Intro: Consumerism and War
“The left is in a position of continually opposing war after war after war, without getting at the root of the problem—which is the economic system under which we live, which needs war and makes war inevitable.” —Howard Zinn
The connection between American consumerism and war couldn’t be more clear: the economic system that this country runs on perpetuates war because it needs war in order to survive. From the earliest origins of the anti-war movement, efforts have been made to “divest” from and take action against the war-economy. In the sixties, it was called the military-industrial complex and many colleges and universities withdrew their investments from corporations that funded the war efforts in Southeast Asia. Before that, during the American Revolution, (an unfinished revolution, one might add), the revolutionaries from Boston took action against the East India Tea Company, to attack corporate rule and keep funding from getting to their tyrannical fatherland.
The military-industrial complex is still alive and well today, but chances are you don’t buy much from Lockheed Martin on a daily basis. However, there is another complex that you probably participate in more than you might like: the corporate-war complex. Whether it’s Exxon/Mobil, Coca Cola, or Staples, multi-national corporate chains are profiting big-time off of war, human exploitation, and environmental devastation. Every time you buy products from these companies—and the three listed above are only examples—you support a system that is swiftly destroying our world.
But you’ve gotta live, right? The truth is, it’s nearly impossible to completely divest yourself from the system, but you can certainly give it your best shot by becoming somewhat of an urban hunter-gatherer. How many things do you buy that you could find or make instead? How much crap do you buy that you don’t even need? What about sharing—do your friends have duplicate items that you only use part of the time? Are there corporations that you’d like to take action against that might also have things that you or your friends need?
Private Property: A Lesson in Brainwashing
“When I pay for something, I'm making a trade; I'm offering the money that I bought with my labor, my time, and my creativity for a product or service that the corporation wouldn't share with me under any other circumstances. In a sense, we have a relationship based on violence: we negotiate an exchange not according to our respect or concern for each other, but according to the forces that we can bring to bear on each other. Supermarkets know they can charge me a dollar for bread because I will starve if I do not buy it from them; they know they can't charge me four dollars, because I will go somewhere else,” (Crimethinc.)
One must realize that the concept of private property—that a person or corporation has an inalienable right to some object of material value—is one that we are indoctrinated with as children and that is pounded into our skulls (usually with police batons) throughout our lives. In our society, however, a person who steels what he or she has does not have a right to that object. “Stealing,” in the institutional sense only applies to poor people—those who take what they need to survive. However, in a more objective sense, it is the rich—the ruling class—that are the true perpetrators of grand larceny. If your friend stole your car, you would have the “right” to steal it back, right? Well, Wal-Mart has no more right to the fishing equipment that they sell than your friend would have to your stolen car. In our economic system, the means of production are more or less completely divorced from the profiteers; the wealthy are merely expropriators of the labor of the workers. Any employer that does not pay a living wage is stealing from his or her (usually his) workers.
“Shoplifting is a refusal of the exchange economy. It is a denial that people deserve to eat, live, and die based on how effectively they are able to exchange their labor and capital with others. It is a denial that a monetary value can be ascribed to everything, that having a piece of delicious chocolate in your mouth is worth exactly fifty cents or that an hour of one person's life can really be worth ten dollars more than that of another person,” (Crimethinc.)
Everything is yours if you take it. That doesn’t mean that we advocate you just steal whatever you want from whomever you want, but the fact remains true; private property is simply a mindset, protected by a violent and coercive state and exploited by the wealthiest members of our society. Even Disney Corporation could not deny the honor of Sir Robin Hood, who ‘stole from the rich to give to the poor.’ The key to political shoplifting, then, is to make sure that you are always stealing from those who can afford to be stolen from.
