i'm sure it's been happening for years, and i've managed to miss it. but yesterday as i was watching tv, the commercial came on. i wasn't prepared. really, how could i not have known? walmart's--at least i think it was walmart's, though i now realize it could have been any one of dozens of establishments--was advertising....MLK day specials!! did you know that because martin luther king once lived and died, you and i can buy hd tv's at the lowest price ever? now there's something to march on washington for.
so i googled to find out how common this is. there are thousands of entries, most of which are advertisements for pretty much anything you don't need, but at great discounts. they seem to go for king's initials: i guess exploiting 'MLK' sounds less tacky than using his name. but hey, let's go for it. there are lots of photos of king out there--why not show him smiling at his new hd tv or car or bathroom soap? hell, why not have him scrubbing himself in the shower, smiling because now he'll have skin that's both clean and soft?
no, it shouldn't be surprising--what hasn't capitalism desecrated? in an overwhelmingly christian country, people run for christmas and easter bargains. we're so used to it, we barely think about it, although occasionally decrying the commercialization of a solemn day. but really---jesus died for your sins, so go out and buy a brand-new microwave oven that can roast, toast, broil and baste your hot dogs and green beans, at 20 percent off!
but personally, i wasn't around when jesus died. i was when king died. he died, of course, because he fought for the rights of black people and of white people who suffered in numerous ways, not the least of which was poverty. you know, the folks who couldn't afford luxury cars, even at 20 percent off. he fought, without naming it, against the excesses of capitalism. and was killed for his efforts.
so hurry off, folks, and get a giant hd tv before they're all gone! oh well, if you miss these, there's always saint valentines day and st patrick's day and the 4th of July....
what i can't wait for is the first Occupation Day sale. hurry out now, while you can still occupy that condo in trump's tower! or that 2012 mercedes, with the built-in bar and the 24-karat gold saint christopher on the dashboard......get 'em now, or you too will be....out in the cold!
so i googled to find out how common this is. there are thousands of entries, most of which are advertisements for pretty much anything you don't need, but at great discounts. they seem to go for king's initials: i guess exploiting 'MLK' sounds less tacky than using his name. but hey, let's go for it. there are lots of photos of king out there--why not show him smiling at his new hd tv or car or bathroom soap? hell, why not have him scrubbing himself in the shower, smiling because now he'll have skin that's both clean and soft?
no, it shouldn't be surprising--what hasn't capitalism desecrated? in an overwhelmingly christian country, people run for christmas and easter bargains. we're so used to it, we barely think about it, although occasionally decrying the commercialization of a solemn day. but really---jesus died for your sins, so go out and buy a brand-new microwave oven that can roast, toast, broil and baste your hot dogs and green beans, at 20 percent off!
but personally, i wasn't around when jesus died. i was when king died. he died, of course, because he fought for the rights of black people and of white people who suffered in numerous ways, not the least of which was poverty. you know, the folks who couldn't afford luxury cars, even at 20 percent off. he fought, without naming it, against the excesses of capitalism. and was killed for his efforts.
so hurry off, folks, and get a giant hd tv before they're all gone! oh well, if you miss these, there's always saint valentines day and st patrick's day and the 4th of July....
what i can't wait for is the first Occupation Day sale. hurry out now, while you can still occupy that condo in trump's tower! or that 2012 mercedes, with the built-in bar and the 24-karat gold saint christopher on the dashboard......get 'em now, or you too will be....out in the cold!
3 comments:
Pat Boone may have indicated the inevitability of rock and roll, but really, nothing indicates the inevitability of our "melting pot" form of capitalism better than any holiday or tradition getting subsumed into another excuse to over-spend (or over-eat or over-drink - preferably all three!).
Actually, I have already heard ads start to slip in "occupy this deal/product" language. Not as overtly as the headlines in "MLK White Sale" ads, but still.
On the brighter side is the effort within the nonprofit sector to use MLK Day to promote volunteerism. But they can't afford tv ads in prime time or full-page spreads in the paper.
Whatever it is in the US, somebody wants to cash in on it. Sickening. But cashing in means ads, and now the sickening becomes repulsive. So you tell me what a fair description of his state of affairs is . . .
Post a Comment