Conspicuous Consumption / Problem Solver Revolver / One Nation Under / Trigger Finger / Through Thick and Thin / Alliance

https://grpunkflyers.notopia.dev/flyers/1317/

Conspicuous consumption - Guardian

At £1700 a pop one assumes purchasers will (a) want to make sure everyone knows they have one (price sticker embedded on it?) and (b) be very unwilling to conduct a blind comparison of machine more sensibly priced.

The warranty is only 2 years, and I’ll bet the failure rate is high (environment, screen & electronics) - but maybe showing you can throw it away after a few years is part of the appeal?

https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2026/jan/28/sage-oracle-jet-espresso-machine-review

#Coffee #ConspicuousConsumption

I was sad to note the recent passing of fashion designer and icon Giorgio Armani. He was 91, though, so at least he didn't go prematurely.

I understand the funeral arrangements are that he is being buried in an *extremely* expensive casket, and once a year they will dig him up and replace it with that year's model.

#Armani #GiorgioArmani #fashion #funeral #casket #ConspicuousConsumption #GallowsHumour #designer

Overhørt på internett, og verdt å spre videre:

> I think a lot of the elitism comes from people who aren't actually developing things, thus it makes sense that their greatest technical achievement & source of pride would be an act of mere consumption.

#ConspicuousConsumption

Ashlee Piper has written a no-nonsense guide to regaining control over your time, consumerist impulses, and financial and mental wellness. My review! #Bookthreads #Bookstagram #Booksky #NoNewStuff #AshleePiper #BookBlogger #Consumerism #ConspicuousConsumption #AudiobookReview #MacMillanAudio

http://bargain-sleuth.com/2025/03/27/%f0%9f%93%9a%f0%9f%8e%a7%f0%9f%92%b8no-new-things-saving-money-the-planet-and-your-sanity-audiobookreview-macmillanaudio-arcreview-finance-selfhelp/

Commercial districts with EV charging, but I no bike racks: you got your #Sustainability priorities mixed up. Pennywise, but pound-foolish.

Or just plain #ConspicuousConsumption

Publisher: In-Sight Publishing

Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014

Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com

Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Journal: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal

Journal Founding: August 2, 2012

Frequency: Three (3) Times Per Year

Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed

Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access

Fees: None (Free)

Volume Numbering: 12

Issue Numbering: 3

Section: B

Theme Type: Idea

Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”

Theme Part: 31

Formal Sub-Theme: None.

Individual Publication Date: June 22, 2024

Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2024

Author(s): James Haught

Author(s) Bio: James A. Haught, syndicated by PeaceVoice, was the longtime editor at the Charleston Gazette and had been the editor emeritus since 2015. He was thought to have been the first investigative reporter in West Virginia. He won two dozen national newswriting awards and was author of 12 books and 150 magazine essays. He was also a senior editor of Free Inquiry magazine and was writer-in-residence for the United Coalition of Reason. He died on Sunday, July 23 (2023), at the age of 91.

Word Count: 372.

Image Credits: None.

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2369-6885

*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the publication.*

Keywords: Ben Kirby, conspicuous consumption, evangelists, expensive clothes, fraud, garish diamonds, gospel television, gullible believers, Instagram, narcissist, PreachersNSneakers, private jets.

How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business

Among sleazy occupations, is anything worse than big-money evangelists with their private jets, garish diamonds, piled-up hairdos and $5,000 suits?

A new book, PreachersNSneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and (Wannabe) Celebrities, exposes TV pastors “who get rich off of preaching about Jesus.” It’s written by Ben Kirby of Texas, a born-again Christian who watched gospel television and noticed that many leaders flaunted outlandishly expensive clothes and shoes designed for the superwealthy. He posted his findings on Instagram and drew 200,000 viewers. Now he has turned it into a book.

A Washington Post article states: “In 2019, Kirby posted a picture of Pastor John Gray wearing the coveted Nike Air Yeezy 2 Red Octobers, selling at the time on the resale market for more than $5,600.”

Astounding. What kind of narcissist pays $5,600 for a pair of shoes? The Post adds:

“Kirby has showcased Seattle Pastor Judah Smith’s $3,600 Gucci jacket, Dallas Pastor T.D. Jakes’ $1,250 Louboutin fanny pack and Miami Pastor Guillermo Maldonado’s $2,541 Ricci crocodile belt. And he considers Paula White, President Donald Trump’s most trusted pastoral adviser who is often photographed in designer items, a PreachersNSneakers ‘content goldmine,’ posting a photo of her wearing $785 Stella McCartney sneakers.”

A report by London’s Guardian further adds: “Pastor, author and religious personality John Gray appears in a recent post … sporting a Gucci sweater that cost more than $1,100. In another photo, Pastor Steven Furtick sports a pair of thousand-dollar Saint Laurent boots.”

More than a century ago, sociologist Thorstein Veblen coined the term “conspicuous consumption” for the flagrantly rich who paid glaring sums to show off their wealth. It became a popular label of contempt.

When preachers do it, there’s a double reason for contempt because evangelist money comes from gullible believers who are sold a fantasy of make-believe. The megachurch message says an invisible god will reward worshippers (donors) in an invisible heaven after death — and burn others in hell. Intelligent, educated, modern people know this is a fairy tale. Religion isn’t true. Its purveyors commit a form of fraud.

There’s nothing more sleazy than a huckster wearing $5,600 sneakers paid for with money from naïve believers.

This article is adapted from a piece that originally appeared at Daylight Atheism on April 5, 2021.

Bibliography

None

Footnotes

None

Citations

American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition): Haught J. How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business. June 2024; 12(3). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/haught-sleazy

American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition): Haught, J. (2024, June 22). How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business. In-Sight Publishing. 12(3).

Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): HAUGHT, J. How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business. In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Fort Langley, v. 12, n. 3, 2024.

Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition): Haught, James. 2024. “How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 3 (Summer). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/haught-sleazy.

Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition): Haught, J “How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 3 (June 2024).http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/haught-sleazy.

Harvard: Haught, J. (2024) ‘How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, 12(3). <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/haught-sleazy>.

Harvard (Australian): Haught, J 2024, ‘How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 12, no. 3, <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/haught-sleazy>.

Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition): Haught, James. “How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vo.12, no. 3, 2024, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/haught-sleazy.

Vancouver/ICMJE: James H. How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business [Internet]. 2024 Jun; 12(3). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/haught-sleazy.

License

In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Based on work at www.in-sightpublishing.com.

Copyright © 2012-Present by Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing. Authorized use/duplication only with explicit permission from Scott Douglas Jacobsen. Excerpts, links only with full credit to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with specific direction to the original. All collaborators co-copyright their material and may disseminate for their purposes.

https://in-sightpublishing.com/2024/06/22/how-preachers-turned-faith-into-a-sleazy-business/

#BenKirby #conspicuousConsumption #evangelists #expensiveClothes #fraud #gospelTelevision #gullibleBelievers #Instagram #narcissist #PreachersNSneakers #privateJets