With the Thanksgiving turkey not yet emulsified in their stomach juices, the throng of holiday shoppers were out the door, on the road, and in the stores in record time. Heck, many of them passed on the traditional meal entirely electing to sit on the pavement for 8 to 10 hours BEFORE any of the Big Box stores officially opened. Just so they could get their grubby little paws on the latest tech devises, hot list toys, or must-have gadgets of the year!
A Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death by a crazed group in New York trying to be first to secure "God-knows-what" that they simply had to have! Even taking a person's life was obviously worth it in this sad case.
I've lived enough Christmases to know that the shopping frenzy experienced by many from Thanksgiving eve thru Saturday morn is ridiculous. I have always purchased presents well before this madness, gotten the same if not better prices, and had absolutely no confrontations in doing so. I also had the time to check on whether or not everything was in working order and exchange something without aggravation.
No, I'm not trying to toot my own horn here. I'm trying to let people see how preseason advertising manipulates them into being and doing what they would not normally be and do. The constant TV and newspaper bombardment of Thanksgiving Eve and Black Friday sales causes usually clear-thinking individuals to strap on their credit card weaponry and engage in unbecoming purchasing warfare. They are driven. They can't stop themselves, addicted to the "cha-ching" of the cash register doling out unimaginable discounts. Most are totally unaware of the chaos surrounding them and the ones that are aware just don't give a damn.
On Saturday afternoon, I walked into a practically deserted Target to buy a few groceries. When finished, I calmly perused the toy section. The shelves still held the coveted sale items with the same coveted sale prices. Admittedly the aisles were a tad messy, but anybody looking for that special something would have had no trouble finding it.
At the check-out, I talked to a beleaguered sales associate who looked like she'd just engaged in battle. Actually, she said she had. She told of the terrible behavior she'd witnessed over the last twelve hours or so. Her Christmas spirit was totally spent well before Christmas had even arrived.
Instead of beautiful holiday music, the only thing ringing in this young woman's ears was the "cha-ching" of the cash register and the wild chaos in the aisles. Bah humbug!
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