Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

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mnaz
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Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by mnaz » November 19th, 2015, 5:01 pm

Two passages in particular (among many) in The Dharma Bums caught my eye when I read the book a couple years ago:
The middle-class non-identity usually finds its perfect expression on the outskirts of campus in rows of well-to-do houses with lawns and television sets in
each living room with everybody looking at the same thing and thinking the same
thing at the same time while the Japhies of the world go prowling in the wilderness
And this:
Japhy has a vision of Dharma Bums refusing to subscribe to the general demand that they consume production and therefore have to work for the privilege of consuming, all that crap they didn’t really want anyway such as refrigerators, TV sets, cars, at least new
fancy cars, certain hair oils and deodorants and general junk you finally always see
a week later in the garbage anyway, all of them imprisoned in a system of work,
produce, consume, work, produce, consume.
(Hence the coming "rucksack revolution" ...)

What do you think of these statements? Though they were written almost 60 years ago, in some ways they seem fairly prescient to me, even beyond the obvious "paycheck slavery" aspect. The ongoing escalation of and identity-robbing assimilation into consumer culture is "creating wealth," but also massive amounts of debt, wild up-and-down swings in financial markets, corporate takeover of our "democracy," ever-accelerating extraction of resources to feed a voracious global capital machine that seemingly can't run on anything less than perpetual expansion (drawing from the Mothership's finite reservoir). I'm even tempted to say that oft-repeated sayings like "fighting (wars) to protect our way of life" are part of the fallout.

The counter-position(s) to all of this: something along the lines that the capitalized production-consumption cycle and expansion of so-called "free-markets" to all corners of the earth (even the moon if these corporations could figure out how to swing it), while it may have its drawbacks, is the best "answer" for humankind's fast-growing population, etc. etc.

Any thoughts on this?
Last edited by mnaz on November 20th, 2015, 6:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: "Ray and Japhy" vs. Consumerism

Post by MrGuilty » November 19th, 2015, 9:33 pm

I don't understand nothing. I have no commonsense, the world seems so alien to me. I watch the news about the economy and it seems so mysterious. We must have growth, everyone needs a job, we must grow the economy. It is the way it goes, have children the children have children and on and on, each generation needs dignity, freedom and a color TV. "Pretty girls make graves" Ray said. And I am crazy cause the world seems nuts to me, I am the man who did not fit in. Maybe it is my autism :? I have a Darwin award for not reproducing, yet I watch the parents and children come into the Walmart where I work and I get an ache in my heart looking at the kids I never had. They say the trouble with kittens is they grow up to be cats, maybe the same is true for humans too. Sorry I can't say much about it, It seems it is our destiny to suck this planet dry and move on to another one maybe. It is not just Americans, it is true for any country. More jobs, more growth, more resources consumed. Beats the hell out of me. In the mean time I do my best to be a conscious consumer and only buy the stuff I really really need, like one of these.
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mnaz
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Re: "Ray and Japhy" vs. Consumerism

Post by mnaz » November 20th, 2015, 4:49 pm

It all gets down to balance in the end-- unless it's already all spun too far off the track... Yeah, balance... and in terms of planet "harvest" those balancing forces have already kicked in, even as the big grab has escalated-- recycling, resource management, etc. ... but, you can't bring back the extinct, "Jurassic Park" notwithstanding; it's too late for (too?) many.

I think I need one of those Despicable things. God bless Walmart . . .

I decided to change the title of this thread.

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by WIREMAN » November 20th, 2015, 7:21 pm

There's no comparing Jack & Gary's world to today....imagine this scene in 1968 when I went to high school in Menlo Park, Ca. Damn near every kid there hitched a ride home after school...a different world.....there was a trust in humanity that is long gone....hell you could buy a donut for a dime, now one of the vegan donuts at my cafe is five dollars....ugh!
me I feel like I'm becoming some kinda Kung fu t.v. Priest.....

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by Artguy » November 24th, 2015, 8:22 pm

Something to the effect of ...You can't fall off a mountain...so Japhy said to jack as he ran by him in the screed....

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by Doreen Peri » November 25th, 2015, 12:36 pm

I must admit I have no idea what you are all talking about. I need to take reading comprehension lessons. I'm thankful you all know what you're talking about. *smile* ... Happy Thanksgiving.

