Out of Control Shopping

Shopping starts on Thanksgiving now???  I am appalled.  I think it’s disgusting that we are such a capitalist nation that we ruin a nice “family day” by making it superficial Black Friday, (biggest shopping day of the year).  And now we trample on one of the largest holidays?  In the name of spending money? Who exactly wins in this scenario of constant consumerism and shopping?

Not the poor employees of Walmart, Target, Toy R Us, Best Buy, Kohls, and Macy’s.  That’s for sure.  Many of those stores are not even paying holiday pay.  Think about that when you’re selfishly shopping for deals.  A mindful consumer will boycott Thanksgiving hours, think twice before taking part in the ugly Black Frida, and remember how these stores treat their workers every day.  Sometimes cheap prices aren’t cheap for everyone.  People are suffering the consequences of your spectacular deals.

This sort of reminds me of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” which accuses capitalism of ruining the family–among other things.   The guy has a point, look where we are:  The stores want to make money.  They know the people want greater availability.  Expanding hours is seen as covenant and pro-business in a downtrodden economy.  All at the expense of the lower classes who have to forgo holiday tradition to serve elite customers.  It doesn’t seem right that service workers, retailers, and restaurant employees have to work the weekends, but leave dinner early or miss it all-together.  The little guy gets stepped on. . .  Again.

Do you really need all those material items?  Should you spend so much money on one holiday?  I find it troubling that we are so quick to forget the true meaning of holidays.  I would say all holidays have been perverted to some extent.  Skewed to make money for someone.  Memorial Day–is now a three day weekend for buying BBQ items.  Easter–Egg hunts, chocolate, and gift baskets have nothing to do with the resurrection.  Valentine’s Day–expose the loved and the lonely to get the superficial gifts a-flying.  And Christmas is the worst.

I plead, that before you gorge on Christmas shopping instead of turkey, that you think of who else is affected.  And what these holidays are really supposed to be about.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-black-thursday-20111122,0,3635522.story

Related articles

• Your Shopping Guide To Stores That Won’t Ruin Their Workers’ Thanksgivings (thinkprogress.org)
• Door Busters and Teeth-Gnashers (thoughtfultheologues.wordpress.com)
• OSHA stresses the importance of crowd safety for Black Friday sales (mysafetysign.com)