Ethical Shoplifting
This can sometimes be difficult. The truly wealthy owners of corporations take many steps to protect themselves from any financial losses. For example, when the window of a Dunkin Donuts is smashed, the person who has to pay is not the CEO of Dunkin Donuts; it’s the local—probably lower-middle-class owner of that particular franchise. Careful research and thought must go into every action that you take against corporate America. Consider what you want out of your action. Are you trying to make a statement, or do you simply need something and you don’t want to give your money to an evil corporation? Both of these scenarios are perfectly legitimate, but identifying your goals will affect the way that you go about your action. For example: Barnes and Noble—the Wal-Mart of bookstores—is hated by most anti-materialists because they tend to come into town and put all the small independent bookstores out of business. In Boston, activists launched a covert campaign where they stole hundreds of books from Barnes and Noble and donated them to local schools. This campaign was hugely effective in getting books to schools, and Barnes and Noble hardly noticed the difference. In this case, the activists’ goals were simply to get something that the community needed from a corporation that had more than enough resources to spare. Imagine another scenario, though, where the activists had sent a letter to Barnes and Noble’s CEO, telling him that they were launching a massive book-stealing campaign until he let his under-paid workers unionize…
When you steal from a corporation, you are not really stealing from any particular person. In fact, many corporations have budgets set aside to cover shoplifting costs. As for the workers, who you presumably care most about, they are nearly always unaffected by shoplifters. Most workers in retail these days receive a (pathetically low) hourly wage. They get paid no matter how much profit the company makes. Just be sure that this is the case in the stores that you shoplift from! Some crafty CEO’s have instituted policies where the security guard on duty has to pay for shoplifted items. So do some research first before you act.
Spend it Wisely (or not at all…)
Being conscious about how you spend your money is perhaps the first and easiest step to getting truly politically active. I’ve gone to too many Latin American Solidarity meetings where some participant shows up with two-liter bottles of Coke for everyone to share. The only thing that the elite understand is profit, and so long as you keep buying their products, they don’t care how many post-cards they get asking them to play nice with their workers, or how many anti-corporate patches you wear on your jacket. Boycotts have been an effective tool in social justice movements throughout history, but they have never yet reached their full potential. “Verbal protests can be raised to irresponsible business practices without ever having any solid effect, but shoplifting is intrinsically damaging these corporations at the same time as it (however covertly) demonstrates dissatisfaction. It is better than a boycott, because not only does it cost the corporation money rather than just denying it profit, it also means that the shoplifter is still able to obtain the products, which she may need to survive,” (Crimethinc.) Buying tons of Pepsi because you realized that Coke is evil is not a real solution to the problem. (Especially since the leaders of these major corporations are all linked in some way or another… check out www.theyrule.net). “So many corporations are interconnected, and so many multinationals are involved in unacceptable activity, shoplifting is a generalized protest: it is a refusal to put any cash into the economy at all, so that the shoplifter can be sure that none of her cash will ever end up in the hands of the corporations she disapproves of,” (Crimethinc.)
In our society, “freedom” is often portrayed as being directly proportional with how much money you’ve got to spend. In reality, this is a load of corporate crap. True freedom is not having to buy anything. The less you spend, the less dependent you are on the system that you seek to change. It’s very difficult to change anything from inside the crushing confines of the system itself, so it is necessary for you to remove yourself as much as possible before you can effect real change.
How do you buy nothing? Well, you can make what you need, steal what you need, find what you need, or borrow what you need. The rest of this guide will be dedicated to stealing, finding and borrowing what you need, as making what you need would require another, far more extensive guide. (For good Do-it-Yourself info, visit www.infoshop.com or www.crimethinc.com)
Stealing What You Need
We’ve already discussed the various moral implications of shoplifting, so let’s get down to the nitty gritty of how to do it! WARNING: (read, covering our asses) shoplifting may be illegal in your area! The Why-War Wobbly Squirrel Collective in no way supports or condones illegal shoplifting. Right, now that that’s out of the way, assuming that shoplifting is legal in your area, here’s some tips of the trade that might help you out.
Coping with Security
The easiest (and usually most desirable) places to steal from are large stores with tall aisles that easily obstruct the view of whomever might be watching you. Ever find yourself wandering down the aisles of an empty supermarket late at night, and realizing you are more or less all alone way back in the School Supplies section, wonder what’s stopping you from grabbing those sharpies and sticking them in your pocket? Nothing! Go for it. However, there are some concerns in large stores. Many large stores, including supermarkets, have surveillance cameras that could catch you in the act of stealing. These tapes can later be used against you in court. Before you pocket anything, take some time to walk around the store and note where the cameras are, if there are any, and see if you can find any blind spots. It can be hard to tell how wide the camera’s angle is, but in general if you can’t see it, it can’t see you. Some stores have their cameras concealed under little domes, but if you know what to look for, they’re very obvious. If there’s a little shiny dome on the ceiling at the corner of each aisle in a department store, chances are they are security cameras.
