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March 2nd, 2009 · 3 Comments
A nationally known political and cultural dissident has decided to run for the mayor of New York City as a Green Party candidate. He is "Reverend Billy," whose real name is William C. Talen, and he will need 7,500 signatures to get on the ballot against New York's incumbent mayor, independent Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg himself has yet to secure a spot on the ballot, even though he overturned the city's term limits laws (which had previously been approved multiple time by voters) in order to run for a third term.
Reverend Billy is the Reverend for the Church of Stop Shopping, and he preaches against the "shopocalypse." The persona of the Reverend is a satirical tool for Talen to speak out against materialism and imperialism and everything else that he sees as sucking the soul out of our country. His comical attempt at activism has been incredibly successful, with many national television appearances (including the CBS Evening News and Glenn Beck's show, which is featured below), a movie made about him (What Would Jesus Buy, produced by Morgan Spurlock, the trailer of which is featured below), and countless appearances in person. He has even recorded an ad for the Green Party of Ireland, which is also featured below.
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