Death by Consumerism

What happened to being thankful for what we got? I send my sympathy to the Wal-mart employee's family. At the store where I work at a pregnant employee was pushed and almost fell on the floor. Another customer spotted someone else sitting on a pallet. Our store is open 24 Hrs and some customers who waited since Midnight did not get the item because others pushed and shoved to get the item. Also customers grabbed clothes before the sale began even when management asked them nicely to wait till 5 am. I like getting good bargains but not at someone else's expense.
There's got to be a better system in dealing with limited quantities. Expand the sale longer, have a number system like the one in the deli who is 1st people in line for the Item gets it. Allow the 5-11 sale items be ordered on the Internet for the sale price. I hope retailers consider some suggestions to make next year better.

Although I agree with you that we as a country are hooked on consumption, I do not think the stampede was driven by greed. I think it was an accident.
Often we hear of stampedes at soccer games and ironically by pilgrims visiting Mecca. When you have a large crowd of people there is a potential for a stampede. Walmart should have controlled the flow of the people before they reached the store entrance.

walmart is very much to blame for this. anybody who thinks that they have an event and there is NO security, only a door holding back people that dont have any regard to EMT's trying to take care of someone and this is acceptable? LOL where do you live? You CANNOT hold an event without security period. You hold that person accountable for stampeding anyone down. just like you would if they were drinking and driving, there is no difference. Your justification for a death is best completely ludicrous and irresponsbile. I hope your not on any jury because #1, your common sense is lacking fundamental rules.

completely overjoyed : )

herzliebster wrote:

"Once a stampede starts, NOBODY, however concerned and horrified, can stop it."

Exactly right. There have been similar stampedes all over the world, in completely different situations. For example in Japan a few years ago several people were killed and injured after a firework show when the crowd was crossing a pedestrian bridge to the railroad station.

Note that the Japanese in question were not shopping, or crazed materialists, or Christians for that matter. They were not even in a hurry. They were victims of a poorly designed bridge.

alldone responded:

"It is absolutely ridiculous to say that Walmart was 'criminally negligent' in this case. What has happened to individual accountability?"

You are missing the point. Please read herzliebster's message more carefully.

No one is responsible or accountable anymore than drivers are when there is a chain reaction collision on a highway in foggy weather. If anyone is responsible for that it would be the people who designed the highway and failed to install automatic warning lights triggered by heavy fog -- an accident waiting to happen. Wall Mart is responsible for running their stores in a safe manner. Methods of crowd control are well understood.

Sad event, but I am with those who mostly fault Wal-Mart for not preparing for a crowd. I honestly do NOT think this represents some new low in American society--or consumerism or something unique to New York state. I remember my father describing a mob scene in Denver, CO just after World War II. Silk for stockings had been unavailable due to the war for years. My father was only 10 or 11 at the time, but he still remembers the mob of women pushing and shoving to get to the display rack--and pushing kids out of the way too. And I remember the crowd at the White House Easter Egg roll mobbing the table of free stuff for the kids--and basically shoving kids out of the way to do it. There is an issue of courtesy and respect, but in a mob, we can be pretty dreadful.

Who are you to say what other people need?! You are just exploiting the death of the WalMart worker to expound upon your red-hot socialist agenda. Shame on you, lady! I resent the Post printing your column because it is a dishonest and immoral swipe at capitalism. People have every right to buy a television set, especially with the digital switch-over. There's truly nothing more pathetic than an arch-Leftist elitist pretending to care about people she actually despises. I'm so glad I'm not one of your kids!

What a horrible thing to happen! Disturbing to think people are killing other people over a TV. Where's the perspective here? We are truly lost.

I don't think Walmart was negligent. I think the people stampeding didn't know how to control themselves. No one was embodying the Christmas spirit at that point. It was every person for himself or herself, back to our animal nature (the ruthless part).

I never really had a lot of money to buy lots of expensive gifts for people, so I just started baking. But one of the best Christmases I ever had, actually probably THE best Christmas I ever had, involved singing with my choir that morning, preparing and serving lunch at a soup kitchen (so much fun, and I met a lot of cool people), going to a movie alone, then popping in another favorite movie when I got home and making popcorn. It was perfect.

I feel that we have become a nation consumed by the idea of consuming, and we have become so entrenched in this ideology of consumerism that we have lost touch with greater values of life and what the holidays need to and should encompass. This devastating act of disregard for human life in exchange for a "slick" deal on a 50" flat screen is an example of how we have lost our way as a nation and as a society. I think we as a nation need to reevaluate our priorities. We need to transforms ourselves from a people acclaimed for materialism, irresponsible purchasing, and self-greed...this characteristic is what has recently landed our economy in shambles. The word of the day for those shoppers in Long Island and in the rest of the nation is "reevaluation." Let's reevaluate ourselves and see what we can do to correct the problems that we have as a society, economy, and as individuals.

Who was it that said "We've met the enemy and it is us?"

Contrary to what some talking heads would have you believe, there is no "war on Christmas."
No one points a gun to anyone's head and says "buy crap you don't really need (or others don't want) or else..." It's a conscious choice, yet somehow it became ingrained that buying stuff--was the true meaning of Christmas. In short we gave in to advertisers playing off a subliminal fear that others won't love us...unless...

We (collective) have allowed Christmas to become relatively meaningless. Hundreds of people lining up in the middle of the night to buy stuff they don't really need, or others don't really need, is the epitime of this.

Beautifully done. I work at UPS and I was wondering why I have been feeling less than the Christmas spirit this year and this article verbalized exactly how I feel about Christmas now. Its not about peace on Earth and goodwill toward men, its all about getting stuff that you say you want and you get it and then an hour later you want something else. The lady is right in that this obsession with consumerism is one of the biggest issues facing America in the 21st century. It relates to greed, and how big a part greed plays in all of our pursuit of the American Dream. The economic crises that we're facing now was fueled by greed replacing the pursuit of happiness for a lot of people. If people don't start to understand that a lot of stuff doesn't give you happiness then this country and the world has very serious issues ahead.

This is insane!
1. If you want to make a point about American consumerism getting out of control, fine. I have no disagreement with that. But this has more to do with Wal-Mart negligently whipping up a crowd into a frenzy and otherwise just doing it's damndest to bring out the worst in people. Some gets injured or trampled at the front entrance every year, and yet Wal-Mart has done seemingly nothing to evaluate it's crowd control policies, or place even a minimum of security to keep this from happening. Your argument is like blaming the german people for the Holocaust but letting Hitler completely off the hook.

2. And oh yeah, it's real easy to condescendingly point the finger at poor, mostly minority people who just showed up at a store where they can get essentials at a decent price, to get a few good deals on the holiday. "Oh, my. This is just awful! American consumerism! blah,blah, sanctimonius blah etc." But let's see what would happen if you showed up at this Wal-Mart, just trying to save some money so your kids could have a decent Christmas, and all of a sudden the crowd pushed you forward, possibly trampling someone, but you were powerless to stop it or risk getting trampled yourself. Ever been in a mob scene before? No one person is to blame, and no one person can stop it. Again, Wal-Mart is to blame here, not one individual person that was just unlucky enough to be at the front of the mob.

