Luddite in action

The assignment for this week was a bit perplexing since I use none of the online services mentioned. I do however use eBay for selling which made me think about political participation as a sales effort, which is non traditional in my estimation. My guess is that the people who produce the goods for sale on eBay often, not always, share the views expressed on that which they are selling, i.e. t-shirts, buttons, etc. There are of course those who just see the opportunity of making money. The buyers are participating in politics since they are most likely buying that which supports their political beliefs.

I have included some example links to listings on eBay. These were chosen from an ebay all catagory search for "Barrack Obama." For those who want to vote Obama and be green, there is the Obama tote bag. For those who don't support Obama more than they support McCain, there is the NoBama T-shirt. If Politics has become absurd, then there are those who can aid you in that regard as well with the creatively Photoshopped Obama-Palin Dancing Duo. There was another listing which was selling a Calvin and Hobbs type character excreting liquid on McCain's last name where the word "Chevy" or "Ford" would usually reside. The most supportive example for the assignment's goal is the listing for the Barack Obama/Martin Luther King t-shirt ad which includes a short typed statement: "IT'S NOT ABOUT RACE PEOPLE ITS ABOUT CHANGE, IT'S ABOUT MAKING A BETTER LIFE FOR OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, ABOUT BEING ABLE TO LIVE MORE COMFORTABLE THAN WE HAVE THE LAST 8 YRS!!!!!!!. " I have linked the quote for attribution. It just shows that while the marketing and profiting from the sales of a t-shirt is happening, there is still a political agenda, and the communication of a message by the individuals who provide, create and sell these objects. This is unique to the eBay experience since it is a marketplace of individuals and companies participating in the selling of these items. It allows a more free expression of political ideology than one could express as the employee of or buyer for a large retailer whose bottom line could be compromised.

There of course are many other examples, but I am not really interested in aiding the marketing for these people. I just thought its an interesting area of capitalistic democracy fusing with personal political action. This is not an endorsement of eBay--only a commentary.