Honestly

First: Thanksgiving was great! I am still enjoying my time off from work.

Now, what I came on here to blog about:Black Friday at Wal-Mart in NY. Honestly, if someone is so desperate to get a deal on some piece of crap at Wal-Mart, then perhaps they shouldn't spend any money on crap, at all.

We all know about the attacks in Mumbai, and truly, that was a devastating attack for many people who were simply in the wrong place and time. Is it all that surprising? No. Not really. India has its enemies, as does the US and UK. Sad, yes. Surprising, no.

Somehow I am more horrified by the fact that a) there were 12 shoppers at this Wal-Mart who literally took the front doors of the store off the hinges before storming in, b) the first person to knock down that worker could have helped the guy up, but instead kept going, c) when the shoppers heard that the store would close for a few hours because of the death, there were reports of people saying "But I've been here all night!" d) nothing in that store was worth the life of an employee, and yet e) stores like Wal-Mart want to create a fervor about their sales to boost their bottom lines and please their stockholders, and f) everyone at that store bought into it, lock, stock and barrel, regardless of the consequences.

There is no excuse for this, and I hope they are able to identify the people who took the life of a 34 year-old, just to save some money.

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My family has never been party to the Black Friday craziness. I have ventured out on the following days just to see what's on sale, but usually I end up buying nothing, because it's nothing I care that much about anyway, so life goes on as usual. I wonder if those who do line up the night before to save $50 realize how crazy it is. I know some people do it as tradition, but really, I think there are better traditions to partake in, which is what the real Thanksgiving is all about. Yes, it ushers in the holiday shopping season, but the holidays are about traditions, not getting as much as you can for as little money possible.