3. And don't get into how religion factors into this. Churches are just as good at exploiting the holidays for their own financial gain as the discount stores are. This has nothing to do with greed or religion, or lack thereof. And last I checked, religion was responsible for quite a few more atrocities than one Wal-Mart worker getting killed. This has nothing to do with the morals or greed of any of the people in the crowd. This has to do with Wal-Mart failing to properly prepare and control the crowd that showed up.

So all of you get off your high horse. How big is your TV?

herzliebster wrote:

Once a stampede starts, NOBODY, however concerned and horrified, can stop it. People being pushed from behind by a mob are beyond their own control or anybody else's.

Preventing such loss of control requires planning and trained personnel. Walmart was criminally negligent for not having protocols and planning in place to deal with an entirely forseeable and preventable crowd control challenge, and especially for having an untrained employee be the one to open the doors.
____________________________

It is absolutely ridiculous to say that Walmart was "criminally negligent" in this case. What has happened to individual accountability? This could just as easily have happened inside the store in front of the stupid TVs. The problem isn't that Walmart didn't exercise appropriate crowd control, but that people are so greed-driven they will literally shove each other out of the way to get what they want. It's absolutely gut-wrenchingly repulsive to watch people behave that way over some gadget, or clothes, or whatever, and I've seen it happen up close. I had a great deal of difficulty extricating myself from such a crowd once. And for that reason, I no longer shop on Black Friday. No sale in the world is worth seeing that side of humanity.

This article is en pointe, with one caveat: it is not necessary to be Christian to appalled by the current state of our society and rampant consumerism. There are plenty of non-Christians who also possess a moral compass.

this is less about walmart and american consumerism than it is about new york. let's face. everybody knows new yorkers are scumbags

This death horrifies the civilized person (the few that may be left) ~ but it's not a stand alone incident. There was a "running gun battle" between 2 men (customers) in a Toy'R'Us store in Southern California! Make cookies; give a massage; if you must shop, shop online.

this sounds like a lawsuit for walmart. putting workers at risk of making a profit is wrong. This doesnt look good at all. Its like vehicular manslaughter except nobody was driving. Sad story.

I often wonder whether there is a different way to keep the economy going than by producing, selling and buying plastic crap that will pile up in landfills and that we will eventually choke on as landfills become larger than the planet can handle. It is a profound problem facing humanity, along with global climate change. At least for now, there is a good idea on the table, espoused by President Elect Obama, the Apollo Alliance and Van Jones: green collar jobs!!! There are lots of solar panels, wind turbines and countless other technological solutions for cleaning our planet to be produced. People can be retrained to produce such items instead of useless crap, and the economy will not only be resuscitated but fully invigorated in a truly meaningful and sustainable way.

Meanwhile, as human beings we must ask ourselves why the Universe went through the trouble to create us? So that we can shop ourselves to death? Or perhaps, we need to start listening to the voice of conscience quietly but relentlessly humming within our depths? We must stop running away from conscience by popping happy pills, drinking and drugging ourselves into mute stupor, watching TV and shopping. We have bankrupt our souls and brought our precious ecosystem to the very brink of survival. WAKE UP and AWAKEN to our true purpose. There is no place for man to rest his head.

What do you expect when you take Jesus Christ out of the holiday and out of society, and replace the values He taught with the materialism He so often warned against? Those people weren't celebrating Christmas, they were celebrating "Holiday," and are perfect exemplars of its ethos.

People who do things like this are desperate. If they're looking to buy a 50" TV their desperation is obviously not because their basic physical needs are unmet. It seems plain to me that they're desperate because their lives are starved of meaning and purpose. They've bought, in the most literal sense, into a lie about where those things can be found.

Consumerism: It's all about the Stuff.
Marxism: It's all about the Stuff.
Atheism: Life has no meaning, so you might as well make yourself comfortable with Stuff
Satan: Do what I advise and you'll have all the best Stuff
Jesus: Your life has meaning and infinite value, and it's NOT about the Stuff.

Make your choice, and live with the consequences.

"Surely they must be a way for us to recover economically without a frenzy of buying. I hope so, because the alternative, I now realize, is moral bankruptcy."

Amen, sister. And thanks to all who have commented.

I do agree with PKM123 (DECEMBER 4, 2008) that many in society judge others who are living within modest their means as not "smart" or "with it." I hope those of us who have learned to be content with ordinary comforts will have the courage to be true to our values, to live simply, joyfully, and creatively without feeding the frenzy of consumerism.

For years I have given away as much money at Christmas as I've spent on presents and celebrations for those near and dear to me. That feels like a a good balance--not a Scrooge-like denial of comfort, but a sharing that reaches beyond my small personal circle.

Giving away money keeps the circle of the economy moving, but it calls forth goods and services that are really needed, not superfluous stuff that quickly becomes trash. Let us stick to what is needful, and give it where it is needed.

There are several troubling aspects about Christmas shopping:

1. What would the American economy do if there were no Christmas shopping? Would there be another holiday to spur the spending frenzy? Our economy seems to hinge on the need for a profitable Christmas season (which, by the way, is the recognition of Jesus's birth).

2. Who in their right mind decided that stores have to open at 4 or 5 am on the day after Thanksgiving?

3. Don't the consumers realize that the "bargains" are few in number -- they are just tricks to lure the customers into the store. If the consumers cannot buy the 50 inch plasma at the bargain price, they will probably spend money on other products.

4. Economists are worried about the credit card debacle which should hit the fan later this year. How much of this Christmas spending is financed with plastic?

5. Are we being unpatriotic if we, as citizens and consumers, reduce our holiday spending? By doing so, would we send the economy into a further downward spiral?

The Prince of Peace? Have you ever heard the phrase "religious war?" I'd venture to say that more lives have been lost in the name of the Prince of Peace than in the name of $800 televisions.

I'm not discounting the horror of Jdimytai Damour's death. But really - where do you get the self-righteous gall to chastise "Americans" for these well-publicized displays of greed? For every person in America involved in a bad mortgage, there is another person who exercised financial caution and common sense and who will undoubtedly continue to do so while the government rushes to aid those who haved burned themselves through their own greed.

Consumerism isn't going to be the band-aid the economy needs, but neither is it the root of moral bankruptcy. Lack of compassion and involvement and lack of consequence have more to do with moral bankruptcy than wanting nice things. I'd suggest that self-righteousness is also an element of moral bankruptcy. To paraphrase William F. Buckley, it's more important to do right than to be right.

I'm sending this to a bunch of people. You are, pardon the pun, right on the money.

One of the real problems with being driven to be a consumer is that a lot, and I mean a lot of people judge others on where they live, their clothes, the size of their TV, their car and their education.

I grew up poor and I can tell you that if you don't have the "right clothes" "right education" "correct address' you WILL NOT be hired for certain jobs. I can get away with a used car now, but just two years ago I was told by my company that I could not pick up senior members from meetings out fo the office, you know, because my car was old. IT MATTERS and we need to stop saying that it does not exist.

We must, as a society, stop judging everyone who is living within their means as stupid and poor.

Was anyone else struck by her most poignant suggestion?

USE THIS HOLIDAY to honor the life and tragic death of Jdimytai Damour by reflecting on what matters and how your little life can help to highlight that in today's world.

Instead I mostly see bickering, polticizing and name calling ("poor bastard"- come on, really?). This article was clearly calling us to GET PAST this stuff.

