since i was a noodle old enough to go shopping on her own, i never understood the drive to join that stampede. news video of the mobs always made me a little afraid. even my mother, shopper extraordinaire, shied away from the mall and we mostly hung around doing house stuff.
the press has been nattering on about the tightening of purse strings in these dark and uncertain times. in what may be one of the world's worst economic disasters ever, the inanity is truly offensive: buy less stuff! buy on sale! use coupons! from the westchester moms full of faux humility and forgoing a new hermes bag "because it looks unseemly in these times", to downsizing or outright cancellation of holiday parties then finally through to the mom who works at wendy's and is walking 2 miles to work, to save money on gas so as to buy her daughter a winter coat for christmas. (who is falling more quickly through that non-existent safety net?)
friday on long island a wal-mart worker was trampled to death. the frantic mob had been camped out, (some for 24 hours -- perfect way to spend a "family holiday") and literally "door-busted" in the early morning dark to grab that must-have. in news photos it looks like the running of the bulls. the dead worker was a temp for one of the nation's biggest and most exploitative companies, which now seems to be playing a deadly sort of retail limbo -- "how low can ya go?"
in palm desert, california, two people shot each other at a toys 'r us.
trolling the net yesterday to escape mumbai, i stumbled upon "buy nothing day." BND . for 17 years, it's been a movement to not shop on black friday. how the hell is something like this not getting more media play? yes, it's full of insufferable save the worlders sloughing about in broken birkenstocks and no doubt stinking of patchouli, but this should be the time their message is heard and embraced. and manifested. we in the u.s. remain a fraction of the world's population and are its biggest consumers and polluters. there are 1.9 cars for every u.s household; the average home has 2.24 tvs and 66% more than 3; we throw away about 35% of our produce, unconsumed. rather than sitting on their fat asses inlawn chairs in a super-store parking lot, maybe those long island parents could have been home teaching their kids a different kind of lesson?
the other day, i made an off-hand remark to the owner that homeless people always seem to have money for cigarettes and dunkin' donuts coffee. he was quick with their reply that "why can't they enjoy what rich people do?" besides the obviousity of them being desperately poor, the krazee logic was astounding and saddening. if you have no place to live, you DO NOT HAVE DISPOSABLE INCOME. (although i'm running out of time here, the irony of that phrase bears some later googling.)
friday's desperation and dead wal-mart clerk may only be the canary in the coal mine of a seismic shift in our economy. those track-suited elbow-jabbers racing for a discount wii will not be the ones running to the top of the economic heap, i'm quite sure.
“an investment is by all right-minded people to be commended, because it brings comforts and necessities to the citizenry. but, if continued indefinitely, it will lead to the endless pursuit of unnecessary things.” ~~ adam smith, 250 years ago
this year i spent thanksgiving in one of my favorite ways: cooking a big spread for those whom i care the most and who in turn (i hope) care for me. i stuck to my budget. the day after, i was a good little worker bee, toiling away and tending to the happiness of others, and they were sincerely grateful for all of our efforts. win-win.
the financial squeeze got me earlier than many others and i jumped through flaming hoops to save my home. i'm no longer so alone in my income bracket weighing want vs. need with every paycheck. it gets easier, i swear. exhale, and think what really matters.
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