Saturday, November 29, 2008

Bargains Galore

I wouldn't leave the house on Black Friday for anything. It's a day to relax and sort of snooze, then sneak into the kitchen for a left-over turkey sandwich with mayo and cranberry sauce on whole wheat. Pair it with a Sam Adams and a good football game for life at its finest.

Yet, a lot of people do. For some reason they are compelled to join the lemmings on a march to the mall. I guess they are the same folks who gather in Times Square on New Year's Eve to be herded, abused, jostled and inconvenienced simply to act like a fool at midnight when a flashing ball of crystal and lights descends a pole. Stupid.

That's why I was dismayed on Friday at mid-day when I saw the emerging reports of death in a crush of shoppers storming a Wal-Mart in New York City, that bastion of culture, refinement and conspicuous boorish behavior. I seriously thought it had to be a hoax and would be retracted by the evening news. It wasn't.

Now the police seek surveillance video:

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

The question is, what will they charge these fools with? It can't be murder. Those who may have pushed the victim were long gone by the time anybody got stepped on. Those who stepped on him were propelled by those behind who couldn't know what was happening in front. Those who propelled were apparently caught up in the frenzy which had festered since they set their alarm clocks to get out of bed in the pre-dawn darkness to go on this quest for bargains.

Maybe the charges should be levied at the public at large for fostering this sort of media event. Could someone explain to me what possible product at a Wal-Mart, at any price, could be worth that effort? Chinese-made crap at inflated prices, discounted to still provide a profit and which will ravel, collapse or malfunction within six weeks of Christmas?

And, what ever happened to the very basic concept of Christmas and the holiday spirit?

Can someone tell me?

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