I appreciated FORESTBLOGOD's comment. As I understand it, Wal-Mart ascended to its powerful position by claiming everything they sold was "proudly made in America". Does anyone remember this? At some point in the 90s, they began using more and more Chinese labor to produce the items sold there. I am sorry to say I have shopped there before, but quit when, in 1998, a Wal-Mart worker's child was killed by a falling entertainment center in Virginia Beach. The little girl was the same age as one of my children(4), and the spokespeople for Wal-Mart tried to make it sound as if it happened because the parents were being negligent. It was very plain for me to see that any store that expects that children will be in there shopping need to SECURE everything....the store did not close at any point during this tragedy; the next day a wreath was allowed to be placed in front of the store for only an hour, and in the end the family had to settle out of court because they did not have the resources to continue a years long pursuit of Wal-Mart. They opened a shop named after their beloved daughter.
I sure hope this man's family DOES succeed in holding Wal-Mart responsible- their corporations' policies were also responsible for the death of several employees during a tornado that destroyed a Wal-Mart near Richmond, VA in 1994...WM is well aware that the stores they build are too large and they can barely police them or ensure polite customer service (customers putting televisions on layaway were referred to as living on "N___ Avenue" in Charlottesville in 2001), much less account for all the jobs they ruin on Main Street as they try to promote their policy of "falling prices"- Watch out for heavy apppliances and fellow shoppers falling around you instead if you still choose to shop there.And don't forget they have sold Easter baskets with toy guns in them- It is a dangerous corporate monolith, and does not deserve your hard-earned money...

Once a stampede starts, NOBODY, however concerned and horrified, can stop it. People being pushed from behind by a mob are beyond their own control or anybody else's.

Preventing such loss of control requires planning and trained personnel. Walmart was criminally negligent for not having protocols and planning in place to deal with an entirely forseeable and preventable crowd control challenge, and especially for having an untrained employee be the one to open the doors.

People get trampled to death not only to get into a store and get bargains but also at sports events, at emergencies like a fire breaking out in a crowded bar ... and also at mass religious celebrations such as the Hajj and Shiite pilgrimages. I suppose one can learn something about a society by noting which kinds of events -- sports, shopping, entertainment or religion --give rise to the kinds of crowds that are likely to go out of control.

It truly is a tragedy that a life is lost over meaningless material gains. It surely has to do with the culture in this country. We need to consume but not on everything and anything. Buy things that you NEED, not you want. True happiness doesn't come from throwing your money on things, it comes from genuine interaction with another human being, with your surroundings, from being at peace with yourself and maintain the love within you and the love for life. In my opinion, many people spend money to fill the void inside them, they don't know what to do with their lives, how to live happily and meaningfully. It is sad. Iife is too short, don's waste it.

Great link, ALEXI1. Thanks.

Sorry "Reverend",

But George Romero commented on this subject almost 30 years ago (and was far more entertaining, to boot).

The only difference between this poor bastard's death and someone mauled in a zombie apocalypse is how pretty the corpse is when the assault is over.

Sad, but you can't say it wasn't forseen.

For the past 30 years, I've seen how people have become more and more selfish -- sometimes beyond logical comprehension. The holiday buying insanity only seems to augment this, even more.

If every single child in school had to perform, with the help of their parents, and as part of their school curriculum (and not just for ONE class) -- REAL Community Service -- before they were allowed to graduate from Grade School and High School, then perhaps we'd have a kinder, more gentle, reasoning logical populace, and truly, if that happens -- THEN the workd Man"KIND" WILL mean exactly that. But until that day comes..........

This is pathetic. How black can a soul be to trample over a human body without a thought? Well to borrow a quote, for the first time in my adult life, I am ashamed to be an American. We've lost our senses.

I am so saddened by Jdimytai Damour's death, a senseless death.

Why would people value a flat screen TV more than a human life?

This is such a sad commentary on the mob mentality and cruelty of people against their fellow man.

My Dad had a phrase for this, "Hooray for me and the hell with you". Maybe this time justice will be served.

Ust imagine a hell full of flat screen TV's showing nothing but images of fire and damnation.

well unfortunately spending is what keeps American's employed..

and I'm sure the OBAMA FAMILY spends plenty on things they don't need, much more than the Wal-Mart shoppers..

I'm 59 years old and I have heard this "over-commercialization of Christmas" spiel for the last 44 of them. I'm sure it started even before then, when people stopped giving handmade gifts and started replacing them with glittery things bought at the drugstore. In a consumer-driven economy, what else are we to expect? To fault retailers for whipping people into a frenzy to buy is useless: that's how they make money. The real problem is with consumers, who think that if they don't have that 50-inch flatscreen TV -- or that Cabbage Patch doll or even that Red Ryder BB gun -- they simply cannot exist. Even worse, in America it has also evolved into a sense of entitlement -- we DESERVE that 50-inch TV, the mortgage payment be damned.

I'm sure Christ isn't happy about what we've done to his natal anniversary. But Christians and non-Christians alike should be ashamed of conspicuous consumption and the failure to prioritize. How many people could be fed with the money used to buy 50-inch TVs?

Will we learn a lesson from what happened in New York? I doubt it. Were I St. Peter, I'd stand well back from the Pearly Gates on Judgment Day to avoid the stampede.

Is there any doubt at all that Jimmy Carter was right?? Can you spell "malaise"???

Not a sad day. We are stinking animals, just like cattle. Wall Mart always reminds me of that, I never have set foot in one! Ha ha ha ha

Welcome to Wall Mart, I love you.
Welcome to Wall Mart, I love you.
We have Brawndo on sale today. Please stampede to the display and buy, buy, buy the thirst annihilator!

If people discontinue buying things like TV's, sound systems, appliances, computers, etc. how are all the people employed in producing, shipping and selling these goods going to make a living? Does anyone really think there are enough meaningful jobs in this country to employ everyone who seeks a job?
Clearly the answer is no, we do not have enough jobs. So like it or not. consumerism is here to stay. What happened in the Wal-Mart is an aberration and retailers need to plan for such eventualities.

It's not just Christmas or just this year. Almost all of us here in America can get by with far less. The whole point of advertising and our media is to get us to want to buy things that we don't need. A good start is turning off or tossing your TV. Permanently changing our habits will go a long way towards achieving the humility and non-materialism preached by Jesus.

The relationship between economic activity and morality is complex. Is it moral to be a consumer (and provide a job for the worker who made the product) or better to consume nothing at all (and trample no one at the store)? Were the people who caused our mortgage crisis moral or misguided? I suggest you sound out Steve Pearlstein about his ideas before you write your sermon.

In the grand scheme of things, "Black Friday," has always been a frenzied and harrowing shopping day.
This type of occurrence has always taken place, injuries and mayhem have broken out at many stores throughout the time that Christmas has become commercialized and secularized.
But now with the advent of "part-time" contract labour, we see even more of this type of occurrence, because the people who work for the contractors are not trained by the stores to do any other job, except for cleaning and maintenance.
The rise of the part-time contract labour employee
is the death of the real employee, the employee who knows the store and its policies, the one who knows where merchandise is located and is familiar
with all the nuances of working to serve large and small crowds of people.
Greed has driven the full-time employee into the past, no one except managers at Wal-Mart is a full-time employee. The avaricious nature of the owners and shareholders of large companies such as this, makes a bad situation worse.
In times of economic distress, such as we are experiencing at this time, full-time employees with benefits are an essential part of the recovery from the economic stress. Yet at companies such as Wal-Mart, there is no need for the full-time employee. The managers and officials of a company such as this, have the part-time employee down to a science and are not going to be swayed by the needs of the people for jobs and benefits.
My heart goes out to the family of this man, he was doing nothing more than trying to help, and his payment for this act of kindness was to be trampled to death.

