Anti-McDonald's day

Tomorrow is the 24th Annual Anti-McDonald's day. I will acknowledge this day in the name of consumer freedom (despite the fact that I haven't passed through a McDonald's door for getting on 10 years). Why have one of these days?

It's simple. Tell these mega-corporates that the crap they dump on us in the name of "competition" is anything but. McDonald's are only one example. To this list you could add Starbucks, Microsoft, Disney, Nike, Reebok, The Warehouse (or WalMart if you are USA domiciled), Sony, Viacom and probably another dozen.

In these turbulent times, imagine the turmoil the average consumer could wreak, by boycotting all these brands for a day. The Nike shop with no punters. No queues at Disneyland. Roaring trade by local shops who have suffered by the "Big Box" traders such as the Warehouse, WalMart, Harvey Norman, Bunnings etc. One day boycotts could cause these mega-corporates to crash on stock markets world-wide - that is how jittery the markets are at the moment. Many of these corporates may claim to be major employers but, give me a break; they have sacked more by buying up the competition. And don't forget the other businesses they have swamped by their unethical business practices.

McDonald's are only a single example of how insidious modern corporate practices are. I challenge anyone to go out and find a childrens' sports program or event that is not sponsored by McDonald's. My belief, is it would be difficult to find unless your country has banned McDonald's.

But why pick on McDonalds? Surely other mega-corporates have far worse practices? Well, McDonald's are just typical of what to expect from this crowd. They will sponsor an event or programme and offer vouchers to the participants after. They have the muscle to do this. Again, why is this bad? Because they can - and they do. Instead of respecting fair competition, they will do this to crush any competition. This includes your local hamburger bar who will incidently make a burger twice the size for the money.

Currently I'm reading "No Logo" by Naomi Klein. I'm only a third of the way through and the feeling I have is a sense of hopelessness against these mega-corporates who only want to monopolise their markets (and others). However, I have faith that consumers can rise up and rebel against them - much the same way as the French and Russian revolutions.

The power today exists with these "labels". To ignore them is to destroy them.