I will tell you a secret: potato chips taste like shit. They are oily and vaguely salty, and actually kind of gross. When I see skittles my primate brain says “those colors are so bright, must be delicious!” but it turns out I'm wrong. In the excellent book Days of War, Nights of Love, Crimethinc points out “Coke is not the best tasting beverage the world has ever tasted - it is simply the most mercilessly marketed.” Recently, the 5-year-old living inside of me was amazed to discover that raw vegetables are amazing.

I've always targeted my shoplifting towards processed foods- buy the produce and milk, sneak the candy and beef snacks into my backpack. This works great for me because it simulates voting for real food with my money, and makes me look like a trustworthy shopper when I go to the same store all the time. But just because theft “empowers” you to participate in consumerism, doesn't mean you should participate in consumerism.

I've been shoplifting for so long that if I go to a corporate grocery store and don't steal something, it almost feels inappropriate, but the less I indulge my sugar addiction with candy and soda, the more I find myself arriving at the cash register with nothing in my pockets except my wallet. As long as I'm buying well my grocery bill stays low, and I'm compelled to do other things to be sure that I'm using my time effectively- if I write some anti-capitalist rhetoric in the bathroom or move some children's homeopathic medicine from the shelf into the trash, I can usually leave with a clean conscience.

For a while there I was skipping classes to sit in bed and play minecraft, but I am back to skipping classes to work on stencils or program my own shit. I've started carrying a permanent marker in my pocket and scheming some larger projects. Life is good.

most of the stuff you see being sold is slop, like actually. it is made to sell, and they don't mind the ill health effects at all, just as long as it passes standard procedure. }⁠:⁠‑(
Imagine how much healthier / better looking we would be if it wasn't for the soulless corporations that decided to dump all the Xenoestrogens, BPAs, etc, in to our water supply, soil and air. Microplastics and Endocrine disruptors are EVERYWHERE it is nearly impossible to avoid at this point it's so frustrating. :⁠-⁠\