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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Capitalism
How capitalism ruined Christmas
Black Friday marks the true beginning of the holiday shopping season. Ah, yes. The day that American consumers dream of, setting alarms to wake up extra early, camping out at the door or their local Walmart, all to score a deal on a giant screen TV or some other coveted item no one really needs.
We recently met some friends for dessert on Thanksgiving day. As some were perusing the Black Friday deals, a harrowing story was told.
A few years ago, they were waiting at the local big box store for the games section to be unwrapped, marking that the fight to grab Black Friday bargains had begun. A woman holding an infant let her hunting and gathering desires supersede her mothering instincts, and once the plastic wrap had been cut, threw her baby into the air, diving toward the games. Board games, mind you. Like Scrabble or Monopoly. That infant was instantly trampled as everyone rushed to get to the merchandise. They had to close the store. I’m not certain what happened to the baby.
You see, we are primed to chomp at the bit to save a little money. Advertisements reel us in with the promise of a deal, all if you can get to the store early enough to grab the limited supply available. It’s like runt syndrome. Some may call it FOMO: fear of…
