[Nettime-bold] Press Release::Nationwide Ritual Resistance

["breathing planet" <breathingplanet@hotmail.com>]

For Press Release -[please forward]
April 5, 2002

Nationwide Whirl-Mart Ritual Resistance on Big Business Day.

Principle Contact:
breathingplanet@hotmail.com or 518-573-7947

Over the weekend of April 6 and 7, independently organized Whirl-Mart 
troupes in 10 locations across the U.S. will enter superstores and silently 
push empty carts for an hour

Locations and local contacts:
Troy/Albany, NY  breathingplanet@hotmail.com
Hudson, NY  brucefrishkoff@yahoo.com
NYC, NY    no contact
Scranton, PA   michael.paulukonis@rhd.com
Pittsburgh, PA   barnstormer@luxenet.com
Hadley, MA   cberrigan@hampshire.edu
Austin, TX   howandwhy@meowmail.com
Denton, TX  mwallace@library.unt.edu
Bay Area, CA  may_bee_doll@yahoo.com
Indianola, IA  depew@simpson.edu


Big Business Day consists of a consortium of independently organized actions 
and performances in protest of the ways in which Big Business is taking over 
every aspect of peoples’ lives, eliminating choice, broadening inequality, 
and destroying democracy.

Whirl-Mart is a worldwide ritual which happens on a monthly basis and will 
coincide with Big Business Day in April.  Participants gather at superstores 
and form a chain of people  who push empty carts through the aisles.  A 
Whirl may seem to be no more than an absurd and chaotic infiltration of 
peoples’ usual shopping space, but it is intended to be a symbolic 
statement.  It is symbolic of the will to resist consumerism and 
advertising, despite being saturated in it mentally and physically (as one 
is inside a superstore).  As a form of protest, it is unique because of its 
silent meditative qualities.

Of course, there are many reasons to protest the domination superstores.  
These corporations systematically destroy small business practice, and in 
doing so, destroy consumers’ options. They rely heavily on sweatshop labor.  
They have been known to wrongfully acquire land.  Many have been attacked 
for poor employee treatment in addition to maintaining an anti-union stance. 
  The participants of Whirl-Mart acknowledge all of these malfunctions of 
the superstore model.  Moreover, we consider the superstore to be a 
superlative symbol of an ideology founded on values of imperialism, 
exploitation, and competition, namely capitalism.  They oppose these values 
in our thoughts and in our dreams because they do not represent a 
sustainable future for the living systems of planet Earth.  Through 
Whirl-Mart, we come together to collectively create a physical and artful 
manifestation of peaceful resistance.

Around the country and the world people are focusing their anti-consumerist 
energies and their situationist desires on forming Whirl-Mart Consumption 
Awareness Teams and organizing rituals.  These foolish ceremonies will serve 
as a monthly reminder of overconsumption, encourage people to think about 
their own rituals of consumption, and offer people the opportunity to 
express resistance in a unique and satisfying way.

To learn more about Whirl-Mart, visit www.breathingplanet.net or call to 
request a press packet or digital resource CD.














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