A Moritorium on Merchandise
I know this will be anathema to the hearts and minds of retailers, but I think we should all go cold turkey on Christmas shopping this year.
I understand the economy is in the crapper, and people are feeling the strain. But trampling the Wal-Mart employee to death on Black Friday moves this to a whole different dimension. And when shoppers were notified that the store would be closing because someone died, they indignantly said they had been lined up since the previous morning, and then continued shopping.
Stop for a minute. Take a breath. People were lining up since Thanksgiving morning, missing the holiday altogether, to get a good price on a flat screen. People disregarded the loss of a human life — that they were responsible for taking — because they had to buy something to show their love to someone.
I have found the merchandising of Christmas appalling for many years. And it’s not getting any better. We are the only ones who can stem the tide of this lunacy. This year, why don’t you find a non-retail way to show your peeps you love them? Or to celebrate the spirit of Christ, or whatever the holiday means to you. Because some poor Wal-Mart employee lost his life because we’re all believing that we’re not really loved unless we get loot.