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There was an article in the Western PA paper this morning about how angry and disgruntled all the shoppers in their pre-Christmas rush and how stores are now employing strategies to deal with customer abuse. And these aren't plans like handing out free coffee, we're talking plain clothes policemen and stress counseling for employees.
This is all so freakin' broken I just can't stand it. Of course what do we expect from a society where the call to action after a terror attack is to "go shopping" and keep the cogs of the corporate machine turning. I can't believe how much we have really bought into the 'Christmas = purchasing more stuff' framework (and I do place myself in that, as much as I'd like to pretend that I'm able to resist). From the folks I know in retail, they are under huge pressures to work more hours, their stores are open longer, etc., and customers are stressed and rushed and panicking, and people are spending money that they don't have.
I can't help wondering if the pay off ever comes. All that time and money spent in stores going crazy with lines and the pressure to find the perfect thing takes resources away from the families and friends that we are trying to display love and affection to through the rampant consumer experience. Does Christmas morning or whenever the gift giving happens really make all of that worth it?
Maybe it does, and I acknowledge that humans need ritual and festivity to mark the turning of the years and give us a chance to step away from the mundane. This really isn't meant to be a scrooge post. I like the holidays, I like spending time with my family, baking special things, playing christmas carols, and I really do like presents. Really - presents are wonderful and fun and they usually make me vibrate with joy. I don't think we need to take the gift factor away to maybe take some of the consumer insanity out of the holidays.
I don't know, I just worry about what it says for our culture that we've bought into the capitalist schtick so heavily that people are willing to make themselves stressed, lose time with their loved ones, and put themselves in debt in an attempt to attain some elusive holiday ideal. It seems so far away from the spirit of whatever festivities one marks during this time of year.
This is all so freakin' broken I just can't stand it. Of course what do we expect from a society where the call to action after a terror attack is to "go shopping" and keep the cogs of the corporate machine turning. I can't believe how much we have really bought into the 'Christmas = purchasing more stuff' framework (and I do place myself in that, as much as I'd like to pretend that I'm able to resist). From the folks I know in retail, they are under huge pressures to work more hours, their stores are open longer, etc., and customers are stressed and rushed and panicking, and people are spending money that they don't have.
I can't help wondering if the pay off ever comes. All that time and money spent in stores going crazy with lines and the pressure to find the perfect thing takes resources away from the families and friends that we are trying to display love and affection to through the rampant consumer experience. Does Christmas morning or whenever the gift giving happens really make all of that worth it?
Maybe it does, and I acknowledge that humans need ritual and festivity to mark the turning of the years and give us a chance to step away from the mundane. This really isn't meant to be a scrooge post. I like the holidays, I like spending time with my family, baking special things, playing christmas carols, and I really do like presents. Really - presents are wonderful and fun and they usually make me vibrate with joy. I don't think we need to take the gift factor away to maybe take some of the consumer insanity out of the holidays.
I don't know, I just worry about what it says for our culture that we've bought into the capitalist schtick so heavily that people are willing to make themselves stressed, lose time with their loved ones, and put themselves in debt in an attempt to attain some elusive holiday ideal. It seems so far away from the spirit of whatever festivities one marks during this time of year.
