People

I ventured out of my cornfield friday. Yes, I participated in the Black Friday sales. Unlike many people I made it home safely. A temp employee was killed, and several injured, at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream on Long Island. Two men shot and killed each other at a Toys R Us in Palm Desert, California. While the latter event may not have been Black Friday related the shoppers were still in danger.

What really gets me about the Wal-Mart incident is that the shoppers were angry and uncooperative when told to leave the store. A man had just died and they didn't care. It was more important to save a few bucks on that item they couldn't afford any other time. Here is a thought...if you can't afford it any other time maybe you shouldn't own it. Instead of getting that 32" flat panel television "settle" for a 27" flat screen TV. Instead of stampeding over people to get that 8 megapixel digital camera "settle" for the 6 megapixel one you can normally afford. When did we become a society of people who care more about things than other people?

I know that mindset has been around since the beginning of time, but it didn't use to be normal, accepted behavior. I would like to know how many people who were at that Wal-Mart went home and bitched to family members that they didn't get their TV. More importantly, I would like to know how many went home, hugged their family members and were thankful that they were alive. I can guess at which happened more often.