Commercial activism.

Ben131895

In his last couple of vlogs, John Cedars is wearing a T-shirt saying Shunned. Some people liked it and asked him if they could purchase one.

In his last vlog (#111) he is advertising it and mentioned the link www.apostee.com, based in the US. Comments attached to vlog # 110 mentioned the fact that this company will close in april and that the business will be continued by Cedars itself, who has also a stock of anti-witness items.

Besides that, he was not the owner of JWsurvey.org, but since January 16, 2016 he is.

It looks (as mentioned before by Simon in an earlier thread), this guy is making a living from his activism, a paid career.

One should seriously question his true motives, demonstrated in his activism. My opinion is that honest activism & commercial acting are not a trustworthy marriage.

cantleave

If people are stupid enough to donate or buy crap from an activist, that's their choice.

dubstepped

I have no problem with earning a living off of activism. It allows one to spend more time participating in the activism. Marketing puts the message out there, like it or not. I think that too many people have demonized anyone making a buck. Making money isn't evil, and it takes money to pursue activism. I don't begrudge Simon for putting ads up on this site. It costs money to do all of these things. It is a fact of life, one that idealism can't seem to reconcile.

jookbeard

that tee shirt company have been around years, it was around when Cedars was still a jw

Hecce

He is just following the WT model.

Skedaddle

@dubstepped - Hear, hear! I have no problem with it either. Like him or not, he produces great content that's benefiting everyone. It takes a LOT of time and he has a family to provide for.

It's us vs Watchtower! Don't forget that! Divide and conquer wins wars... so let's stay united!

Keep up the good work activists. A big thank you to you ALL!

crazy_flickering_light

Activism cost time, money and energy. If somebody spend nearly all his time, money and energy for activism, lift it up to a professional level and keep the work going, where's the problem? Where should he get his money from? The server from jwsurvey.org not for free, the protection for the website is not for free, his journeys not for free, the videos cost time, software and so on. I think it's easy to attack a person, but I think there not much people out there, they do so much. Also, it is not anythink like the WTG, spending money is not a part of salavation. You can do it or not. I know some activists, they always struggle with some money issue's when the like to make more for the activism.

So if you able to be an activist, make more as cedar and do it for free, I'm happy to hear from you, your website and your youtube-channel.

Hecce

I don't know the full tale about Cedars, one thing that I can tell is that the man is very proactive in his work. Just recently, the video that he created about child abuse was translated and subtitled by a group of Spanish friends at their Forum. It was given at no charge to Cedars and I think that he is going to use at his site.

With time he is going to become mini tycoon.

under the radar

Like his approach or not, he does seem to be genuinely motivated. If he wants to offer bling that supports his cause, who cares? Buy it, don't buy it, it's all up to you. No reason to begrudge him the right to help support himself and his family by offering things some people want and are consistent with his overall message. Not everyone can afford to be a purist and do all he does without some monetary return. We have to be realistic.

Pete Zahut

"I said Money....Money changes everything"

(well...not always)

I could see how someone could complain if Cedars were claiming to use the proceeds for the "cause" and then keeping them himself or if he were pretending to be behind said "cause" but only in it to turn a dollar. To me,for a long time "activist " like Cedars to sell T-shirts that people want and are asking you for, seems perfectly ok, especially if it enables someone with his motivation and abilities to keep going.

Should he give the T-shirts and his time away for free?

Commercial activism.

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