They should get rid of After-Thanksgiving Sale if that is the way grown people going to act.

Posted on December 3, 2008 15:42

MzFitz :
RE: "One place to start would be to eliminate Sunday shopping...I mean everything that is non-essential, all stores except groceries, gas stations. This works in Europe just fine.

To those who say the economic costs would be huge, think about what we would gain--one day of sanctioned rest."

...and Bergen County New Jersey
*****************************************************
Why Sunday? Why have any single day of the week when businesses must close? Blue laws are religiously based, and, for those of us for whom every Sunday is not a sabbath, they are a major PITA.
Why should I not be able to buy a bottle of Cuervo on a Sunday morning if I want to have a tequila sunrise with my huevos rancheros for breakfast? Or a new cd if I suddenly find myself craving a fresh infusion of Elvis Costello on a Sunday?
If a business owner wishes to close on a particular day of the week, whether it's Sunday or Tuesday, in order to give employees a regularly scheduled day off, or even for his own religious observances, that's his prerogative. A good friend of mine owns a small independent bookstore, he is the only employee, and he is closed every Sunday, as well as Christmas, Good Friday, Mardi Gras, and Thanksgiving, so that he can attend church and spend extra time with his family on those days. I applaud his willingness to miss a day of income for the sake of his beliefs and a bit of family fun. But I don't think that we need a governmentally mandated and enforced day of rest.
Right now, I am working two jobs, one of which is retail and includes Sunday's, in order to pay off some bills that piled up as a result of my daughter being injured in a wreck just before Gustav, and then expenses after Gustav. Presently, I work seven days a week, and I need every hour I can get. I don't need anyone telling me that I MUST take a day off.

thanks Thomas= I did understand that. Feeding frenzy comes from within- which to me made it that much worse.

SPARROW4

You replied, ""feeding frenzy." there was no danger to that crowd, no cops in riot gear or terrorists with guns.", I think you may have misunderstood what I meant by "feeding frenzy".

By "feeding frenzy" I meant just like the commercials say, "GOTTA HAVE IT".

Not like the "feeding frenzy" came from an outside source but from the inside.

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

RE: "One place to start would be to eliminate Sunday shopping...I mean everything that is non-essential, all stores except groceries, gas stations. This works in Europe just fine.

To those who say the economic costs would be huge, think about what we would gain--one day of sanctioned rest."

...and Bergen County New Jersey.

Susan should shop at Walmart at least once in her life and observe the thousands of people getting good value on the necessities of life.

Look, taking one example and extrapolating it into a trend is one of those intellectual traps that keep the Rove Republicans in business. This tragic isolated incident is the only one of its kind I've ever read in the news from within the USA--so how is this indicative of a trend or mindset? There will be people murdered today; there will be beatings and muggings in different places; some lunatic will kill their spouse and hack them to pieces; somebody will drop puppies off a bridge, etc. Are any of these single episodes and indicator that a trend has overtaken us, or simply another indicator that in a nation of 300 million there are bound to be examples of bad behavior? I guess seminary heads are trained to stand on soapboxes, but I've pretty much had it with professional soapbox-standers for now...

I am a Christian. My children receive presents at Christmas - we exchange presents with family. We also attend midnight mass and my children partake of a birthday cake my wife makes celebrating Jesus' birthday. I have a fifty inch TV - why are there always attempts to put a negative stigma on the big screen TV's. I bought it when I could afford it. I can afford my mortgage - my cars are paid for. I went shopping on 'Black Friday'. I do not go to Walmart or Bestbuy on those days. I went to Bass Pro Shops and I will give out my kudos to folks that were their. That is the only place that is tolerable on black friday.

thomasbaum- "feeding frenzy." there was no danger to that crowd, no cops in riot gear or terrorists with guns. As to the rest, I agree. I do think the mob behind may not have known the man was down- but the people in front? Oh yeah, they knew. this was a big guy and they busted through the glass doors. You would have to be totally unconscious not to be aware that you knocked down a human being and broke through a door.

It's obvious that Bill O'Reilly and Fox News are to blame

Very poignant. However, it's not just at Christmastime that we are overly addicted to consumption. It's pervasive. The death of the Wal-Mart worker is tragic, but pales in comparison to the death being wreaked on the Earth from our endless extraction, building, shipping, combustion, disposing, etc. One day we will run out of both the resources to continue and the space to stash our byproducts. But before that we are likely to lose much more than that, and already have. The answer is to realize that the way to happiness does not lie in material things at all. They are impermanent facades; underneath our everyday reality is a powerful energy that we could harness to create our lives in new ways, if we could put down the sales circulars, t.v. remotes, etc., long enough to realize that what our souls crave cannot be filled by all the t.v.s and designer label clothes in the world.

Thanks Susan. Great piece. How about promoting Alternative Christmas? Jesus never left instructions to celebrate his birth. Christmas has Pagan origins, not Christian.

Idea: Give to your family and friends' favorite charity instead of buying stuff for them. It's educational and great for kids. It makes for a much better spirit of gratefulness.

BTW: F.Scott Fitzgerald had it right about American spiritual values and the outcome of its war with greed and materialism. Materialism has WON. Jesus has lost.

Hey, I'm guilty too. Alternative Christmas is one easy answer.

I think we all understand that to shop Black Friday doesn't mean we are morally bankrupt. To walk over a down man, a trampled human being, and not stop or return to him, indicates moral bankruptcy. Having been almost trampled on a lovely 4th of July evening in NYC when fireworks couldn't be seen from advertised places, I can assure you, getting clear is the issue. Breathing is the issue. What occurred in Valley Stream was unconscienable...for those who felt the man under foot and kept going. If there's a crowd pushing you from behind...all you wnat is a clear breath. Just ask the pregnant woman who was inhaling for two.

The Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City is using the tagline: "Let Yourself Go" in its current advertising campaign. In different ways that message has been hammered home to Americans, for many years, by various voices in our culture, and the consequences are all around.

As People of God, preparing for the holidays, we need to struggle to get hold of ourselves, to avoid sin and if necessary to seek forgiveness. In doing so our life gives glory to God, we become real, and the result is better than any opera.
Stephen B. Wise
New York, NY

One place to start would be to eliminate Sunday shopping...I mean everything that is non-essential, all stores except groceries, gas stations. This works in Europe just fine.

To those who say the economic costs would be huge, think about what we would gain--one day of sanctioned rest.

Susan,

You forgot the stampeded pregnant woman. It's them good-old Christian Waltons, and them good old Christian Americans having their good old Christman cheer. Them good old Waltons who refuse any commerce with human rights organizations in the countries the christian waltons exploit for the christoAmerican shopping killers.

Ask me why I left the church. (I've got values and love for my fellow human.)

more hidden costs of low prices. what do people imagine they are supporting when they shop for superfluous crud made in dictatorial regimes?

wal-mart hardly carries any american made goods.

half the riches people in america are walton heirs. says a lot about consolidation of wealth and the power it wields over the world.

boycott wal-mart, it is easy to shop elsewhere.

