Saturday, November 29, 2008

Consumerism Kills 

It did yesterday, at any rate. At a Wal-Mart on Long Island, the poor temp sap who got saddled with the task of opening the doors at 5 am was trampled to death by the huddled masses who had been waiting for their opportunity to shop at the most bargain prices of the year. The crowds then further trampled (not fatally) other shoppers and workers who attempted to come to the aid of the fallen man. Then, when store managers announced they would be closing due to the death, those shoppers who had made it into the store angrily responded that they had been waiting for hours and were not going to leave. And they kept shopping.

Meanwhile, a Toys R Us in Palm Desert was the scene of a shoot out that began near the registers but extended into the electronics section. Apparently two women "broke into a brawl," then the two men accompanying them got into the gunfight. The story relates that although they were near the registers, no one had any purchases with them, and one of the gun wielders did attempt to open the register just before the other one shot him. Store representatives and police are stating that the battle was not related to Black Friday. Okay, maybe they weren't fighting over who would get the last Wii Fit in the store, but it seems just as likely that it might have begun with a plan to target the cash cow on the biggest shopping day of the year.

I'm so glad I stayed home yesterday.

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Posted by Rogueslayer at 7:57 AM