Death by Consumerism
Have you ever read the wikipedia page on "Black Friday"? I read it this week out of curiosity and was horrified to learn of a 34 year-old man who was trampled to death by shoppers in 2008. Other cases of violence were included in the article as well. What is it that would make an entire crowd of people not notice or care about a person being killed before their eyes?! How could it be possible for a TV or a camera or any object to become more important than another human's life?
Consumerism during this time of year does make me sad. I'm not saying it's bad to purchase things on Black Friday necessarily, however, I do think lines need to be drawn. Last year, my brother in law left late-afternoon on Thanksgiving day to stand in line at Best Buy to purchase a camera for my sister. It was to be her Christmas present. While he stood in line, the rest of the family enjoyed an evening of games, laughter, story-telling and more pie. We missed him during our family get-together. I can probably count on one hand the times this special camera, which my brother-in-law sacrificed precious family holiday for, has actually been used by my sister. Electronics like these, which are Black Friday's main attraction, are nice, entertaining, and even very useful. But how soon do we forget about them or even replace them? Are they really worth the sacrificed family time? In the extreme case of the stampede of death, was the TV that the crowd pushed for and probably replaced 3 years later really worth contributing to someones death?
One line that I think should be drawn is the Thanksgiving line. Individuals should choose to spend at least Thanksgiving day with their families and not let this day of gratitude be cut short by consumerism. By choosing to spend time with family first, I think people planning on participating in Black Friday will be more at peace with what they have (their families, relationships, and friends) and be less willing to go to extremes, including violence, to purchase goods.
Let's all remember to be grateful for what we've been given first and foremost. Let's all cherish our families and work to build our relationships with them. Then we can allow ourse
Consumerism during this time of year does make me sad. I'm not saying it's bad to purchase things on Black Friday necessarily, however, I do think lines need to be drawn. Last year, my brother in law left late-afternoon on Thanksgiving day to stand in line at Best Buy to purchase a camera for my sister. It was to be her Christmas present. While he stood in line, the rest of the family enjoyed an evening of games, laughter, story-telling and more pie. We missed him during our family get-together. I can probably count on one hand the times this special camera, which my brother-in-law sacrificed precious family holiday for, has actually been used by my sister. Electronics like these, which are Black Friday's main attraction, are nice, entertaining, and even very useful. But how soon do we forget about them or even replace them? Are they really worth the sacrificed family time? In the extreme case of the stampede of death, was the TV that the crowd pushed for and probably replaced 3 years later really worth contributing to someones death?
One line that I think should be drawn is the Thanksgiving line. Individuals should choose to spend at least Thanksgiving day with their families and not let this day of gratitude be cut short by consumerism. By choosing to spend time with family first, I think people planning on participating in Black Friday will be more at peace with what they have (their families, relationships, and friends) and be less willing to go to extremes, including violence, to purchase goods.
Let's all remember to be grateful for what we've been given first and foremost. Let's all cherish our families and work to build our relationships with them. Then we can allow ourse
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