Recently in My Life Category

Or, "Why I Avoid Shopping at All Costs During the Holidays".

I was disgusted to see the news of an employee being trampled at a Wal-Mart yesterday.  At first I thought "was there a fire, or someone with a gun?".  No, it was much worse than that.  The man, a temporary worker no less, died because he stood between a slobbering, fevered, insane crowd of hundreds and some moderately good prices on items for the holidays.

The lack of humanity shown by the shoppers stands in stark contrast to the day preceding Black Friday, where people give more to help than any other time of the year. 

We had some great stories in Colorado this year of generous people lending a hand.  But some of the population treats Thanksgiving as an "offset" day to allow for outrageous and disgusting behavior the day after. 

Most of us have experienced this in some form or another, but every year I'm reminded again how people check their good graces at the door of the nearest mall.  Yesterday, my wife was with her friend at a toy store.  Her friend was in the bathroom changing her son while another woman repeatedly banged on the door because she was taking too long.  Outside of a football stadium or a bar at 1am, when is this behavior acceptable? 

Sometimes I worry that we're becoming detached as a society, completely lacking in empathy or understanding.  But that is too broad a statement.  Maybe its the hunter-gatherer instinct taking over, with soccer moms treating sale items like a deer for food in the middle of winter.  Any way you look at it, Black Friday has come to be consumerism, and in some cases humanism, at its worst. 

One thing is for sure, I'll be buying as many gifts as I can online this year.