Wow some people are taking their bargain shopping a little too serious.
An employee at WalMart is trampled to death when 2000 shoppers push in the front of the store, ripping the doors off of their hinges. Seriously? Is getting the latest Tickle Me Elmo, or whatever is hot this year, worth that? I am not really sure what the hot item of the year is. I am so out of the loop.
But what sort of bargain would be worth taking a human life? And what sort of bargain would be worth putting your own life in jeopardy as well. Because if the mass of people aren’t stopping for an employee, they aren’t stopping for you either.
I have never gone out bargain shopping on Black Friday. Mostly because I hate crowds people. Yes, I really do. I hate shopping with huge crowds. I hate people fighting over items. Every year there are fist fights that break out at these door buster sales too. And honestly there is never any item that I want that badly.
I realize that not all places are like this. Some stores do not have throngs of people pushing their way in. Do you go out shopping on Black Friday?
Personally, I prefer to wait for Cyber Monday. No crowds. No danger of being trampled. The worst thing that could happen is my scrolling finger might get tired.
I did go out to Black Friday shop, along with 2 other moms. This is more of a “Friday fun day with no kids” time for us, so we can only stand back and laugh as other brawl over a 32″ TV. My usual deal is I will pay the girls $50 to NOT go to Walmart. The deals are only $5 off anywhere else, and the attitudes are not worth it.
The latest craze? Bakugan. They are 1.5″ marbles that transform to monsters when a hidden magnet rolls over a metal card. I called stores for 3 days before finding one that had them. 6 of my kids want this thing, and apparently you need 3 to play the game. This means finding 18 packs. I looked like the one stocking up to sell on Ebay until I showed people the kids wish lists. I refuse to buy or sell these things on Ebay. It’s just ruins the spirit of Christmas for me to charge someone 4x the cost just so they can give their child what the asked from Santa.
Comment by Claire — December 1, 2008 @ 8:59 am
You know, I don’t know if this is really a sample of people all over the country, or if it unfortunately is a sample of the people who live in the NY tri-state area. That mall where the tragedy occurred is only a few minutes away from my parents home, where my children and I were spending Thanksgiving weekend. The place I grew up, and the same place I could not wait to escape from. The area is a very materialistic place–yes even though the demographic of the people shopping at that particular store are not exactly what you think of when you think materialistic. My husband likes to joke that you can smell money in the air as soon as you hit LI. It makes me sick to my stomach whenever I visit and see the disgrace that people who barely have two nickles to rub together, are wearing UGG boots and carrying the latest Louis Vuitton bag and driving their BMWs. Hardly any of them can truly afford those items, but they have them anyway.
Do you really think the people standing in that Walmart line at that particular mall (btw, that is a dangerous mall and not a stranger to crime) could afford the flat screen TV’s of whatever it was that they HAD to get their hands on at 5 o’clock in the morning? I’ll happily bet you 50 bucks that they can’t. But, LI is a meat market where everyone must have the best, latest, item, the pricier, the better. Affordability, or whether or not they even need the item, be damned.
That 34 yr old’s death was looked upon as a inconvenience to those crazed shoppers. Somehow, we must bring back the meaning of Christmas. We should all start at home. For me, it starts with raising my children outside of NY.
Comment by CathyC — December 1, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
I think what you say is very true, and unfortunetly, it’s not just Long Island, but everywhere in our country now. Everyone HAS to have EVERYTHING, and if they can’t have it, they will steal it, or sell drugs to children to get the money, or whatever needs to be done. Our society is in such a bad situation.
We DO need to bring back the meaning of Christmas, I totally agree, BUT I think we need to go even furhter, and say WE NEED TO BRING BACK people just being humans and people taking care of each other… I think that would be a great lesson for all of us, starting with our children.
Comment by Connor's Mom — December 1, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
Connor’s Mom, you are right. We need to bring back HUMAN BEINGS!!! I was at my parents house (on LI) until yesterday morning, and everyone was talking about the tragedy, and do you know that not one person I talked to referred to the shoppers as human? Everyone called them ANIMALS. All weekend long they were called animals. Sadly, too many people are a stone’s throw from being referred to as animals.
Also, I love what you wrote: that people should be taking care of each other. Most people I know do not know how to do that. They are too self absorbed to even think about taking care of others, not to mention they feel no moral obligation to help others. That is the saddest thing of all, I think.
Comment by CathyC — December 1, 2008 @ 1:07 pm
I was reading about this and the Toy’R'Us incident and thought…”Wow, that’s what Christmas is all about”. Seriously, what are we as a society teaching our children? Thankfully, we parents can counter all the negatives by giving our children something they’ll always treasure…our time.
I’ve been diagnosed with something that is incurable and home school my kids to spend time with them (as well as teach them more than what the schools around here do). If parents would just turn off the TV and play a board game with their kids, turn off the computer and talk with their kids about their dreams, take time to read a book with them, share a joke…this world would be better off.
Children learn what they see. If we as parents show them the joy in a homemade gift, or the happiness in that card they worked so hard to decorate….we in turn see the grace this season offers.
I don’t have a Homes and Garden house. My kids decorate the house and tree with construction paper ornaments and colored hallowed out eggs. It looks like a kid decorated, but it looks fantastic. Every year my kids get excited about making the decorations and really get excited that I take a picture of the tree every time.
It’s the simple things that make life so grand. Maybe we should show the retail stores and the toys shops that what they have isn’t what our children NEED. What they NEED is for us to be with them. I say we show the country what humanity really is…giving of self for others.
Just my two cents.
Comment by JaimeF — December 2, 2008 @ 12:55 am
This is exactly why I live under a rock and LIKE it.
Comment by Brigitte — December 2, 2008 @ 6:38 am
JaimeF, beautiful. I wish there were more parents like you. My parents did what you described (except home school) and my husband and I do the same for our children. Everyone is happier that way. I have 2 huge paintings holding a very dominant position on my dining room wall–both painted by my two toddlers, so you can imagine what the rest of my house looks like. You gave me an idea, maybe magazines should start showing houses decorated with construction projects the household children are proud of. Seriously, what could be better?
Stay well.
Comment by CathyC — December 2, 2008 @ 8:24 am