Every time the name "Black Friday" has come up in conversation in the last few days, I have talked about how the name suggests something horrible and dark, not a day where people get to shop at enormous discounts. Sure enough, Black Friday was marked with several deaths this year in a way that points a very stern finger at the obsessive consumerism that has taken over many of the world markets.
The most talked about death occured on Long Island, NY where a WalMart employee was trampled to death by customers who broke down the doors to be the first ones in the store. Most scary was when the store management announced they were closing because of the death, and customers yelled and complained, and many continued to shop, refusing to leave the store (death is SUCH a nuisance, I know)
Two others, of whom I have few details, were shot at a Toys R Us (read it again if you must, but it's correct) and were also killed.
It occured to me to blame WalMart and other retailers for building up such a high pressure day that people just couldn't resist, or maybe advertisers for making people want the newest gadgets ever-so-bad. But then I realized that none of these groups are to blame. The people responsible for such horrible frenzies are the people who place value on these events, who line up just to be the first in the store, and many, many others.
Dead is the day when recession meant less cheaply-made luxuries and more frugality. During WWII, it was the norm for English families to grow their own vegetables. Now most people don't even know what country theirs come from. Today is the age of planned obsolesence, excessive disponsable income, and trends which are dead and uncool before they even see the light of day. It's hard to believe that this is a recession.
Posts