In stores with heavy surveillance, it may be impossible to find a blind spot where you are completely out of view of the cameras, or where the cameras are focused near the item that you would like to liberate. In this case, you have several options available to you. Go to the item you would like and pick it up, as if you were going to purchase it. Carry it around the store with you nonchalantly, while you browse through other items. Ask a store attendant a question about something, pick up items and then put them back. In short, do everything you can to appear like nothing but a careful customer. Chances are, if there is anyone monitoring the security, he/she will not focus on you so long as you do not slip the item into your pocket right as you take it off the shelf. While you’re walking around browsing, that is your opportunity to pocket your booty. Don’t run. Browse around a bit more, if you like, then leave the store, smiling at the cashier on the way out.
A nice device is to pretend to have a cell-phone call (if you have a cell-phone, you can get them with no service easily). Tap your pocket (when you feel your phone vibrate), then swiftly pocket your loot and take out your phone in one simple motion, and briskly walk out of the store to answer your call. This way, if you get caught, you can claim you were going to pay for the item, but you forgot you had put it in your pocket when you took out your cell-phone. Cell phones in general are disarming. If your fiddling around with an item in your hand while talking on your cell phone inside the store, chances are no one will notice if you casually slip the item into your jacket or bag.
Most stores these days have inventory control systems or RIFD’s that will set off an alarm if you leave the store without scanning the product through the register first. There are many ways to deal with these. The most obvious one is to simply run like hell as soon as you leave the door. Only use this tactic in stores that you don’t plan on returning to anytime soon, as chances are you have been caught on videotape. Alternatively, you could take steps to ensure that the alarm does not trigger…
Most Inventory Control Systems operate by sensing the presence of tiny chips contained within the packaging of consumer products. An easy way to avoid this is to remove your desired item from its packaging before you liberate it from the store. Markers, calculators, and other small items are extremely easy to remove from their packaging and slip into your pocket. (I especially recommend Industrial Strength Sharpies found at OfficeMax or Staples… they can be very useful for your other subversive activities…) In large stores where you are more or less alone, it’s easy to simply remove an item from its packaging and leave with it in your bag. In smaller stores, where there is a chance of someone coming down your aisle, it can be good to look like a conscious customer; opening the product to make sure it’s what you’re looking for. If you’re caught taking it out of the package, simply finish inspecting it, put it back on the shelf and leave. An important thing to note: in some items, the sensor is inside the item itself. Most condoms, for example, have an individual sensor in each packet. (See the section on foraging for info about how you can get all the condoms you need for free.)
Not Looking Sketchy
The most important subject to remember from school when liberating stuff you need is psychology. You can get away with amazing things simply by being psychologically aware of your surroundings. If you look like you are supposed to be doing whatever you are doing, the majority of people will assume the same. It is entirely possible to walk into a store with a clipboard in hand, and walk out with a crate of food for your friends, with a courteous nod to the cashier on the way out. Clipboards, like cell-phones, for whatever reason are extremely disarming. Wear a collared shirt, a My Name Is_______ badge and carry a clipboard and you’d be amazed at what you can get away with. Carry around a pen and tap it against your clipboard pensively while you study the products. Make little notes on official looking forms. Have absolutely no fear. If you truly believe that whatever you are taking rightfully belongs to you, most people around you will make no effort to stop you.
The clipboard technique doesn’t always work, but regardless, you should make an effort to not look ‘sketchy’ when you’re appropriating goods. If you go into a store wearing all black with a “Capitalism is Cancer” pin, the employees are trained to watch you carefully. Be creative. Try a variety of ‘costumes’ and see which one holds the most respect in your town. Make sure that you wear clothes that you can hide things in, but also are not ostentatious or sketchy looking. You can avoid a lot of attention simply by dressing up a little bit, and you can buy nice-looking clothes really cheaply at Goodwill (for the first time, from then on you can always steal them from Gap!) Please don’t steal from Goodwill though.
The Corporate Hit List
Speaking of where not to steal from, where should you steal from? There are so many corporate chains in America it would be hopeless to try to include them here. The Collective has compiled a list of all the evil corporations we can think of that could use a little wake-up call. If you have anything to add to this list, please e-mail us at wobblysquirrels@why-war.com and we will be sure to add your suggestions to the list.
Food:McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Finagle a Bagel, Dominos, Papa-Ginos, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Kraft, Shaw’s, Star Market, Arbies, Nathan's, TCBY, etc.
