Black Friday looked like a lemming-zombie free-for-all...

[Labors of Hercules]

I was forced to go to the mall :puke: to shoot some photographs yesterday. OMFG. I have NEVER seen so many people with blank faces stumble over each other to "get the best deal" on mountains of superfluous mass-produced JUNK.

It isn't just the junk either. It's the whole god-damned confection of concrete and glass enclosing this glossy manufactured environment designed to wipe away thought and replace it with one directive:

YOU WANT STUFF.

THIS is the stuff you want! And look... It's on SALE!!! That means you can afford it now!

What's scary is the sheer volume of humanity, (seemingly disproportionately Republican, but I'm not so sure of that), who LOVE these manufactured environments... (sorry, the thought made me throw-up a little in my mouth)...

And when these people have to enter the real world again, they spend HOURS talking about the fabulous THINGS and the great DEALS they found. They try to make you jealous of the 40% discount off the lowest discounted price after the mail-in rebate they got on a new 52" flat-panel TV!!! (because, of course, the one they bought last year was only 42", and that's just not big enough for the full x-box experience).

Surely this isn't the ONLY way to keep our economy from crashing around our feet??? IT'S COMPLETELY UNSUSTAINABLE!!!!

But too many people don't understand what "sustainable" means. They just don't get it, don't WANT to get it, and TRILLIONS of dollars are spent every year to make sure they keep NOT getting it.

The only thing that will wake these people up from their lemming-zombie world is a cataclysmic event, and even then, I wonder if they will be able to yank their heads out of the clearance rack long enough to see it.

[bridgit]

1. I thought at first I wanted to go out in that stuff, but my husband talked me out of it...

Did you see this http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4637206n

[valerief]

2. Rich people try and outdo each other, too. The human animal and its

lust for prestige/approval is strange. That's what happens to people when they don't have an activity to love.

[CrispyQ]

4. From "Northern Exposure"

"Life is about the things you do, not the things you have."
~Chris in the Morning

[Wednesdays]

14. That's a great quote, and I'd like to use it as my signature

The only thing is, I can't find a reference to it anywhere on the web except here on DU. :shrug:

[CrispyQ]

25. That was a rough paraphrase of what he actually said.

When I was watching the show one day, looking through my recipes, & I wrote it on one of my recipes. I found the recipe & here's what he said, exactly:

"Happiness doesn't come from having things; it comes from being part of things."
~Chris in the morning, "Northern Exposure"

Here are a couple of others I really like:

"Time is the essence of our lives."
~inscribed on a sundial in the opening scene of "Gone With the Wind"

"He who dies with the most toys, still dies." ;) A classic!

People get so caught up in wealth, material things & power & yet, on one's deathbed, taking one's last breath, what do you think most people would wish for? More wealth? More power? Or more time?

[betharina]

16. i always like the quote(but i don't remember where i saw it)

"the most important things in life are not things.'

[Stuckinthebush]

27. I loved Chris's quotes!

My favorite:

"One person's religion is another's pair of lead boots."

[CrispyQ]

28. Some other good ones here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098878/quotes

Mixed in with other NE characters.

:hi:

[Wednesdays]

39. Thanks for these!

:)

[CrispyQ]

3. In the movie "The 11th Hour" they make the point that

we are consuming our ecosystem to have stuff & for the profit of a few.

When we rape our planet of it's natural resources & it can no longer sustain us, will we finally come to our senses? Will it be too late? I have no doubt those who survive will look back on our frenzy of glutenous behavior with horror & disgust at our complete & total stupidity.

[mtnsnake]

5. Awesome account of Black Friday....thanks for posting that!

Just got back from snowshoeing up a small mountain with my wife and son and am in just the perfect mood to appreciate the picture you painted...and glad I was in the woods and not at the mall.

:thumbsup:

[RollWithIt]

6. I went on Sunny Saturday, got a great deal on a 50" Plasma Widescreen

I needed a new TV, hadn't bought a large screen in 10 years. It was time to treat myself to something. Anyways, got the one I wanted on an open box for $1350 which isn't bad considering it was retailing for 4500 two years ago. Anyways, I put it on my mastercard, I'll be paying off 700 this month. 350 the next, 175 the next... to zero in March. I'm determined to find interesting ways to get to 800 credit.

[lligrd]

7. Am I The Only Person Who Doesn't Feel The Need For

a giant flat screen or any of the other junk that is for sale? In fact, I have way too much junk and am in the process of simplifying my life by ridding myself of it. Maybe it is because I have been expecting this downturn since * got elected and have prepared mentally or maybe I am depressed, whichever I haven't seen one think on sale that I want or need or that anyone I know needs.

