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Not Buying It: the Church of Stop Shopping
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of ABC News
Posted: December 17th, 2007
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3911373
Americans are expected to spend nearly half a trillion dollars this holiday season ... splurging on presents for loved ones and themselves. But as some shoppers drive themselves into debt, maxing out their credit cards and wiping out already slim savings, one man says it's time to stop. Actor and activist Bill Talen, also known as Reverend Billy, heads the self-styled Church of Stop Shopping, which replaces more traditional beliefs with the gospel that consumerism is destroying the American spirit. "I think, in the United States, we are addicted to shopping. Every Christmas ... we're supposed to save the economy by shopping ourselves to death," said Talen, whose persona as Revered Billy is part performance act, part serious protest. "No. There are other ways. There is another way." As Reverend Billy, Talen spends his days preaching on the street or protesting outside large chain stores, like [Macys,] Wal-Mart and Starbucks. Members of the church's "Stop Shopping Choir" and the "Not Buying It Band," dressed in colorful robes and clapping, often accompany his teachings with energetic, anti-consumerist chants. Talen is also the subject of a new documentary, "What Would Jesus Buy?" which tracks the efforts of the church as it tries to prevent what Talen and his followers call "shopocalypse." "We have to slow down our consumption, now," Talen said, gesturing at the hordes of shoppers trampling down Manhattan's 6th Avenue to take advantage of this year's sales. "The real cost is not always the sticker price," he continued. "We have to stop. The Earth is telling us, we're telling each other, we have to stop." Until his message catches on nationwide, Reverend Billy seems content saving one American soul at a time. "We can ask the god that is not a product, the god that is not a multinational corporation ... to come into these wonderful citizens. And give them the power to be careful, conscious shoppers this year. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise be."
Note: To watch the short clip of this fascinating piece, click here.
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