Living in a material world

By:

Posted: 12/1/08

The materialism of people is astounding.

The day after Thanksgiving is notorious as a day of crazy sales and crazier customers and is otherwise known as "Black Friday" (though it really should be called "Black and Blue Friday" since you're covered in bruises when leaving).

Black Friday is the clearest illuminator of just how much material items mean to people despite whatever they might say.

Wal-Mart employee Jdimytai Damour was trampled to death in Long Island as customers stampeded over him in order to save a couple bucks for items they didn't really need.

For those who have never experienced Black Friday, here's an idea of how it goes.

1- Wake up at about 3:30 a.m. or just never go to sleep from the night before.

2 - Go to the store of your choice and wait in line in the freezing cold for an hour and a half (or longer).

3 - Make friends with the people around you and discuss how everyone else is so materialistic even though you're in line with them.

4 - You begin to notice that the line begins to move closer to the door as opening time draws nearer.

5 - It's opening time. The once long line of people has now condensed into a mob in front of the doors. Your friends are now your enemies, as they might grab the last Xbox 360 you wanted. It's them or you - and you're a survivor.

6 - You tackle a little old lady buying 70-cent prune juice who is blocking your aisle, then sweep-trip a pregnant woman making her way to the cribs.

7 - You finally make it to your Xbox 360 after punching out a little boy with glasses and a lisp, then start to fight your way through the throngs of people to the checkout area.

8 - The checkout line wraps around the entire store, so you decide to pretend to read The National Enquirer at the end of one of the checkout lanes and slowly move into line.

9 - Spend the next 10 minutes getting out of the parking lot and finally arrive at home - or repeat steps 6-8 at other stores.

The materialistic society we live in brings out the worst in people. Is it worth a man's life in order to save a few dollars on something you probably don't really need? Any reasonable person would say absolutely not, but clearly that's not what came to fruition last Friday in Long Island.