-7pm at 123 Tompkins (see bike workshop for directions)
Che’s BD!!
It’s Che Guevara’s 81st birthday today, June 14th! A memorial was made in Bolivia, today.
From Prensa Latina:
“On October 8, 1967 Che Guevara was captured by the Bolivian Army in the nearby ravine Quebrada del Churo, ending his campaign to create a liberation movement in South America, but the guerrillaÂ?s example has remained alive.
A monument and a memorial at the schoolhouse were he was murdered in La Higuera are a stop in the Che Guevara Trail inaugurated in 2004 to honor the Heroic Guerrilla, as he is also known.”
Monday, June 15th—Freegan General Meeting and Trash Tour
Monday, June 15th—Freegan General Meeting and Trash Tour
An organizational meeting to report on working group activities and discuss and decide on policies and activities. Meetings are for active Freegan.info volunteers and people interested in volunteering. After, we will explore the area’s wasted food and other goods.
When & Where? 7:30 p.m. at Sakia Atrium 150 Park Ave / 42nd St. Tour starts at 9:30 p.m. from 38th and 3rd.
Bank Bail Outs and Other Public Bludgeons
I was reading about the bail outs in the NY Times today. It said “The Obama administration plans to require banks and corporations that have received two rounds of federal bailouts to submit any major executive pay changes for approval by a new federal official who will monitor compensation,”
It also said that the “executive pay has been a delicate issue for the Obama administration and Congress, particularly since it was revealed that A.I.G., the recipient of at least $180 billion in taxpayer money, was handing out $165 million in bonuses. The episode left officials struggling with just how to balance public anger with compensation rules that would not put the industry at a competitive disadvantage”
Public anger? More like Public Bludgeon. lol
A competitive disadvantage? Hey official representatives, just whose side are you on? Aren’t we haveing this whole conversation because we know that the bankers are scammers? Isn’t that the very hope for change that Obama rode in to the white house on? What are we all acting surprised about here?
“The banking industry had been lobbying the Obama administration to exclude traders and other highflying salespeople from the top 25, fearing it would lose top talent to competitors not constrained by the rules of a taxpayer bailout.”
Talent?
I would like to ask you, the people reading this right now. How much ($$$) is banking talent worth to you? Have you thought about that in terms of it being a service you’re willing to pay for?
I mean to say, do you think that some little banking starlet deserves a 165 million dollar bonus over let’s say, some talented artist? Really. Would you rather give one hundred dollars to the hippy on the street juggling balls with his pet travel companion, or give some “talented” banker an almost unaccountable amount of YOUR money that YOU worked for just because he was smart enough to figure out how to scam you?? Come ON?? Even if you don’t LIKE the hippy! I think we know what the answer really is.
I don’t want to go on here about how evil the banks are. The point is that we are freegans here, and we’re talking about dropping out of that economy, right? What can we do about those banks? First of all… don’t do any business with them!
My bank, Bank of America, increased my monthly fee arbitrarily and then fined me when I unknowingly over drafted! They are making billions off of these scams.
There comes a time, people, when you have to realize that the nuts and bolts of daily living are infused with a deep political reality. Who you do business with greatly effects the course of world history, and lives across the world right now.
So please all reading this post, switch to a nice community based credit union! For starters.
Here is a link to the article I’m quoting.
And here is a link that I googled to help find a credit union in your area. I have no idea if it’s anything good! lol. I just googled it! Please, if you use it, comment back to this post and tell us if it was good or bad!
~MaDTruthSeekeR
Up Coming events just for you!!! =)
Friday, May 29th—Trash Tour
Join us to collect the quality products that stores throw out. We give advice on how to salvage these goods & comment on the reasons for such waste. NOT open to media.
When & Where? Meet at 9pm outside Grocer John’s on 14th and 5th.
Saturday, May 30th—Sewing Workshop
Learn how to turn found fabrics into clothing & make and repair your own clothes. For more info call Jason at (610) 764-7587. NOT open to media.
When & Where? Workshops are held from 3-7pm at 123 Tompkins in Bed-Stuy (see bike workshop).
Sunday, May 31st—Really Really Free Market
The Really Really Free Market is a bazaar and a celebration, where we discard capitalist notions of interaction and have fun trying new models of exchange. Expect and share free food, skills, music, clothing, books, other things and fun! For more information, email: inourhearts@gmail.com
When & Where? 3-7pm, Judson Memorial Church at 55 Washington Square South
Monday, May 18th—Freegan General Meeting and Trash Tour
An organizational meeting to report on working group activities and discuss and decide on policies and activities. Meetings are for active Freegan.info volunteers and people interested in volunteering. After, we will explore the area’s wasted food. NOT open to media.
When & Where? Upstairs seating area of Whole Foods on Houston; 7 p.m. for meeting, 9 p.m. for tour.
Trash Tour Today! Feast Tomorrow!
We’re having a trash tour today and a feast tomorrow! The details are below. This is a great way to get involved in the freegan community! We could really use some help this month transporting food to the feast and cooking for the feast. So if you are looking for an interesting friday and/or saturday night, COME ALONG!!
=)
Details:
Friday, May 8th—Trash Tour
Join us to collect the quality products that stores throw out. We give advice on how to salvage these goods & comment on the reasons for such waste. Media WILL be welcome with appointment.
When & Where? Meet at 9pm on the NW corner of Broadway and 115th St. Contact (if you get lost or something):
Leia @ 347 338 7430
Saturday, May 9th—Freegan Feast
Share in food preparation and then in the good company of a group of people who care about each other and about change. Media WILL be welcome with appointment.
When & Where? Location is TBA; we’ll meet at 5:30pm to cook and at around 8pm to eat.
We’ve added lots of new (and not so new) media stories to the “Freeganism in the Media” page! If you’re interested, you can take a look here.
Cute Freegan Blog
This kid in NC has a cute blog about his diving experience. He talks about what he and his friends find, recipes and feasts.If you’re in NC you can pick up some diving and cooking tips from this guy! It’s really awesome when you know what you can expect to find at a given place, and what kinds of things you can make with what is found there.
http://freejunkfood.blogspot.com/2009/04/so-much-food.html#comment-form†