need ways to take personal action against "the system"

[Jemima]

What bae said, and here are some more ideas: http://tinyurl.com/Zero-Hedge-Defeat-the-Banks

If you want to get really into the idea of busting the big corporations, read Sharon Astyk's book, Independence Days. The more we deal with our neighbors instead of big corporations, the less "the system" will work. Grow your own food or buy from a local producer as much as possible. Sew your own clothes or buy from a thrift store. Et cetera.

I support what you're doing and am trying to be mindful of these things on a daily basis myself.

[Zoebird]

a lot of what red fox wrote is what we are working on here. a lot of them exist, in some form, you just have to get "in on it." A friend of mine hosts "clothing swaps" several times a year -- and they are parties! they are a ton of fun.

our kindergarden will be holding the first 'kids clothing swap" that we've had. they usually do one for women's clothes as a fund raising event, but i suggested also doing one for children's clothes. And a lot of the schools here do "swap meets" as their fundraisers. You pay $10 to get "in" and then you just go through and buy or swap items. It's great for kid's clothes.

we are involved in a land-share, but the idea of a land trust for housing needs is intriguing. I'm interested in it, because this is a city of renters, and goodness knows what would happen. we rent, but where would we rent if something happened? the problem that i can see, right now, though is the capital required to get a land trust going. I would love to live in such a situation, but i don't have the capital (yet) to get there. hmm. but, definitely something for my back pocket.

otherwise, we try to buy local all the time. a few of our foodstuffs are not local (fermented cod liver oil, bananas), but nearly everything else is. we try to do as much local as we can, including local business. we use felt.co.nz is buy any new objects -- it's all local artisans, and it's a great place for soft toys, etc.

[Jemima]

Being more self-sufficient. Last spring I gave a way a lot of extra garden seeds that I had, to try and get some people interested in gardening. Over the last three or four years, I've noticed more and more people with small gardens. Urban homesteading has gotten to be more popular.

This is a point that really hit home with me while reading Sharon Astyk's book, Independence Days. The more we can do to disengage from the corporate system (such as growing our own food or buying second-hand items) the more we undermine that system. Don't think for a minute that individual effort doesn't count. It's like pulling the foundation of a building out from under, cinder block by cinder block, until the whole structure collapses. The more people yanking on those blocks, the faster it will happen.

[Jemima]

I would add this: build the new systems now, and use them. Start a barter club (keep on the DL because barter is actually taxable!). Buy your food exclusively from farmer's markets & food coops that are member owned. Don't have one in your community? Organize it. Evaluate your basic needs and meet them with alternative to the mainstream systems.

Start a community land trust for your housing needs. Get books and movies at the library. Hold annual clothing exchanges. ( I've done these for years, they are a total blast.) Keep your money in a local credit union. Keep your money out of the hands of those who do ill with it. Invite your neighbors to the clothing exchange and share the new systems with them.

There are many many fabulous strategies to build new & better ways of being in community and meeting ones needs. Many of these strategies are quite old; my grandmother, who was born in 1904, practiced all of them, because that's how things were done! No mega-corp was shipping cheap goods made overseas for her to use in her household, she made it, borrowed it, shared it, figured it out. Live like you're a farmer at the turn of the last century.

People are attracted by solutions, especially ones that save them $$$. Get together with folks you know, and build the solutions. Then let us know about them too!

Great ideas, and making the events fun will help even more. People are looking for cheap entertainment.

[Jemima]

As far as junk mail goes, you can get on the no junk mail lists, we do it every three or four years as stuff starts to creep in and we get almost no junk mail. When something slips through, a catalog or credit card offer I call the 1-800 number and ask to be taken off the lists. It is an effective way to eliminate junk mail. Same with the do not call list. You eliminate mosts calls that way.
here is how to do it. Spreading that info around would do wonders for junk mail elimination.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/cons...ts/alt063.shtm

I've done all of that and I've decided to start writing "return to sender" on the junk that won't quit and putting it in the nearest mailbox. I realize that the mail won't be returned to sender, but the postal service will have to dispose of it and that's going to jack up their costs. I understand one of their strategies for fixing their financial problems is to encourage more junk mail, and I think that sucks. Just like their insistence that you mail packages in cartons with no printing on them so you can't recycle the boxes you already have. They apparently have no regard at all for the environment.

[flowerseverywhere]

I've done all of that and I've decided to start writing "return to sender" on the junk that won't quit and putting it in the nearest mailbox. I realize that the mail won't be returned to sender, but the postal service will have to dispose of it and that's going to jack up their costs. I understand one of their strategies for fixing their financial problems is to encourage more junk mail, and I think that sucks. Just like their insistence that you mail packages in cartons with no printing on them so you can't recycle the boxes you already have. They apparently have no regard at all for the environment.

you can recycle boxes. Turn them inside out and write the to and from addresses on labels. It is easy for the next person to put a label over the address and use it again. As I posted before get off the junk mailing lists. call the numbers on the mailings and ask them to remove you. Take action if a corporation is not following the law by reporting them.

Another way to guard your e-mail and snail mail addresses is to make sure that you read privacy policies and make sure you opt out of mailings. Guard your privacy and all personal information which is very helpful.

[jennipurrr]

Just like their insistence that you mail packages in cartons with no printing on them so you can't recycle the boxes you already have. They apparently have no regard at all for the environment.

I mail a lot of things as I sell on ebay, and I have always used recycled boxes. I just black out the writing on the box with a marker.

[puglogic]

Don't do business with them. Withdraw your labor and capital from their clutches. Engage in commerce with like-minded individuals. Vote out politicians who transfer public funds, lands, and resources to The Bad Guys.

Agreed, especially with engaging in commerce with like-minded individuals. In my business, I now only do business with like-minded individuals. In life, I am moving in that direction as much as I can. It will be an unfortunate side effect that "the bad guys" will take many of us down with them as they fail. Prepare yourself as much as possible for self-sufficiency.

[Zoebird]

i'm lucky that my business naturally attracts like-minded people, and as a service industry, we've begun to found our unique difference, and therefore our market. So, the clients whom we are attracting are *exactly* whom we want to attract. It's really awesome, because people whom you might not think are like minded ARE like minded.

[puglogic]

i'm lucky that my business naturally attracts like-minded people, and as a service industry, we've begun to found our unique difference, and therefore our market. So, the clients whom we are attracting are *exactly* whom we want to attract. It's really awesome, because people whom you might not think are like minded ARE like minded.

Beautiful, zoebird!!