season of goodwill

[realthog]

The BBC reports what has to be one of the most repulsive stories around at the moment. Here's the start of it:

US stores lure hard-up shoppers

US stores have opened early and offered steep discounts to encourage consumers to part with their cash as the Christmas shopping season kicks off.

Crowds of shoppers turned up at dawn to snare the best deals.

A worker died and at least three people were injured after being trampled by a crowd of shoppers at a Wal-Mart in the New York suburbs.

Season of greed, more like -- pure, unadulterated, and now murderous. And people ask me why I loathe Christmas so much . . .

Comments

[kaolinfire.livejournal.com]

It seems like this happens every year. Stupid, stupid people.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

It's programmed insanity. Not the only example of it either: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS112587+13-Mar-2008+PRN20080313

I used to live round the corner from that annual event, typically described on Atlanta tv stations in ways that suggested it was cute.

[hutch0.livejournal.com]

Some of the West End stores opened at 7.30 this morning, for much the same reason, I guess. No casualties.

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

"I loathe Christmas so much . . ."

Same page.

[teacher-bear.livejournal.com]

That is just awful. I hate the greed stampedes. Never go myself. BTW, I thought that there weren't any WalMarts in NY. Obviously I got that wrong...

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

Again, it is inescapable how alienated I am from the 'culture' of the nation to which I belong. I cannot comprehend any of this.

But then, all over the internet people are describing their Thanksgiving as eating a 48,000 calorie meal and slumping in front of the television to watch football and / or fight with their relatives.

None of this applies to us. Thank goodness. Which has a great deal to do with WHY we live here.

Love, C.

[monissaw.livejournal.com]

You might appreciate this:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.humor.best-of-usenet/browse_thread/thread/89d4a24299f1eb48


I like the idea of Christmas (although I'd like it even more if it was in winter) but not the usual approach to it. So I try to do things that make it less commercial for me (I shop at the local businesses rather than the big boxes, buy cards from a charity shop or make them myself). Last year I managed to persuade my family to go to the city park for lunch instead of spending all morning making salads to eat at home. Of course, they still made up the bloody salads and brought them to the park. This year, we're talking of making something simple to take to the park and keeping the Big Meal for the evening.

[tomaq.livejournal.com]

I think the guilt-driven waste that often seems to accompany Xmas is an unacknowledged part of the reason people get depressed. I think subconsciously a lot of us realize that our way of life is not (yeah, it's a cliche but get used to it) sustainable.

I rarely regret things I give, but some of the things I get just make me wonder what people are thinking. (Family secrets buried herein)

Fortunately, we in the U.S. just elected an Islamoterrorsocialist (and a EUROPEAN socialist at that), so all of this will change pretty soon.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Just saw this bit of news today. It is truly disgusting.