"As if any more disturbing details about the Mumbai massacre could emerge, it's now being reported that many of the victims were also tortured -- and no one more so than the Israelis killed in the Chabad house. DEBKAfile reports that Rivka Holtzberg, wife of the center's rabbi, Gavriel, was also six months pregnant, and that the toddler rescued from the house by his Indian nanny bore bruises indicating that the captors had beaten him."

http://worldnews.about.com/b/2008/12/02/signs-of-torture-on-mumbai-victims-especially-israelis.htm

Greed causing a death. Some 'Christian' nation.

What matters is not the STUFF you have in your life,
but the PEOPLE you have in your life. Seems to me that a guy named Jesus was pretty clear about this.

Might I interject that all the other times I hear about people being stampeded in non life-threatening situations (more often than anyone belonging to homo sapiens sapiens would care to admit), it has nothing to do with shopping?

All the consumers outside my local Target were lined up along the exterior wall and then around the side of the store. When the door opened, security made sure the line entered single file. Aside from embarrassing adults by yelling at them for running in a store, it went off without a hitch.

And considering the sales numbers for all retailers, if stampeding was the result of consumerism, one might expect it would have occurred before such a slow season.

What causes most of the trouble during Christmas isn't demand, it's supply. Ask anyone who worked during those crazy days after Elmo's first big doll release. If you have twenty out there, everyone is happy. When you're down to the last one, then you've got a fistfight between 200 lbs soccer moms. Which, though entertaining in a spectator-sport way, is probably more of the social ill you're addressing.

So, instead of putting the blame on consumerism, lets put the blame on the complicated and myriad sources on the problems that make up these messes. Lack of crowd control, mob mentality, and the way we, as a race of people, seem not be able to handle our responsibility in the world to be rational.

I was saddened and angered by this when I heard about it on the news. I can't believe they didn't immediatly close the store after the man died. What a shameful situation.

Agree totally. Our nation has become all about consumption and little else. Most of us have all we need, so why buy more?

I would like to see the President pardon anyone associated with this man's death. Why? After 9/11 we were told to shop in order to defeat the terrorists. These people shopped, vigorously, and a man died. He died so that terrorists would not prevail in the War on Terror. Give him a Medal of Freedom and give the people a pardon for doing their national duty.

SPARROW4

You wrote, " Mob panic is usually a result of fear, or danger", do you really think that it was "Mob panic" or was it more like a "feeding frenzy"?

You wrote, "That said, I hope they sue Walmart up the wazoo because this is not the first Black Friday sale with crowds, and they should have known they need more security."

Maybe we should sue the economic system of the whole planet, isn't something like this, what the whole world economy is built on.

If not the whole world economy, definitely the American economy, is it not? And I guess one could say that the American economy is another one of our exports.

Sad to say, but it is quite symtomatic of lots of the other things going on in the world.

Our toys are getting fancier but isn't it something that in this age of "communication and technology" we talk more and communicate less, the world is "smaller" with instant and worldwide communication yet we are more isolated than ever.

The Ancients had nothing on us with their worship of myriad of gods, we worship at the altar of "junk", the more and the fancier and the ones with the most bells and whistles we can really work ourselves into a "frenzy", can we not?

I am thankful that God has a Plan and that God's Plan will come to Fruition.

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

How exciting it is to draw a line in the sand on the order of, nobody needs a 50 inch TV, because it's so true, and it's so definite.

It is hard to preach, sometimes even to prefer, more worthy goals with an artful commercial always just moments away. Sickening extremes of wealth and poverty make it so very difficult to hold fast to an ethic of virtue in every circumstance.

Would that we had a world where everyone understood that the pursuit of clean water really is important while the pursuit of a better television set could scarcely be more frivolous.

that lack of mindfulness has to do with material greed, in this case. Mob panic is usually a result of fear, or danger, not the need to get a flat screen tv. And you cannot tell me the people in front who slammed the doors open couldn't see this guy standing there. They just didn't care. That said, I hope they sue Walmart up the wazoo because this is not the first Black Friday sale with crowds, and they should have known they need more security.

To blame this tragic death on consumerism is to mistake an association for a relation. Death by trampling has sadly occurred throughout human history, but rarely, if ever before this, by people entering a store.

The common factor is lack of crowd control by trained authorities, consumers' lack of mindfulness of the consequences of pushing on doors and a lack of regard for strangers. The latter is a problem everywhere, independent of materialism

Wal-Mart seems not to have anticipated the size of the crowd but surely noticed and might have done more to prevent a terrible accident.

Coincidentally, when I read this commentary, there was a gigantic tower ad immediately to the right of it, displaying large flat panel TVs. Or, maybe it wasn't coincidental. Perhaps the site was engaging in some sort of keyword-based contextual advertising. Either way, the juxtaposition was almost comically absurd. Almost. I somehow find my sense of humor dampened by my sense of outrage towards all the parties responsible for this tragedy.

We all need to be spotters, in highly crowded situations. All the time, I see people navigate crowds in a daze, like so many mindless zombies, hardly noticing anyone in their way -- let alone in danger. Always look for children who might be underfoot. Always watch for a fall, or someone getting trapped. Something as commonplace as an escalator can be deadly, if no one is alert and prepared to help. I've even seen a man on a train platform get his leg trapped between train doors that did not correctly sense that there was an obstruction. That could have been fatal, if some of us on the train hadn't noticed and taken action.

If you were the one who fell down -- who was trapped -- who was stepped on... you'd want someone to be paying attention. You'd want someone to notice, care, and most of all, HELP.

Hmmm, 2000 shoppers, most with cell phones, crowded in front of a door and no one had the sense to call 911 to report a crowd control problem???

fr commoner3:

>A memorial fund in this young man's honor should be set up. Wal-Mart should contribute heavily to it!

I totally agree. I hope the family sues wally world for what happened. He had been given NO crowd control training, and was put at the front door because of his size. Where were the other "security guards"? INSIDE, plotting and planning the day.

Weak article, especially the tie-in with Dr. Seuss.

But you espouse personal responsibility in parts of your article, but how about giving some blame to homeowners who couldn't afford a house but felt entitled to the "American Dream"?

You wrote:

"Tell that to mortgage brokers who made loans to people whom they knew couldn't afford them, and then sold the bad paper off to another company so they could go on making more bad loans,"

And Americans have been morally bankrupt for a long time. Who do you think authorized the relaxation of home ownership rules? The government. Those are our American "leaders". They have no morals, they just steal money, wear diapers with prostitutes, and take advantage of high school interns. Ok, I'm kidding, Congress does more than that - they send thousands of soldiers to unjust wars, kill civilians in other countries, and sell out to whichever industry offers the highest bid.

Thoughtful article. Thank you.

There is something gravely wrong when the President of the United States comes out a few days after major disasters and says, don't worry go out shopping, it will keep our economy strong.

I am also disturbed on all the stories about how to tell your kids Santa is broke. Are you all sick? What's wrong with saying the truth that times are hard, people/kids are homeless and hungry and Santa will only bring something small this year? Most young kids I know, at this point, would be running to the toy box for toys to give to kids who have nothing or if they are a bit older will start packing up food or clothes for the homeless.