Art Supplies:Staples, Office Max, Kinkos (great for stealing copies of your flyers and zines), CVS, Brooks Pharmacy, 7-11 (but be careful and do your research, because some stores are independently owned, usually by working class immigrants,) Copy-Cop...
Tools etc: Home Depot, Sears Hardware, Sharper Image
Books: Borders, Barnes and Noble, Waldenbooks
General: Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Costco Wholesale, Target, Walgreens
Clothes: (Be sure to put patches over the corporate advertising on the clothes that you steal!) Gap, Nike, Bugle Boy, Adidas, Abercrombie and Fitch, Fannie Mae, J.C. Penny, Disney, Kohl’s, Macy's, etc. etc.
Foraging For What You Need
If you live near any of the following, you are incredibly rich:
- a college campus
- a junkyard
- an industrial area
- a huge office complex
- etc. etc. etc.
A friend and I preparing for a demonstration managed to forage around these sorts of areas and find gasmasks, bolt cutters, safety goggles, flashlights, two dozen cans of spraypaint, large sheets for making banners, wire-cutters, rapelling equipment, and much more. Many places are simply full of resources that are rarely if ever used and that no one will even notice missing. The amazing thing is that in places like this, no one seems to notice as you walk around and take things, since they assume that you are supposed to be doing whatever it is that you are doing. At colleges and universities, most buildings are easily accessible by unlocked windows, and the cops rarely frequent such areas. If you need to, you can always pick locks.
Some specifics:
To find paint:check art or engineering buildings at colleges, construction sites (be sure you know who the developer is), the loading area behind paint or home improvement stores, etc. Also, many paint stores will give you mismixed cans of paint for little or no money.
To get food:Get a friend to sneak you into a college cafeteria. Bring your backpack and some plastic containers. You can leave with enough food to feed yourself and your comrades for a week! Also, in fast food places, you can bring your own cup with the store label (that you rescue from the trash and wash) and get as many free refills of drinks as you'd like.) Pizza is almost always available in college dormitories any given Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night. Find Food Not Bombs in your area... Alternatively, many stores will donate their leftovers at the end of the day to charity organizations... like yourself.
To find tools:Junkyards, construction sites, engineering departments at colleges, backstage in theaters, parking garages, auto body repair places (make sure that they're corporate), maitenance departments, etc.
To find cloth (to make your own clothes or banners): Laundry bins behind restaurants, backstage at school theaters, laundry rooms at expensive hotels, Goodwill (they sell old sheets for like $2.)
Transportation: There's always hopping rails, and now that the railworkers are unionized it will probably be easier... Otherwise, companies like Driveaway will let you drive someone's car from one place to another and they'll even chip in a little for gas. Bicycles are readily available in dumps and junkyards. Chinatown buses go from Chinatown to Chinatown in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and New York for only $10-$12. (Okay... so that's not foraging, but it's nice to know.) There are rideboards on the net at places like Infoshop.
Activist Defense Gear: We found pesticide masks (that make very nice gas masks) in a theater department's scene-shop. You can often find particle masks anywhere that there is woodworking or painting done: construction sites, engineering buildings etc. Protective gloves are easy to find in hospitals or at the school Nurse (you can usually find surgeons masks there too which help with pepper-spray.) Check out the Gymnasium for hockey equipment that makes good padding to protect yourself from police batons, and the Pool for swim goggles against teargas and pepperspray.
Building Materials:Construction Sites!!! Duh. Also abandoned factories or other buildings, old tree-houses, etc.
Whatever else you need: I almost guarantee that with a little bit of searching, you will be able to find pretty much anything that you need to carry out your daily activities. Once you have secured basic shelter and food, you can spend more of your time hunting and gathering the things that will make your life pleasurable and productive.
Conclusion
It's much to easy to get involved in activism because you feel guilty about what you already have. One should not feel guilty! The world is unfair not because you have more than you should have, but because everyone should have as much as you do! One of the best ways to fight for a better world is to attempt to negate the impact of birthright by divesting your money and your work from the system that feeds global war and poverty. The less we depend on the powerful to provide for us, the less power they have, and the easier it will be for us to fight back against them. When you liberate items from large corporations, or when you make things for yourself instead of buying them, you are simultaneously becoming more self-sufficient, and taking economic direct action against your oppressors.
This guide is by no means complete, and the Why-War Wobbly Squirrel Collective would appreciate your input or additions. Also, feel free to liberate this guide for your own needs, plagiaraize, steal, and misquote as you wish!