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Deadly Consumerism
By Mary Shaw
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving Thursday
in the U.S., when many Americans have the day off from work and use it to begin
their holiday shopping, is generally considered one of the busiest shopping days
of the year. The day gets its name from the prospect that the heavy shopping on
this date will push retailers' balance sheets out of the red and into the black.
Despite the bad economy this year, countless American consumers still
camped out for hours after Thanksgiving dinner outside their favorite shops in
order to be at the head of the queue when the shops opened early Friday.
OK, that's fine. If people have nothing better to do, and they have the
money to spend, that's their business. Go for it.
But what happened this
year on Black Friday at a Long Island Wal-Mart is bigger than that, and much
more heinous, be it intentional or not. It demonstrated that some Americans will
put their desire to be first in line for that limited inventory of 50-inch
televisions above all else -- even if it means that another human being has to
die in the process.
If you haven't heard the story, here is a summary,
courtesy of the New York Daily News:
A Wal-Mart worker died early Friday after an "out-of-control"
mob of frenzied shoppers smashed through the Long Island store's front doors
and trampled him, police said.
The Black Friday stampede plunged the
Valley Stream outlet into chaos, knocking several employees to the ground and
sending others scurrying atop vending machines to avoid the horde.
When the madness ended, 34-year-old Wal-Mart worker Jdimytai Damour
was dead, and four shoppers, including a woman eight months pregnant, were
injured. This is America on shopping adrenaline, credit cards,
selfishness, and competitive greed.
What seemingly matters to the
American consumer -- even today, apparently -- is keeping up with the proverbial
Joneses, and exceeding them at any cost. Shopping has become a sport, and
consumerism has become a contest, even in what might be the worst economic
downturn since the Great Depression.
If your neighbor has a 40-inch
television, you have to run out and buy a 50-inch TV with more proverbial bells
and whistles -- whether or not you can afford it.
And, if someone stands
in your way, trample him to death, damn it!
How cheap really is that big
TV if it costs you your soul?
Authors Website:
http://www.maryshawonline.com
Authors Bio: Mary Shaw is a
Philadelphia-based writer and activist, with a focus on politics, human rights,
and social justice. She is a former Philadelphia Area Coordinator for the
Nobel-Prize-winning human rights group Amnesty International, and her views
appear regularly in a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites. Note that
the ideas expressed here are the author's own, and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of Amnesty International or any other organization with which she
may be associated. |
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