tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post8430449538724065258..comments2023-09-21T09:49:28.326-07:00Comments on Fierce Dandelions: Lululemon, "Yogic" Reform, and First World Privilege Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-66564515680744886942014-05-13T09:33:58.584-07:002014-05-13T09:33:58.584-07:00There was some commenting like this on many of the...There was some commenting like this on many of the Wisdom 2.0/Google posts that folks wrote following the protest there a few months back. One person in particular amongst those was an IT professional who also practices Buddhism, and has been around the Buddhist blog world for many years. So, it's possible that the libertarian/pro-capitalist folks are just becoming more vocal. In addition to Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-83207730688689582342014-05-12T15:22:16.347-07:002014-05-12T15:22:16.347-07:00You're right, Nathan. Your efforts are pretty ...You're right, Nathan. Your efforts are pretty transparent and I guess it's a question of heart awareness about what we're talking about here whether or not people "get" it. I don't see why this message would be threatening to anyone unless it was read by Lululemon and got wrung through their PR system, finally ending up with the reply that you got. If so, that's a yetinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-530477605060301112014-05-12T07:43:40.147-07:002014-05-12T07:43:40.147-07:00Thanks yeti. I don't know if Anon/Nathaniel pr...Thanks yeti. I don't know if Anon/Nathaniel practices Buddhism or not. In the end, I decided that trying to defend myself would just be playing into the dynamic that was present. Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-81958739533142646942014-05-11T20:25:06.081-07:002014-05-11T20:25:06.081-07:00Sorry I'm coming late to this, I've been i...Sorry I'm coming late to this, I've been in retreat. I don't normally feel compelled to defend anyone who is obviously capable of doing so on their own (i.e. Nathan), but I would suggest it is not likely, in my opinion, that anonymous practices Buddhism. I'm not sure what interests anonymous really represents, but the comments do not reveal more than a superficial awareness of theyetinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-9579377771410913672014-05-11T11:34:41.033-07:002014-05-11T11:34:41.033-07:00Believe what you want. I won't spend any more ...Believe what you want. I won't spend any more time engaging it. Peace. Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-34048205158951594892014-05-10T10:41:29.987-07:002014-05-10T10:41:29.987-07:00I see a guy taking pot-shots based on prejudice ag...I see a guy taking pot-shots based on prejudice against someone who cannot fight back (bad PR kills companies rightly or not).<br /><br />I don't see a moneyed elite. I see a bunch of dudes/dudettes who decided to start a business and were good at it - producing something that people wanted to buy. Maybe they had money at the start, maybe they put it all on the line and it paid off. I don'Nathanielnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-70299883037564930822014-05-10T09:20:05.168-07:002014-05-10T09:20:05.168-07:00It must be nice to be the anonymous critic who get...It must be nice to be the anonymous critic who gets to make pithy assumptions about who I am, and how I live in the world. <br /><br />Also, for someone who claims to not be a capitalist, you sure defend those who are benefiting most from it. Of all the issues raised by myself, Carol, and others in this post and the ones I linked to, you're focus is on my criticism of the moneyed elite. Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-74536142843882156302014-05-09T10:37:03.881-07:002014-05-09T10:37:03.881-07:00Basically you are having a go at LuluLemon for not...Basically you are having a go at LuluLemon for not living up to ideals that you also do not live up to whilst admitting that they might just be less bad than some other multinationals that you dislike. <br /><br />At the same time you are unwilling/unable to create what you might consider a more ethical alternative to Lululemon. <br /> <br />So if people want to buy the most ethical Yoga pants Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-67932369847152112812014-05-09T07:43:45.620-07:002014-05-09T07:43:45.620-07:00You're purity testing is tiresome - we're ...You're purity testing is tiresome - we're all complicit in the system, and I'm well aware that I use products from multinationals.<br /><br />I'm not going to engage any longer on this. Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-21344637029093789932014-05-08T11:12:51.227-07:002014-05-08T11:12:51.227-07:003I have nothing for or against writing but it can ...3I have nothing for or against writing but it can create the illusion of action and not action.<br /><br />"Supporting" Native activists is all very noble but you are not a Native and so I wonder if you are just going along for the fight. Your argument is that one group of humans owns ground and another doesn't. Who decides these things? Does that not mean that the planet and it&#Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-52529737767158967742014-05-08T09:54:12.978-07:002014-05-08T09:54:12.978-07:00"So go ahead and do that. Don't just wine..."So go ahead and do that. Don't just wine. Don't berate others for not living up to your standards." <br /><br />Sorry, but this isn't individual "desires" and reducing the critiques I and others have about Lululemon (or capitalism in general) to whining and berating is totally dismissive. This is about how our economy is structured, systemic oppression, and Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-49541768959785180172014-05-07T11:22:32.433-07:002014-05-07T11:22:32.433-07:00I'm not a capitalist either but think it's...I'm not a capitalist either but think it's probably the least bad optiion when tempered by all the other things out there.