Teaching children about the real meaning of Cristmas to give them good moral values is not the only and not the best way. Just teach then
The Golden Rule. It is the oldest and the most simple to understand.

If you want to know the real cause of this mad consumerism go to congressman RON PAUL's website
you know who is behind collecting all this money
and who the citizen's are enslaved of their wishes

Fridaolay: "Those shoppers behaved like savage animals after a prey, and it shows that deep down, even in the 21st Century, there are people who have not quite evolved into human beings. Instead, their basic instinct is no different than a caveman."

G. K. Chestertom once wrote that original sin was the only part of Christian belief that could be objectively proven. What happened at that Wal-Mart is just further evidence for that ancient concept...

Reverend: Your commentary requests a return to common sense and conservative financial policy. Something that if you listen to CNN is contrary to that being sought by the the marketplace. The same marketplace who's past policies have all but bankrupted the nations and citizens of the world.

To be fiscally responsible and bring the spirituality back to Christmas and all of the associated religious holidays sounds like a much better idea to me

csintala79- you were totally on target. where once we equated achievement with deeds, accomplishments and works, now we associate it with how much we can buy. Doing an honest day's work, providing for your family, instilling real values in your children, etc. those were values we don't seem to care about anymore.

then there is the ridiculous "war on Christmas" arguemnt, with an equally values challenged Bill O'Reilly complaining about stores that say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. wonder if he'll call for a boycott of Walmart over the trampling of christmas values?

cgallaway2000 wrote, "So, for those who don't own a credit card...good for you. But don't complain about your lack of credit history. I have several credit cards. I use 2 of them (some stores don't take my preferred card company, so I use the other). I pay off my balance each month. I only buy what I can afford. I monitor my income/outflow of cash and don't spend more than I make. I just happen to use the credit card and pay it off every month (no interest accrued). So I have this long credit history for when I need a big loan (home, car)."

My response to that is that if you're not buying things you can't afford, why enrich a middle man who interjects himself between you and your purchase in order to extract fees? It's because the system punishes you if you don't. Good for you that you pay your balance every month, but that isn't the point. You have to allow them to leech from you in order to earn their stamp of approval. That's just wrong. It's a form of financial blackmail.

The sad truth about this story is that afterwards the tv and radio shows were up in arms, talking about how the store should have had better security, etc. Yet no one was talking about how the 'people' should have had better humanity. We absolve ourselves of all responsibility in everything we do. It's down right depressing.

Those shoppers behaved like savage animals after a prey, and it shows that deep down, even in the 21st Century, there are people who have not quite evolved into human beings. Instead, their basic instinct is no different than a caveman.

What is our primary value that prompts the foreign masses to desire to come to our shores? Well, it isn't freedom of religion or anything like that. Our fundamental value is that for those that work hard and apply themselves, there is no limit to what they may achieve, and the corollary, or what they can buy. Consumerism is our liturgy and Mammon is our god. Actually, if this is all we have, then we have no values. Work, in itself, is not a value; it is a term for a physical activity. Fundamentally it is the term for what results when energy is transferred from one object to another. Working hard only means that more energy applied. When work is qualified by such terms as honestly, cooperatively, responsibly, etc., it assumes the nature of a value. After all, for example, one can work hard and deviously, dishonestly or irresponsibly. The recent results of studies on cheating by students reflect the value most adhered to in our culture, i.e., the ends justify the means, and anything that brings financial rewards for use in more shopping is good. Thorstein Veblen wrote all about this over a century ago in "The Theory of the Leisure Class." It was he who coined the term "conspicuous consumption," which, while often used in the 60s, has virtually disappeared from current parlance. It is a turgid, but good read that pretty much lays it all out in deflating our pomposity.

I don't understand how a person could be trampled to death and no one is charged with the crime. How can you step on a person and just keep going? I don't know how anyone could continue shopping after having stepped on another person to get a cheap TV.

This year, we should all take the money we'd spend on presents and donate it to non profits who support those less fortunate than us. This Christmas greed is just getting downright ugly and it's a poison to our society.

It used to be that you were considered more responsible and trustworthy if you didn't live on credit. But without those bank fees the finance market would be a moneymaker. So they promote it.

It isn't just the advertisers who are to blame. I think there is enough free will left in this world that when you bust down a door and trample a human being you should have enough humanity left in your soul to stop and help him. That mob had no patience, no politeness, and not a shred of decency.

There is too much stuff, but I do not know what to do about it.

We can't get rid of our cluttered world of "stuff." We must learn how to deal with it.

We must learn how to cope with all this stuff; we must learn personal self-control, in trying to cram more and more things into the finite spaces of our closets, attics, basements, and garages. In a way, it is like trying to control your weight by eating a moderate and healthy diet.

But these solutions are personal, that each of must acheive through our own experience, and insights.

Christmas season, when we all want to buy gifts, and when the stores and vendors all want to sell us stuff, just heightens all of these problems of too much stuff, which is actually a problem all of the time, not just Christmas.

One thing about sales that I have learned: if something very nice is on sale, you don't have to jump to buy it immediately, since it will be on sale again soon. Everything is always on sale at one time or another. So what if you miss a sale on something you don't really need? There will always be another one.

The guy got trampled to death because individuals in the crowd reacted to the sale, thoughtlessly and reflexively, with compulsive aggression, grasping at the thing on sale, dangled before them. But then WalMart also set up the scene too, by thoughtlessly over-hyping its sale, and over-working the crowd.

But as I said at the beginning, I can see what the problem is, but I do not know what to do about it.

So, for those who don't own a credit card...good for you. But don't complain about your lack of credit history. I have several credit cards. I use 2 of them (some stores don't take my preferred card company, so I use the other). I pay off my balance each month. I only buy what I can afford. I monitor my income/outflow of cash and don't spend more than I make. I just happen to use the credit card and pay it off every month (no interest accrued). So I have this long credit history for when I need a big loan (home, car).

With respect to the article...yes, it is ironic that those shopping to show they believe in Christ are engageing in very un-Christ-like behavior. Consumerism is not evil, it is not blessed. It is what it is. It can be bad, if people take it too far, as they did in this case. It can be good, like when people buy things for those in need. It can be neutral, like when you buy your own needs. Point being, it is not the consumerism that is the issue, it is the people that is the issue. Perhaps the stores help us go overboard with commercials that promote a sense of urgency? (Wasn't Wal-mart that had the commercial with the people breaking in from the roofs?) Also, the stores have a lack of security. If I were this person's family, I would sue for millions. They (Wal-Mart) knowingly created a situation where things could get out of hand, and had before. They were negligent in their duty of public safety.

Finally, to those that don't believe that not going out into all the hype is a way out...No body is saying not to purchase anything, just not on days (or at companies) where an unsafe atmosphere is created and safety is ignored.

the term "consumer society" has always bothered me. We've been defined by that for so many years and our economy reflects it. From as marketing to retailers to banks and lenders- all across the board its all about "stuff." Convincing us to buy more of it- not make it, or work for it or use it for charity- just buy it because you nee more stuff. when your entire economy depends on consuming, eventually you consume yourself entirely. It's a house of cards and eventually depends not on a healthy industry and jobs economy, but one that depends on convincing people to spend what little they have. We convince people to buy when they have nothing left to spend.

