Let's Boycott Boycotting

I guess it's a part of the aging process, but I often have occasion to reflect on simpler times.

I wrote a while ago about the state of perpetual outrage that people seem to be in. It's quite puzzling.

But the other day, I saw where someone said they were going to "boycott" some store or fast food place because of some micro-aggression the business had perpetrated.

Just as people used to get dressed up for dinner, wear hats, and engage in assorted other bygone behaviors, they also used to be able to quit buying things without wailing, gnashing teeth and boycotting something. They could quietly just stop being a customer, with no drama whatsoever and without informing 1500 of their closest friends.

But now - NOW we must BOYCOTT ALL THE THINGS. And we MUST TELL EVERYONE ABOUT OUR BOYCOTT.

(Did you know that the word Boycott is actually a person's name? A poor, put-upon Irishman who was shunned for trying to evict some tenants who didn't pay their rent. True story.)

I would think that people are in a perpetual state of hyper-adrenalinatedness (that is an awesome made-up word, by the way) with all the boycotting everyone is doing. I think you'd probably live longer if you just peacefully and quietly stopped spending your money where you didn't want to spend it.

And, by the way - my friend Deborah Smith - who also holds the record for attendance at my retreats - 100% and going strong - still DOES wear beautiful hats. She's known at her church as "the hat lady."

It is people like Deborah that give me hope that we can once again bring back some old civilities and have less drama in the world.

You know who LOVES drama?

Cats.

Or maybe it's just my cats. Actually - okay - I will tell you - it's just Maddie. Or as I call her - DRAMADDIE.

When she and Splotchy were kittens - sometimes Splotchy would hurt his leg acting like a nut and jumping off something and he'd limp a little. Maddie would actually FAKE A LIMP until he stopped limping. I tried to think of why a cat would do a thing like that. I wondered if it was sort of protective - like if all the little kitties were limping, maybe the one limping one wouldn't get picked out of the herd by a predator - the predator would just think they ALL walked funny, and not that one was injured.

But I settled on drama as Maddie's motivation.

Someone - I don't remember who - posted about this adorable Project Bin stamp set on Facebook, and I think it was all of ten seconds between when I saw it and when I ordered it. I love these fat cats. I also love the owner of the Project Bin. Incredibly nice lady.

So I colored this for the first day of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge hosted by my friend Kathy.

InLinkz.com

Isn't he hilarious? I colored him with Prismacolor Pencils, and die cut him with the matching dies, and then just took my watercolor paper folded it in half to make a small notecard, and did Wrinkle-Free Distress on the front with the inks listed above. Now the price on the set I bought is only $10 more than what I paid at Dick Blick right now - so it's still a great price - but also you can buy those pencils in open stock there, so I listed the individual colors as well. So if you want to watch me color this fat little guy - here's a video.

Here's an example for you of how not to flamboyantly boycott something and yet still solve a problem. My desk has for its base two Bisley filing cabinets. You can see them here. In the bottom drawer of the right-hand one, I have hanging folders that I keep my MISTIs in, so I can just grab them quickly while I'm filming. However, the folders have just sagged and ripped and the hangy things are bent all to heck, and I finally had enough. WITHOUT boycotting, I ordered these from Amazon, and I love them. They are plastic, and much sturdier. My MISTIs and I are much happier.

So it can be done in a drama-free way. And substandard folder people won't get my money anymore, but no one will get yelled at or about. 

I encourage you to boycott boycotting. It will make the world a better place. 

Also - you should wear more hats. 

And get more cats. 

And eat more ice cream.

I think that's it. 

Loveyameanitbye.