Nov 30, 2006

I have long said that shopping is America’s national sport. It certainly seems to inspire Olympic-level frenzy among the media and many citizens. Hands up anybody who knew ten years ago what “Black Friday” meant? Today, how could you not know?

America’s Thanksgiving headlines this year, as most years, were largely obvious and useless: the age-old stories on weather, traffic, and turkeys. There’s no need to rewrite these every year – change a few details of location and statistics from last year’s stories, and you’re done.

But this year the standard holiday stories had competition from those about the day after Thanksgiving – “the biggest shopping day of the year”, as we were told breathlessly and endlessly. There were stories about people lining up for hours to be first in line to get some special “door buster” deal at a store. The media rewarded shopping commitment taken to absurd levels, reporting on some man who was wounded by a shotgun blast and nonetheless insisted on standing in line. What a legacy: to be remembered as the guy that obsessed with buying a videogame console.

I have commented on this to Americans before, and got some reactions on the order of “But you CAN get really good deals, so it’s worth it.” Not to me. To me, nothing is worth standing in any line unless there is absolutely no alternative. I can’t think of an object that I so desperately need to buy at any discount. (Oh, I’m sure someone could come up with a deal to tempt me, but the temptation level of the average American seems to be far lower than mine.)

I am thankful that Italy doesn’t yet make such a big a deal of the Christmas shopping season, though some seem to be trying. In the past, Christmas decorations did not go up until the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec 8th), a national holiday usually made into a long weekend, hence offering a similar day-after-the-holiday shopping opportunity.

But the Christmas “season” has been inching up in Italy, as elsewhere. Lights went up a few weeks ago, and were turned on last week. Last Sunday many shops were open, and most are already decorated for Christmas, which I find tiring. (But at least I don’t live in the UK, where they start decorating for Christmas in early October!)

So far, in spite of it all, I’m not in a Christmas mood. Any other time of year, I enjoy buying presents for people. Right now it feels like a chore. I have no idea what to get for anybody (except Rossella – she’s easy), and I’m broke anyway. I don’t even know what I’d want for myself. Enrico and Rossella asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I couldn’t think of much (except warm socks – I always need more socks). I have Amazon wish lists, but can’t remember anything on them that I couldn’t live without.

American Gas

Protest the Lifestyle, Not the Prices

Oct 24, 2005

I have received from several well-meaning friends emails urging Americans to do this or that to protest high gas prices. I appreciate the good intentions, but would like to offer some global perspective on Americans' "suffering".

Go to http://www.prezzibenzina.it/ ("gas prices") and look at the top of the right-hand column. "Media nazionale" means "national average". Italians put commas (in prices) where Americans put periods, so the first price listed, for "ecological" gasoline, is 1.323 euros PER LITER.

There are 3.79 liters in a gallon.

So... (adding in the euros to dollars conversion at approximately $1.20 per euro), in Italy we are paying over $6 per gallon for gas.

A lot of that is taxes.

Yes, it hurts. Sometimes truckers protest by doing highway slowdowns etc.

BUT - the high price of fuel encourages people to use public transport, reducing traffic and pollution. Public transport systems are crowded and sometimes late, but generally they work pretty well, and more are being built all the time (with our tax money). Everyone recognizes that this is a better solution for most individuals, as well as society at large. Everyone would like to live in an Italy with less traffic and less pollution, and some of us are willing to sacrifice some personal comfort to achieve that. (Personally, I'll take an hour in the train over an hour stuck in traffic any day.)

Americans need to learn to consume less. They consume far more of the world's resources per head than any other country in the world. They live in bigger houses (= more energy costs for heating and cooling), drive bigger and far less fuel-efficient cars, and tend to own more "stuff" than even other wealthy populations in the world. They drive when they could walk, hopping in the car to go two blocks to the corner store. Many American cities are built so that there is no place to walk, and you take your life in your hands if you try. Then you have to pay money to go to a gym to stay in shape.

So my suggestion to Americans is: don't protest today's gas prices. Protest - and work to change - the gas-guzzling lifestyle that is killing you, and the rest of the world.

comment on/add to this article