Every day I’m shopping.
We’ve all known for a while what brand of news we like. We know what kind of personal products we like. We know what food we like. We know what cars, airlines, trains, and busses we like. We know our favorite streamers, software, guitars and building products and tools. We even know some CEO’s names we think we like even though we have never met them. Celebrities own their names like a brand too. Some celebrities want their brand to stand for this or that. It’s their name, maybe it shouldn’t be a brand unless they make household products or something? Whatever. It seems everyone has bought into this brand-name universe except me and Keri, that we know of.
What about what I believe? Did I buy that? Probably.
Politics has a few brands too. Fascists love brands, but they aren’t the only ones. Folks need to believe a brand is good. Just like they need to believe in Jesus. It makes life more simple. It justifies the money spent. It makes for good memories. But it just is not the reality.
Nothing is perfect.
There’s no such thing as a perfect brand. If there was, they wouldn’t keep changing things up. There’s no perfect computer, perfect artist, perfect musician, perfect president, perfect preacher, perfect phone, perfect social media, perfect church. Most everything folks need you to buy isn’t perfect, they merely need you buy it. Companies and aspiring businesses are happy to let you think it’s perfect. That works for them, but what about for you?
Why do you keep mentioning the Civil War, Kelly?
Keri and I have noticed in our conversations that these brand names cause more division than comfort. Brand name wars are a thing. From soda to politics to religion.. Folks get attached to the products they like. They defend them. They even fight and die for them. It reminds me of The Civil War here in the USA.
I recently shared The Cornerstone Speech from Savanna, GA by Alexander Stephens. I think this speech is pivotal in how I have always thought of the Civil War. Before reading it I had murky suspicions but the “State’s Rights” folks had a compelling enough argument. This seals the deal, for me. The Civil War was without a doubt about slavery. No question. Next class.
What does that mean? Well, to me it means that the South had good branding. The reason why is because no one who fought and died for the south could ever afford a slave. But, that’s what they fought and died for. It means that in a situation like today, most of us are dying on a hill for rich folks. Rich folks run household brand names. Nearly all of them. There’s probably exceptions, but I can’t think of any.
What about the North? Lincoln? Lincoln was a smart president. Even though he did not wish to address slavery in his presidency he found it necessary to save The Union. History shows us that’s the main thing Lincoln cared about. He thought it was his job to preserve the place. He was probably right about that. He found that abolition was a key divide. Something worth dying for. I think he was right. But it was not easy even for him. He’s really fun to read about, if you ever wanna’.
It’s a mindfuck.
If you swear by any brands, don’t you feel played? The disparity in my income vs the income of those who make products we all buy makes it hard for me to trust anything. Sure, I need tools and like things. I don’t even mind paying extra for 1,000 year old spruce that fell in Alaska, if it sounds good. But I have to know what it sounds and feels like first. Most other products we buy, don’t afford us this luxury. They like brainwashing.
Handed-down brand name beliefs.
Advertising and word of mouth are fabulous for brands. They get the news out. From an ad on TV or the internet, they can make us very curious. If we see friends using something and enjoying it, we are likely to give it a shot. Politics and religion are a lot like this. We even hand our favorite brands down to kids, even if it isn’t good for them like it was for us. It happens every day. We are salesmen for the things that work for us. I think that’s natural. But the lies, torture, misery, and small-mindedness that come with handed-down brand-name beliefs aren’t natural. They’re a sales pitch gone wrong.
Disclaiming for the hating.
It’s probably important to mention since this is the internet that I am just discovering this way of thinking and its implications. I am more than likely still attached to brand names I haven’t realized yet because I own stuff and like it. I am not claiming perfection here. I am merely logging my own voyage. I am a work in progress. My brand is confusion. lol. Deal.
About religion..
Religion, to me, is the worst offender. Why would it fucking matter what someone far away believes unless they’re sitting on oil or strategic global position? Why would our religion matter to anyone else unless it clearly seems hellbent on dominance? Why does religion make you a good person? It’s because you think it does. That’s branding. Out of the whole world, you are in the minority thinking that. There’s no evidence for religion making us better. Absolutely none. But we think it does. That’s good advertising.
Think about the money you give to bad guys, maybe there’s options..(maybe there aren’t.)
Occasionally we have to make choices. We have to use brand name things. There is no getting around it in music, for example. That doesn’t entail believing anything. That’s something the manufacturer is happy to let you do though. Believe. Remember the southerners who fought for slavery so Elon could still enslave folks? Going to war for your products and CEO’s is getting really old. And fighting for god is older than god. It’s marketing. Rich folks bossing poor folks around for something the rich folks want. Very old. Sick of it.
Fun idea.
If you want to boycott anything, I’ve been having fun boycotting rich folks talking or writing. I honestly don’t feel they have anything to say to anyone who lives like I do. I am a lot of folks, economically. They have nothing to offer. I hope their mouths and dollars become irrelevant. So I’ve been shutting them up. Not a product, not a brand, the fucking billionaire asshats who dominate attention. Everyone knows they sell shit, right?
return to home.