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by WIREMAN » November 25th, 2015, 7:26 pm

Doreen did you ever read the Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac?
me I feel like I'm becoming some kinda Kung fu t.v. Priest.....

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by Doreen Peri » November 25th, 2015, 8:17 pm

WIREMAN wrote:Doreen did you ever read the Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac?
Yes. Many years ago. I'm too old to remember it.

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by mnaz » November 30th, 2015, 7:34 pm

I was just ruminatin' on those quotes from The Dharma Bums (probably my favorite Kerouac writing-- love the mountain-climbing parts).

I remember back on LK, how a couple of times on the P&P board it was noted that the U.S. is 6% of the world population, yet it consumes something like a quarter of earth's resources. Kind of a head-scratcher.

And then imagine if the "Western Powers" expand and export more of this level of consumption to the rest of the world? What happens then?

Maybe I should have just focused on this aspect, since the "middle class non-identity" remarks are kind of a different issue.

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by Doreen Peri » November 30th, 2015, 11:20 pm

Maybe I should have just focused on this aspect, since the "middle class non-identity" remarks are kind of a different issue.
Oh, it's not your burden to try to help me understand the topic. It's been so many years since I read the book, I suppose I should have simply refrained from commenting. Sorry.

We were sitting here just a few minutes ago talking about the vanishing (er, now non-existent) middle class and this topic is of dire importance.

Apologies for my lack of comprehension skills. Carry on and I'll just look in, read, and try to learn something. Thanks!

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by WIREMAN » December 1st, 2015, 5:00 pm

....how do you all feel about five dollar donuts??? :lol:
me I feel like I'm becoming some kinda Kung fu t.v. Priest.....

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by mnaz » December 1st, 2015, 6:14 pm

might be another symptom of what I'm jabbering on about here ... Five dollars for a doughnut? A doughnut? Yeah, that'll be the day ...

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by WIREMAN » December 1st, 2015, 9:49 pm

.....oh excuse me, it's a vegan donut.....and tastes like cardboard.....yes it is a sign of the times :lol:
me I feel like I'm becoming some kinda Kung fu t.v. Priest.....

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by Doreen Peri » December 1st, 2015, 11:59 pm

I'd pay $5 for a delicious poem.

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Re: Jack and Gary vs. Consumerism

Post by saw » December 4th, 2015, 11:45 am

Barnum & Bailey understood people would turn over their hard earned money if the hype was substantial enough, and we live in a world of immensely scripted fanfare....the genius' that could have chosen medicine or science opted for Madison Ave...and the masses are under their spell....we've come to believe we cannot live without the bling....not many can imagine giving up their computer service, their cable service, their cell phone service etc. etc.

and as long as we remain addicted , the longer we remain complacent....other than my occasional rants, i am just a slave of my gadgets....work hard to keep them all, keep the rain out, feed the belly, zone out after work when I should be at a demonstration...this to me is the thing holding us back...our inability to use our democratic rights....to spend significant time demonstrating.....dissent is the cornerstone of democracy, but I am too tired to get my ass down to the protest....and the numbers are everything.....

believe they are aware ( the powers that be )....low numbers means they keep doing what they're doing.....and we have good reason to be afraid of the police....good reason to be afraid of long sentences.....animal rights groups are now eco-terrorists......how brilliant is that ?.....add terrorist to any cause, and shut their mouths....but like Howard Zinn always reinforced, the power is in numbers....we all have more in common than not

we want good jobs, safe streets, good educations for our children, yet the brain-trusts clearly see the advantages to dividing us up into tiny impotent groups that bicker about about abortion, and muslims, and god, and the earth, and the animals, and the good old days....we do it to ourselves by not catching on ....when we finally unite to fight the dragons, we have a chance for really changing the world from 1% dominance

the future is in the hands of the young ones that understand there are no more pensions....an understanding that Social Security may become a thing of the past...they get this....but will they take up the fight.....many of us here are older.....but if the numbers grow, I will make sure to be a part of history....the fight must be multi-generational, multi-racial, multi- religious, multi-economical.....the 99 must unite in unimaginable numbers, numbers that will will shake the foundations of corporate greed, numbers that will oust the status quo....business as usual needs a ceremonial burial....

thanx Studio 8....for a place to vent......thanx Doreen
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