Savage Consumers
Source: An employee was trampled to death by over-zealous shoppers who literally broke down the doors at a Long Island Wal-Mart on "Black Friday," while four other shoppers were injured during the stampede and taken to the hospital.According to news reports, shoppers screamed, shoved and jockeyed for position while waiting for the doors to open.
As the part-time stock clerk approached the doors at 5 AM, the force of the crowd physically broke through the doors and mowed down the unfortunate man. Ignoring employee pleas to clear out and exit the store, shoppers rushed about, grabbing the most sought after items on their lists.
Visibly upset employees described the scene as "chaotic" and shoppers as "savages".
I found myself very disturbed by this news report. Some questions immediately come to mind.
I wonder, on Christmas morning, will the recipient of those highly sought, hard fought after Black Friday purchased Wal-Mart gifts, have a clue about their true cost?
Will the giver of those gifts really feel good about giving them? And, what is 70% off a person's life worth?
Was this event just a fluke, an isolated incidence of unprepared employees and over-enthusiastic shoppers?
Is Wal-Mart to blame for not having proper security measures in place? Or is this just the tip of the iceberg, suggesting something has gone seriously askew in our value system?
Competition is so endemic to our culture, consumption has become a competitive sport. We've become "guerilla" consumers, stalking our "prey," engaging in strange rituals that commence in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving.
Some especially dedicated consumers actually cut short the time they spent with their families on Thanksgiving so they could be first in line when the doors opened at 5 AM.
Am I the only one who thinks something is out of whack here? Does anybody else feel seriously manipulated by the whole holiday shopping craziness? Remember the mortgage mess we're in?
Remember how we all fell for the notion that real estate prices could only go up, so we'd better get in while we could no matter whether we could afford it or not? We could always refinance later. Look how that turned out.
I have a feeling those precious 50 inch flat-screen TV's will still be around next week or even after the holidays and probably at even more reduced prices.
The Chinese are busy turning those puppies out as fast as we can consume them. I don't think we need to worry about a shortage of supply. But I do think this is an opportunity to reflect on the mindset that produced the kind of tragedy that happened last week. More...