<br /><br />Lululemon wasn't always a multinational and one was small - did it one day become evil by being big or was it evil before or is it in fact just as ethical and healtthy as its always been. Maybe manufacturing garments in the third world is better for Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-86667317229059859852014-05-07T09:36:20.305-07:002014-05-07T09:36:20.305-07:00Agreed that the "completely futile" narr...Agreed that the "completely futile" narrative is just a story. But it's damned compelling to give in sometimes. Some days are easier than others for me, in terms of letting that go, and carrying on. Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-3779175596198256362014-05-07T08:59:09.855-07:002014-05-07T08:59:09.855-07:00"But it often feels like drops in the bucket...."But it often feels like drops in the bucket. And fragile."<br /><br />Yes, it does. Sometimes it feels completely futile under the weight of the capitalistic juggernaut which sweeps away all efforts to try anything else. However this too is a construct of the mind, it does not exist from any other source, so I think that by training our mind toward that which is wholesome, we do, yetinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-49200272241611851712014-05-07T07:57:37.642-07:002014-05-07T07:57:37.642-07:00"What I think is the major obstacle is a know..."What I think is the major obstacle is a knowledge deficit about cooperativism in the United States, as well as lack of a generalized consensus that such a thing can work, providing comparable quality and so on to commercial/capitalistic enterprise. If we are not willing to use our own time and effort in a supportive and constructive way, little will be accomplished." <br /><br />Yes. Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-61610552388760729022014-05-07T07:48:03.702-07:002014-05-07T07:48:03.702-07:00Anonymous,
I'm not a capitalist, and feel th...Anonymous, <br /><br />I'm not a capitalist, and feel that simply boiling everything down to financial risk and profits is a disaster. Exxon or BP, for example, could have a tiny profit margin, and I'd still want them gone. Why? Because they're actions are destroying the planet. <br /><br />I desire a new economy built on generosity, diversity, and the well being of the planet as a Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-9496926352577256992014-05-06T05:03:59.574-07:002014-05-06T05:03:59.574-07:00There is so much here worth reading, thanks for th...There is so much here worth reading, thanks for this.<br /><br />My response is based on many years in the developing world, where I discovered exploitation does not come exclusively from without, but also from within (although among South-South relations, generally the great Bugaboo is the North, chiefly the USA, which is something I see as a bit of a smokescreen over local forms of oppression neti yetinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-48868096008528280032014-05-05T13:00:59.269-07:002014-05-05T13:00:59.269-07:00"Founded in Vancouver BC in 1998, the first l..."Founded in Vancouver BC in 1998, the first lululemon shared its retail space with a yoga studio. We've been growing ever since, and our technical yoga and run clothes are now available in countries all over the world (view the complete list here). Read more about our history."<br /><br />They were small once. They took a risk. They grew. (I've never heard of them, I don't Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-16905805242228565152014-05-05T12:54:37.742-07:002014-05-05T12:54:37.742-07:00"Lululemon makes hundreds of millions of doll...<br />"Lululemon makes hundreds of millions of dollars in profit every quarter. I fail to see how anything you wrote applies to them. "<br /><br />And that is the problem. Businesses face the same issues. Even for a big business the difference between millions of dollars profit and a loss is very little.<br /><br /> If they made one dollar of profit every quarter would you be happy?<Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-42980461978202410212014-05-05T07:48:22.500-07:002014-05-05T07:48:22.500-07:00I actually would disagree about non-profits being ...I actually would disagree about non-profits being "comparatively easy," but that's not what this post was about. <br /><br />Nor was it about small businesses that are often in a crunch because the margin line tends to be really thin, and the entire system is built to support the big corps. <br /><br />Lululemon makes hundreds of millions of dollars in profit every quarter. I fail Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-26180261407265101762014-05-04T12:36:23.391-07:002014-05-04T12:36:23.391-07:00Non-profits are comparatively easy - you are relyi...Non-profits are comparatively easy - you are relying on other people's money.<br /><br />Running a business is much more difficult - it is your money. Paying a living wage and using ethical sourcing and fairtrade etc is all very well but it increases your costs. <br /><br />If Starbucks are serving lattes for $5 and yours cost $6 then even if they are amazing you may not sell enough to be Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com