Not to turn this into an argument, Dennis but I disagree with you that Herbert buying a few consumer items and then destroying them is nullified as a social comment by the fact that he spent money on them. Any he spent on the Radioboy tour was a rounding error economically for the corporations he targeted. Here's why I disagree:
The wanton destruction of consumer items carries with it a sense of desecration. A Big Mac or a Britney Spears CD is only incidentally a utilitarian object. It is also a symbol, a talisman, a token of desire. What you're really buying is the lifestyle, aspirations, and dreams they have been crafted to represent. Buying and consuming them is a sacrament of global capitalism. Every day we make choices about what we consume, and most people literally buy into the dominant culture without giving it a second thought. The Mall has replaced the Church as the place people get their shared values. So ripping a pair of Gap Boxers equivalent to burning a flag. Will one guy change the world by doing it? Maybe not. Maybe he'll make a few people think about where their food and clothes and music comes from.
