So I was having a hard time sleeping...go figure, insomnia sucks. Anyway, I was watching the news early this morning..and do you know what they were reporting about? The day after Thanksgiving shopping sales. This was on national news, not just local news. I was disgusted...there is nothing else going on at all, that they had to spend a good hour on shopping and the craziness. Not only that, they were reviewing what are going to be the best presents this holiday season.
Ok so Christmas is one of my fav holidays..I have always loved the season. But the commercial aspect of it has gotten outta control. I know this has been going on for a while now, but it just seems especially bad this year. I mean seriously, this is not something that should be shown on the news for an hour...there is a war going on, there are people dying from starvation, there are children being kidnapped. There is more going on then F#$%ing X-mas shopping.
Sorry about that folks, this is just a little disturbing to me. How can people be such huge consumers in this country??? What about the people who can't even put food on the table, what do they do for Christmas?
I could care less how long the wait was at Wal-Mart in Kansas City, or how cheap they were selling DVD players for. I have one...I don't need another one. I want to know what is going on with our soldiers who are stationed in various places around the world. How are they doing? They sure as hell aren't standing in line at Wal-Mart to buy a cheap DVD player. They are fighting, they are dying, they are trying their best to be all that they can be. They are protecting our freedom to go out and spend as much money as possible....wait that can't be right, or can it? The Christmas season is supposed to be about caring and giving right? That doesn't mean who gives the best presents or who spends the most money on their kids,wifes, girlfriends, husbands, etc. We need to bring this season back to what it really means. Think about what Christmas means to you?
When was the last time you went and did something nice for someone at Christmas just because they were in need? When was the last time you gathered the whole family together and spent a nice evening talking (my god what is that...does it involve the t.v.?) or laughing, singing, dancing, eating, just plain having a good time.
Been a long time for me, I will be there the day before X-mas to help you find that last minute gift, or to have you yell at me b/c we don't have what you want.
Note: Christmas is the same day every year, plan ahead.
Well enough of this..I will be celebrating the holiday season with Gabe and friends, we are going to have a nice huge dinner on the 21st. I am going to be the anti-consumer this year. That doesn't mean that I am not going to buy presents for people I care about...but that does mean that I am not going to stand in line forever, or let people steal stuff outta my cart b/c it was the last tickle me elmo, or whatever the hot item for this year is.
I am going to remember my family, and wish them a wonderful season.
Next time you turn on the news, hopefully they will actually be reporting news and not what Wal-Mart has on sale.
7 comments:
What I did find particularly newsworthy was the footage of people being trampled as the herd charged through the doors at opening and the fistfights breaking out over certain items.
It's a chilling look at the lengths people will go in order to acquire more shit. I love new toys as much as the next guy, but to lose all sense of control and stampede through a department store like a crazy Maenad, drunk on the prospect of the o-so-holy "Sale" items? Sheer lunacy! But that's just me. (Honestly, people... getting violent over a product that will be restocked in a couple days?)
Seriously, on a larger scale, we simply cannot continue this level and style of consumption without dire consequences down the road. Many die-hard capitalists like to poopoo the idea and say that the market will correct itself, but biologists know that corrections can only go so far before entire systems start to collapse. Will we realize it in time, or will we be too busy tickling the hell outta' Elmo?
Great post, Lolly... good luck in the coming season of retail frenzy.
They should start arming us with tasers when people get violent about not having something in stock. You ain't kidding when you say retail frenzy
Well, thanks for ruining my Christmas guys. That's just fabulous...Oh wait, maybe that's me that ruins Christmas...You know, that lady wasn't very nice.
Heat... nobody ruins Christmas like you do. It's a Retail-God given talent. ;-)
Give 'em hell, sister. Don't take any crap. Remember: You're the one with the power to crush their puny holiday like a grape. If you want to hide all the copies of "Harry Potter's Travel Guide to Nicaragua," have at it. Should the "Special Oprah Edition of the Illiad" be mysteriously missing the day before Christmas, we know it was you exercising your right of selection... not the hordes of Oprahlytes gobbling up every copy in sight (and then inquiring if Homer has any new books coming out.) I, a mere mortal, bow before you and beg you to spare my holiday!
I hope that lady picks another store to ruin her Christmas. If not, maybe put a note on her account that says: "Lie to customer if she asks any questions, as per her request."
I think that this frenzy isn't caused by the consumer, but rather the retailer. Wal-Mart was selling DVD players for ten bucks from 5:00 a.m.-noon, which is obviously a fantastic deal that will probably not be offered again this year. Obviously there is no excuse for violence and people need to be responsible for their own civility, but when everyone is just trying to get that one thing that there is a limited supply of during a limited amount of time, you can see how people can get a little crazy. Why can't retailers offer similar deals all through the holiday season, and not just during a 5 hour time span on one morning? I think that would greatly reduce these kinds of incidents. If people knew they would have plenty of opportunities to get deals like this, they wouldn't be as frenzied and determined on "Black Friday" morning. That's just my opinion. I stayed away from town Friday morning hoping to avoid all the craziness. I can hardly stand grocery shopping at Meijer on a Sunday. I did go out in the afternoon and got some good deals, but nothing like what was offered earlier that day.
you go girl! i'll be there for the solstice... and let's go dancing asap!!! a thursday night could be awesome if at all possible. love ya'll (laura, cory, and heat!!!)
the dude
Good point, Steph... the retailers do shoulder some of the responsibility for the frenzy of their clients. The relationship between supply and demand can be rather seedy and promiscuous. Why should the burden of retailers making it "into the black" fall on the consumer during the holiday season? When Wall Street comes out afterward and groans about losses, why should we feel guilty about it? Perhaps if the retailers had made more cost-effective decisions throughout the year, they wouldn't be in a tight spot come November. Those of us who have battled in corporate retail America have seen the kind of fruity and wasteful business practices that can land a company in trouble. They make a big deal about "employee shrink" but they really should look at "executive shrink" if they want to save a buck or two.
That being said, I'm a little jealous that people were getting Foreman Grills for 10$ last Friday. Damn my kitchen appliance fetish. :-)
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