[Skittles]

8. no, you're not

I have an old TV and I will keep it as long as it works. These fucking idiots and their sales - they think they're getting a great price but the reality is they're buying crap they DON'T NEED

[kestrel91316]

9. I still have the CRT Sony tv I inherited with my grandmother's stuff

in 1999. I need to get a converter box, but plan to keep the tv until it DIES. Only then will I replace it.

My sister and BIL still have their 26 yr old Cuisinart food processor, their 25 yr old microwave, and their 15 yr old coffeemaker. They replaced their tv with a flat-screen only when they gave the old tv to my niece for her apartment.

There is nothing whatsoever wrong with the old adage: Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without.

[AlCzervik]

21. i went to the movies on Friday, no shopping at all, that's how i always spend black Friday

at home watching movies or going out to see one.

[reggie the dog]

33. the screen on my computer is bigger

than my TV. I think it is about 12 inches across diagonally. We bought it five years ago and rarely turn it on. It has a vcr built in and we use it to record stuff for school sometimes. We paid a couple of hundred euro for it. The way I live going into debt until March for a T.V. is called living beyond my means. I would rather save the money on interest, buy a tiny t.v. if any one at all, and spend the money on vacation somewhere. But to each their own.

[jpertello]

10. my Mall Years

I was forced to work every Black Friday for the past 10 or more years. The crowds of idiots grabbing for deals and sales is enough to make me sick. They worship and OOH and AAH the giant plastic Christmas Tree like it was the window of a cathedral. They are hypnotized by the glitz and glitter and must spend X amount of $ to give X amount of happiness to some equally brainwashed idiot they're buying for. I am not against buying presents. But when I see parents with giant bags of toys dragging their crying miserable kids around with them I really gotta wonder what they're telling those kids about where the toys came from (if not from Santa) and WHY they subject a child to the abuse of Black Friday? I once worked with a European who wondered if Americans ever took their children to a library, museum or art gallery? I had no answer.

[Whisp]

11. excellent post. conspicuous consumption

from all levels of economic standing is the killer of the soul of the country

[Avalux]

12. Go watch this short video -

www.storyofstuff.com

It's an eye-opener and makes one realize how easily manipulated humans really are. :hi:

[NYC_SKP]

13. Hey, you stole my line!

:hi:

I'm usually the one to send folks to that link when the topic is appropriate.

I'm glad there are two of us (and hopefully more) trying to spread the good green word!

[demokatgurrl]

15. It is sad, isn't it?

I mean, I thought we were in a fucking RECESSION and yet people are trampling other people to get their hands on WalMart's cheap Chinese JUNK that ends up in a landfill in a few years. What the hell is it all for? What kind of pleasure does it give? I just don't get it.
(Full disclosure though- I do not celebrate Xmas, religion-wise or buying-shit-wise, so maybe I'm just stupid)

[Labors of Hercules]

23. I'd say not celebrating

Xmas religion-wise or buying-shit-wise... is definitely wise. :thumbsup:

[The Doctor.]

17. George Carlin on 'Stuff';

"Actually this is just a place for my stuff, ya know? That's all, a little place for my stuff. That's all I want, that's all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? I can see it on your table, everybody's got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that's your stuff, that'll be his stuff over there. That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That's all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around all the time.

A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you're taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you're saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That's what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get...more stuff!

Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore. Did you ever notice when you go to somebody else's house, you never quite feel a hundred percent at home? You know why? No room for your stuff. Somebody else's stuff is all over the goddamn place! And if you stay overnight, unexpectedly, they give you a little bedroom to sleep in. Bedroom they haven't used in about eleven years. Someone died in it, eleven years ago. And they haven't moved any of his stuff! Right next to the bed there's usually a dresser or a bureau of some kind, and there's NO ROOM for your stuff on it. Somebody else's shit is on the dresser.

Have you noticed that their stuff is shit and your shit is stuff? God! And you say, "Get that shit offa there and let me put my stuff down!"

http://www.writers-free-reference.com/funny/story085.htm

[Labors of Hercules]

22. stuff is shit. hell yes it is.

Damn I miss George.

[lib2DaBone]

18. Aptly named.."Black Friday" for the violence and stupidity....

It's amazing the how many Wal-Mart Attorneys have descended on this board to absolve Wal-Mart of any wrong doing.

Talk about trolls?

[CitizenPatriot]

19. great post.