It's no wonder someone was killed in a mob store scene. Christmas, supposed to be one of the holiest times of the year has been morally and religiously eviscerated to become an economic engine for Chinese manufactured crap. the economy! Jobs! How can these people put food on their table unless we go shopping??!!! I think the proof is in the pudding. Consumerism got us here because it was built on junk. Without a solid foundation of industry and jobs this very shaky structure collapsed.

And we let it- we bought into he whole gotta have a flat screen tv with a vengeance. That's some vision of American Christianity- busting through the doors, running over some poor guy doing a job to feed his family. Then getting pissed because the store was shut down after the death. (You might remember that Rev. Beal- all those people professing to believe in Christ trampling fellow human beings to do their Christmas shopping. I don't see any redemption there.)

First things first....
Thank You Susan for saying what a lot of us were thinking. And a note for "Chip"'s comment, I'm with you 1000%!!
For years I have lived with no credit cards, only bought what I could afford. I have NOT purchased gifts with credit...EVER (in my life). I do not feel sorry for the people who complain come March that they are still paying off debt from Christmas gifts.
My credit SUCKS....because I believe you should only spend what you have. For years now I have complained (while no one seemed to listen) about "Credit Descrimination"!!!!!
Because as "chip" said if you don't owe more than you make, the banks look at you as if you are a bigger credit risk than someone that already owes more than they could make in a lifetime. How is that possible??
I have even been turned down for employment due to my Lack of credit history...this is discrimination, I don;t care how you look at it. Because I'm frugal with my money & don;t believe in alot of debt I should NOT BE HIRED!!!
I was told by an employer that it showed I was flaky?
I have been employed in the same industry for 28years! The least amount of time at any employer was 8 years. I am NOT a flake! I just don't believe in spending more than you have....what is wrong with this?
Why do so many people think they have to give outrageous gifts that they can not afford?
Something is VERY WRONG.....I use to believe that hard work & good value's counted for something...now it only counts for bad credit!
I only pray that I will see my hard work & good values pay off in the end.

«I think it goes way beyond just Americans behaving poorly over a cheap Chinese TV....it goes to the bedrock of our society.»

That "cheap" tv is made in China because of the greedy labour unions who are the scourge of America. Witness the imminent demise of the big 3.

The "bedrock" of our society is blessed capitalism. If they make a 300" tv and I want one I will buy one. I don't need some religious fanatic telling me what I need and don't need.

Besides, religion is simply an imaginary construct; man created god in his own image and it's all a bunch of hocus-pocus mumbo-jumbo.

«We are no longer an essentially "British colony". »

You think?

How big a tv may I have?

How big a tv is OK with you?

Do I need a tv at all?

Do *you* need a computer?

Do you need to write this ridiculous column?

A memorial fund in this young man's honor should be set up. Wal-Mart should contribute heavily to it!

Amen, Susan! The economic/shopping implications are symptoms(signs)of our moral bankruptcy and the effort to fill up our empty soul-space with more and more "stuff." It's shoved in our faces 24/7 by the ad industry, whose primary purpose is to stir up the greed and covetousness within the human heart--read S-I-N. Unfortunately, as someone has said, one cannot withdraw from an account without first making some deposits.
We are, I am sorry to say, truly and sadly BANKRUPT and in need of a BAILOUT. Unfortunately we must first admit we have a problem (Repent) and turn around. Only the grace of the Living God through Jesus Christ can accomplish that.

Rev. Mike Beall
Linn Grove, IN

I am appalled by the terrible events at the Wal Mart, but I think this whole consumerism goes much deeper than this terrible occurance.

I question our entire economic system. The American economy is 2/3 based on consumer spending. If we don't spend continuously we have a failing economy, loss of jobs and income and it is global not just national.

Then on the other hand we have storage sheds being built by the thousands, most of them stuffed to the gills, we have garages that are so packed no car can be parked in them, basements that are stuffed, attics that are stuffed, and spare rooms that are stuffed. We have barges being towed all over the oceans filled with refuse, and looking for a country that is stupid enough or desperate enough to let the garbage be dumped on their soil and we have immense landfills over flowing with stuff, we have re-sale shops that are overflowing and we have environmental problems that are terrible from too much stuff.

Now it seems that in view of these problems, an economy based on continual endless, forever consumer spending is sort of insane.

Now the real question that all of us on this planet might pause to consider is what could we do instead? That is the real issue, what kind of world could be created that doesn't involve this kind of insanity? What we would do with ourselves, how would our world look? As the quote from Rainer Maria Rilke goes: "be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart & dreams, try to love the questions themselves".

I'm not particularly materialistic, but I don't think consumerism is inherently bad. The problem is that Americans have been convinced to live far beyond their means, buying everything on credit, and then being in debt up to their eyeballs to modern day loan sharks. How many times a day do we see commercials for credit cards, presenting them as status symbols and the key to social status?

The whole system is geared to favor people willing to put themselves in debt. I don't believe in credit cards. I don't have any and I don't want any. I have a Visa debit card and that's it. If I don't have the money to buy something, I can't, and I think that's as it should be. However, as a result, I have no credit history and I'm punished for my frugality when buying anything where I have to get a loan, like a house or car. When I bought my townhouse four years ago I ended up with an interest rate of almost 10% at a time when everyone who makes a habit of living on credit was getting 6% or less, even though I paid 20% down when most other people at the time weren't putting any money down at all. How can we encourage people to live responsibly and within their means when we allow a system designed specifically to encourage just the opposite?

The whole economy shafts the frugal and hardworking in favor of corporate greed and gambling on the stock market. CEOs, corporate management, and shareholders reap all the rewards while the workers on whose backs those profits are made haven't seen any real growth in their income in twenty years or more. We reward people with money for having money instead of those who work hard every day. It's a system of institutionalized exploitation where the typical worker not only breaks their back in the mine but has no choice but to shop at the company store in the company town where in order to enjoy the fruits of their labors they have to go into debt to the very system that they built with their sweat and labor.

Remember when banks used to reward those who entrusted them with their deposits? Now through ridiculous endless fees we end up paying for the privilege of letting other people get rich with our money.

God forbid we complain about the inequity of the system or we'll immediately be shouted down by the moneyed with cries of "socialism!" It's disgraceful. If workers were given their fair share of the wealth they help create we wouldn't have these problems, but there's no incentive for the powerful to change a system that allows them to get rich off exploited labor and then get even richer loaning them back the money that should have rightfully been theirs in the first place.

The people who trampled that Walmart worker, disgraceful as that was, are not the real problem. They're just a symptom of something much bigger and much uglier.

My sentiments exactly. A man's death due to overzealous and heartless shoppers was a shocking event. I have observed in some people that consumerism is a disease, akin to gambling and alcoholism. It becomes an obsession, and they just 'got to have it'- even if, as in this case, it means trampling upon an innocent worker in distress.

Anderson2:We are so politically correct and culturally sensitive I wonder if I might be allowed to perform my naked snake dance of Thanksgiving on the table-top of my favorite restaurant? Why not....it's MY religious belief and you wouldn't object to that would you?.
****************************************************************************************************
Object? I'd buy a ticket!

I think it goes way beyond just Americans behaving poorly over a cheap Chinese TV....it goes to the bedrock of our society.

We are no longer an essentially "British Colony". The majority of our population does not share those "old time" cultural values. When they arrive here they behave exactly like they behaved "back home"...the "home" they were so eager to leave...?

