Posted on 12/13/2002 9:07:54 AM PST by dware
VANCOUVER - After years of sending friends anti-Christmas cards, one of which featured a homeless Santa and another battered child angels, Valerie and Trevor Williams decided to "go big" this year.
The result can be seen on a billboard looming over the Pat Bay Highway near Victoria, where commuters, rushing no doubt to buy gifts, are faced with this stark message: "Gluttony. Envy. Insincerity. Greed. Enjoy Your Christmas."
Mrs. Williams, a 33-year-old Women's Studies student at the University of Victoria, and her husband, a 37-year-old aeronautical engineer, are on a campaign against what they see as the rampant consumerism and religious exclusivity of Christmas.
While others are humming carols, trimming trees and picking out gifts for the people they love, Mr. and Mrs. Williams have taken all their Christmas gift money this year -- $1,200 -- and spent it on the attack ad.
"I think the billboard is stark, it's angry, it's red. Black letters on red, the Christmas colours," she said when asked to describe the sign.
And instead of greeting cards, the Williams have sent out a mass e-mailing to friends and strangers alike, urging them to join their campaign against the evils of Christmas.
"In response to the growing onslaught of manufactured consumeristic Christmas cheer, we have decided to actively reject the capitalist ideology of Christmas. We refuse to spend one cent on buying into the consumer machine this year -- no tinsel, no tree, no shiny balls, no Christmas cards, no presents, no wrapping paper, no turkey, no cranberry sauce, no candy canes, and no icicle lights," states the Williams's e-mail.
"Christmas will not be coming to this house.... Join us in our Christmas rebellion!"
Mrs. Williams said she and her husband have been grumbling to themselves about "Christmas hell" for several years. A few seasons ago they started to boycott the whole gift-giving, carol-singing, egg-nogging thing and began to send out the anti-Christmas cards, along with a note informing family that instead of giving them gifts they were making donations to charity.
But that didn't ease their anger, which is reflected in the voice message on their telephone. Instead of a jolly greeting, callers hear a recording of White Christmas that is interrupted as if the Williams had just come home.
Valerie: "My God, who put that music on?"
Trevor: "It's awful, get it off."
Valerie: "Oh.... Jesus. Oh. Oh. Doesn't that just drive you insane?"
Mrs. Williams, who grew up in a middle-class family in Victoria, said she has good memories of the Christmases she had as a child. But the growing commercialism of the season and its Christian exclusivity had long troubled her. On returning to British Columbia from world travels three years ago, she decided it was time to take action. From protest cards, it grew to the really big billboard.
She says she doesn't know where the Christmas rebellion will go from here, but she's determined to keep fighting against Santa and all he represents.
"Who is Santa?" she asks heatedly. "He is the mall's puppet.... Children are taught to worship this white, heterosexual man who overeats. I mean, it's wrong."
Mrs. Williams says she is getting lots of support for her campaign. People are cheering her on with e-mails that say: "Damn the Santa Claus man!" and "Right on!"
Some people take a sterner tone. One man told her: "If you had children, you would understand."
Mrs. Williams admits it can be tough to explain her socio-political point of view to the children of friends. "At 12 they get it. I can explain why I don't like the consumerism and about how other religions are excluded, but for the younger children, I mean, I can't tell them Santa doesn't exist. It wouldn't be right for me to interfere in a family that way," she said. "And I wouldn't want to say anything to ruin Christmas for a child.... I really don't think if we had children we could do this."
But Mrs. Williams urges her friends to boycott gift giving, and instead to explain to children that their present money has been given to a charity in their name, to help people in need.
"If everyone in B.C. gave their Christmas money to charity this year, imagine the good we could do," she said.
Visa Canada expects 2.9 million British Columbians will spend $2.3-billion on holiday gifts this season.
Told that figure, Mrs. Williams is horrified.
But then she's cheered to learn that Visa is predicting that, in B.C. alone, people will spend 23% less this Christmas than they did last year.
"That's my Christmas present," she says with delight.
(from the UoV website)
name: Dr. Trevor L. Williams
department: English (ENGL)
phone: (250) 721-7268
e-mail: trevorw@uvic.ca
building: Clearihue Building (CLE)
room: C328
Fax: (250) 721-6498
date of last change: July 20, 1998 (4:28:44 PM)
(From Infospace.com)
WILLIAMS, TREVOR
1020 VIEW ST
STE 1501
VICTORIA, BC
V8V 4Y4
(250) 389-0048
Regarding Mrs. Williams:
Nothing comes up on the UoV website. However, searches of Canada411.com & Infospace reveal the following:
WILLIAMS, VALERIE
VICTORIA, BC
V8N 1A1
(250) 360-1700
WILLIAMS, VALERIE
761 PIEDMONT DR
VICTORIA, BC
V8Y 1L9
(250) 658-8065
No email info could be found. Note also that neither of these addresses match Mr. Williams info above.
Perhaps someone here knows the person(s) to get this to to ping it all over FR?
Have fun!
God Save America (Please)
Well, that about says it all.
Perhaps they could have added 'snotty, self-righteous, chronically angry 33-year-old Women's Studies student' just to make sure we got the full flavor.
A rat is a dog is a pig is a feminist (with profound apologies to rats, dogs and pigs...).
It would be ok if Santa were a black, vegetarian pole-smoker though.
Geez, what a freak!
contradiction?
But these retards gladly gave $1200 to a company to put up their ridiculous ad. Um...yeah...ahh...OK. "We refuse to spend one cent." Makes sense to me.
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