Sh!t like this pisses me off! A dude goes to work (Wal-Mart) the day after Thanksgiving and is trampled to death by crazy shoppers! A pregnant woman was also hurt.
Black Friday is no longer a shopping event, it's an epidemic and to me symbolizes just about everything that's wrong with America now.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6529135
Thanksgiving and Christmas (or other Holidays this time of year) are not about shopping and cheap stuff! I'm not even a little religious, but I love Christmas time and being with my family. Thanksgiving is about being "thankful". Not thankful for cheap prices, but for your family and for being able to eat! My ancestors left England, Germany and France because they couldn't find work, didn't have enough to eat and were not allowed to believe in what they wanted to. I think a lot of people do not know what their families went through to be here and what being "thankful" is really all about!
Sometimes it makes me sick to be an American. Most of us have it made (even the poorest of us) compared to many other places and we're still more concerned about getting a cell phone, game system or digital camera really cheap more than a person's life. People don't even spend Thanksgiving with their families anymore. They wait in line all day to buy cheap stuff they don't need early the next day.
I almost hope the economy fails so that people might wake up and realize what's important. I was listening to the radio this morning and I heard a shopper say "This year I had to put a few toys back, which in years past I didn't have to do. This is the first time I've had to budget." Hell, I have to budget every week just to pay bills! That is such a selfish and aloof statement, but it's too common amongst Americans! We have so much and feel we have so little. Some people can't afford their rent or groceries and she's worried about more toys (if her kids are anything like mine, those toys will just sit in a toy box after two weeks anyways).
I used to be a sales manager at a Best Buy and "Black Friday" is the reason I quit and started a new career. My last black Friday was in 2001. I came in at 2:00 am and was sick as hell (but if you call out sick you are fired!). The line was already filled with about a thousand people. As soon as we opened, people ran in and grabbed a bunch of stuff, destroying the store and fighting with each other (yes, fisticuffs). I had people call me the worst things imaginable just because we ran out of stock on certain items.
What ever happened to the Holiday spirit? Why can't you just make cookies or a pie for someone anymore? I don't buy anything for people anymore (unless I really have extra cash), but I often make a nice dinner and some deserts and make decorations and gifts by hand. People enjoy themselves. I often spend my money on sponsoring a poor family or giving gifts to kids with illnesses. They enjoy every little thing they get and truly
need it. Most of the crap people buy on Black Friday ends up in the garbage by the next Holiday.
Most people just want to "please" their kids and "buy love" by getting them PS3's and other junk. Parents aren't involved in what their kids do, which is why so many people grow up and are a$$holes now.
Now don't get me wrong, I have a PS3 and HDTV and all of that other stuff, but I certainly don't value those things above my family or another person's life. There's nothing wrong with any of that stuff (I love movies, games, my iPhone and other stuff), but I think Americans in particular have gotten very shallow and have forgotten what hard work and family are all about.
Our government now treats it's citizens the same way parents now treat their kids. "Just give them stuff to make them happy!" You no longer have to earn anything. I love capitalism and the American way of life, but it's not just about money.
I really wish people appreciated things more, especially this time of year.
Sorry. Here endeth my rant!!