I have spent nearly 30 years living abroad in the military and was always amazed when a crowd stampeded and killed someone...and I would always mention how that sort of thing didn't happen back home. Well now it does.

We also have armed soldiers in the airports...just like "them".

We also had UN Election Inspectors monitoring the second Bush-selection...just like "them".

Maybe we have finally become "them".

We are so politically correct and culturally sensitive I wonder if I might be allowed to perform my naked snake dance of Thanksgiving on the table-top of my favorite restaurant? Why not....it's MY religious belief and you wouldn't object to that would you?.

The gift of charity is always a great idea. What would be nice is if the charity one was volunteering for, say, in honor of another individual en lieu of a traditional gift, would send a card or note of some sort to the person who had forgone said gift so that they know the giftee actually made the effort and that it was appreciated. Can anyone follow this rambling? Yes, it would cost a few cents for the card and postage, but I think it would add a personal touch for both parties involved. It would make the gift that much more real.

Many years ago, I made a deal with all my friends and relatives that we would not buy each other gifts for Christmas or any other event around that time of year. The only exceptions are small children; and when they are old enough to understand the Deal, they too can choose to sign on. The Deal has been spreading, and I recommend it to all.

It's not really a matter of avoiding moral bankruptcy; it's a matter of living well, and thus rejecting compulsory consumerism. Although I imagine for a religious person, separating Jesus's birthday celebration from the horrors of the mall and its endless, mindless junk could be an important religious act as well.

Sure, there will be problems if people don't buy piles of stuff, but we need a new economy anyway. A post-consumerist economy.

CCNL:

True, the immediate cause of that poor guy's death was lack of crowd control, and yes, Sprawl-Mart has a right to sell $800 plasma tv's. Although if they hired extra security, they wouldn't be able to sell those plasma tv's for $800. In case you weren't aware, one of the ways they keep their prices low is by minimizing the amount of money they spend on payroll.

But what kind of mind-set does it take to knock down the doors of a store and run over not only the person standing in the door, but also the rescuers trying to save his life in order to get a plastic box full of wires and microprocessors? Maybe it's just me, but I can't imagine being in such a frenzy to buy something that I would be willing to trample someone for it, or not even notice that I was walking on someone. And I say that as a woman who, in her younger days, was known to have gotten sufficiently frenzied at concerts to throw her panties at certain performers.

I agree that running people over for a 50" TV is insane. I agree that busting down a door and then refusing to leave a store where a man just died is selfish and inhumane.

But I don't agree that Black Friday is wrong. Keep in mind that there are people (the 99% who work safely on this day) who depend on their retail paycheck to put food on the table. The increased volume of the holiday season also create opportunities for additional jobs so that single mom who wants to put away for her kid's college can work some extra hours because of increased need. Is it Christan to boycott them or shun them and take away their source of income? I say patronize the retailers who do it right, who take care of their employees (such as Sears who pays the salaries of employees called up to military duty). Don't shun the entire retail experience because of the reckless behavior of a store I prefer not to shop at.

We don't give presents in my family, we give money to charity and buy toys for the kids, that's it. We go to church on Christmas Eve, in the midst of the 900 family stops my husband and I make over the course of 2 days, we stop and praise God and remember the birth of our Savior.

But I still bought a coffee pot at 40% at Macy's for my new house on Friday and was rung up by a woman who volunteers in the local public schools, thanks to the flexibility her employer allows her.

I agree America as a whole has gotten more greedy and less focused on the right priorities. However, let's not evoke the unintended consequences of goodwill by forgoing retail altogether.

Thanks for the good article. Couldn't agree more.

We are viewing big screenses et al as the way Gollum viewed The One Ring as "THE PRECIOUS". Do we hug our plasma big screenses cardboard box when we get home and say "oh precious"? Would we kill anyone who tried to lay their hands on it?

Obviously a store employee (RIP)was killed in trying to control the "door busting" crowd from possessing it. And wes trampled right over him.

Remember when we were young and Mom and the neighbor lady would go out shopping on this day. They always said it was packed at the mall and sometimes some of the sale items were gone and had to be purchased for a few dollars more at another store or at a later date. But it was a good day.

But it was different. The retailers didn't advertise "free gold" in an attempt to have the most shocking video clip on the evening news. And no one was trampled at the door.

Lastly, from a common sense point something important needs to be looked at. Often times wes have to sit out in the cold overnight in order to get in line. This often involves sitting out in the cold for several hours over night. Me has heard of some people bringing a small bottle of alcohol (and me sure drugs are involved also) with them in order to help stay warm overnight.

So, is it possible that by the time the store is ready to open in the morning wes are dealing with a mob full of people that are delirious and tired from standing outside and being up all night.

Is it also possible that beside being tired, delirious, and desperate some of these people are also drunk.

Me wouldn't want to have to control that crowd.

Me heard of other stores where employees went outside to hand out tickets and were mobbed and had to go running back into the store for safety.

Maybe we need to destroy the current version of Black Friday (The Door Busters) for the good of all mankind.

P.S. We need to stop "worshiping" Christ and start following his example of the way he lived.

Give us a break!!! Tis a free country last time I checked. And if Wal-Mart wants to sell inexpensive TV's (and provide jobs for their employees and the producers of said TVs) and that is a great thing to do.

This poor man died not because of "consumerism" but from lack of crowd control by Wal-Mart and the local police. Most businesses and police departments require lines to form outside of stores, concerts, and sporting events to prevent such an incident.

But I just HAVE to get that latest gizmo for my kid! If I don't, my kid won't love me anymore, all of the Joneses who got the gizmo for their kids will think I'm a chump, and my spouse will think I'm not worthy of them! Plus my kid's friends will think that s/he is a chump for not having the gizmo!

My religion teaches that my relationship to my kid and my spouse is paramount! That Wal-Mart worker who died will surely understand that I am a good christian acting according to my faith!

And I am a good American. I am just trying to help the economy and get the gizmo at the best price!

Isn't that what America's all about? Isn't that what Christmas is all about?

Now that I feel superior to all of the rubes who couldn't get the gizmo for their kids, you're ruining it for me!

Susan, you're such a killjoy!

Though it is a few days late to spread the word about the movement to change Black Friday into Buy Nothing Day, scroll to the bottom of this website for the Buy Nothing Christmas information: http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd

I agree with you 100% on this issue Mrs. Thistlethwaite. And it hits a little closer to home this year because rampant over-consumption is the primary reason why my parents-in-law are divorcing this year. Oil isn't the only thing this country is addicted to - 'stuff' is turning out to be just as controlling of us.

I am not a devout Christian, but it frustrates me to observe the steady dilution of some of the core values.

I've come to see the holiday we know as Christmas as mostly commerce in the temple. Some of the "spirit" survives, but it has been consumed by a "den of robbers". What once marked the arrival of someone with a profound message has become largely the foundation of our economy, and by not embracing it as such, we adversely affect our money machine and thus our comfortable lifestyle.

I know it may raise some hackles to say this, but I suggest that Christians stop celebrating X-mas and remember Christmas.

Whew... feels good to get that out.

It's a sad day when we value things over people. A nice way to start this advent season is to click on the short video at http://adventconspiracy.org/. Have a blessed Christmas season.