We've become a nation of pods- we go from work pod to shopping pod to home pod and it's really a gross and unsustainable way to live. No joy in driving everywhere, shopping in a box closed off from the world...working in a building box...etc. After WWII, we started building out like this, around the automobile. I guess it seemed like the thing to do, but when you visit cities that have mass transit, like Paris, you see how the quality of life is SO much better. You get off the metro and while you're walking home, you stop off at neighborhood shops to get dinner. yes, it's true, you don't need a kitchen the size of a small country or a fridge big enough to store food for the next ten years. you can eat really well with a smallish kitchen, fresh local food. And stay in shape to boot because you walk more places.

New Urbanism. I'm hoping it takes off now that we're starting to appreciate community and walkability and sustainability.

I have a relative who lives at the mall; For weekend outings with their overweight kids, they go to the "mall". It makes me want to kill myself to spend any time with them. Really, they can't think of anything better to do than walk around and gaze at the things they want? Oh god. Maybe I'm weird, well. Not maybe. I know I am. I can't stand shopping. I hate malls. I hate the stale air and bad lighting and zombie looks on the people's faces. We had one car for over half of our marriage and we do NOT live in a city where that is "workable". I just hate being taken, hate being told I need all of this crap and frankly, I'd rather save my money and go to Europe when I can.

Sorry for the rant; I try to keep this shit to myself because it comes off as judgmental and elitist. But the truth is, our country has become a junk pile of consumer goods. Ugly big box houses, ugly crap to put in them, bad design, sick buildings, and NO quality of life. common sense leads me to look at where the quality of life is better. And I've never seen quality of life determined by junk crap accumulation. Enough money so you don't have to sweat going to the doctor, you can eat healthy food, and get where you need to go and travel a bit or do your thing. Freedom. that's what it's all about.

[Labors of Hercules]

20. great reply.

Damn right! (especially that last paragraph, Jesus all this McArchitecture is revolting). I'm fortunate enough to live in a wonderful collegiate enclave a bit away from the suburban nightmare. Carrboro is a very progressive, "grab your loaf of bread and wine on the way home" sort of place. No driving needed. free buses, but I bike everywhere.

Places like this are rare in the south, that's for damn sure. Most everywhere else is just like you describe, and full of fat-assed people spending way too much time in their cars, (half of it pulled up to a drive-thru window). :crazy:

[CitizenPatriot]

24. Carrboro! I know it fairly well,

or at least recall it from the days of my youth:-) my grandparents were from Chapel Hill. Lovely area!

It's so sad to see all of the ways bad planning has led us to this place of decreased health and lifestyle, along with alienation and a disintegration of community. There are movements trying to solve these problems, along with the green building movement-- but what will happen to the poorly built McMansions? Imagine the ruin if people abandon them. One day, they may be broken into apartments or some such oddness, if they were built well enough to remain habitable.

When I see those houses, my skin crawls. And it's too bad, because there are some really well-done homes out there. It's just the whole thing that turns me off. Overall, it's "ticky tacky and they all look just the same" (stolen from Weeds theme song, but originated by an Irish friend of mine who uses that phrase often).

And yet, when I see those old sears craftsmens, the kit homes!, I love them. Lowe's has new versions of that now and I love the idea of that- affordable, attractive homes with a relationship to their environment. YES.

[latebloomer]

30. BTW, "Little Boxes" is a song

written by folksinger Malvina Reynolds in the early 60s. Didn't originate as the "Weeds" theme song.

[CitizenPatriot]

37. thanks:-)

I didn't know that...It's a great song. I love hearing the different versions of it by diff artists on Weeds.

[mnhtnbb]

32. Hey Labors! I live just off Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. Love being able to

walk to downtown.

:hi:

[CrispyQ]

29. "...zombie looks on the people's faces."

I hate to shop. I hate malls. I meet one of my friends at a restaurant that sits at the entrance to a mall. After wards, she always wants to cruise the mall. I go with her, but I feel like an alien. Your zombie comment reminds me of all the people we pass. People that you have to step out of the way of because they are so entranced with the stuff in the windows that they are not watching where they are walking.

"Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic" by John De Graaf is a great book, if only for the David Horsey cartoons! I checked it out from my local library & when I told my mother how good it was, she bought a copy. I had to laugh at the irony of that.

http://www.amazon.com/Affluenza-All-Consuming-Epidemic-John-Graaf/dp/1576751996

I wish I could recommend your post.

[CitizenPatriot]

35. Hey thanks for the book rec!

I'll look for it at my library. I'm so glad to hear from another woman on this topic, because most of the women I know always want to go to the mall. I can relate to your experience meeting your friend at the mall. Mindless consumption going into bodies consuming food that isn't really food. It's so disturbing in its lack of genuine experience. I've actually caused family problems with my loathing of the mall. Once, right after I got married, my MIL, whom I adore, planned a trip for "us girls" to the Mall of America on my only vacation time of the year! I said NO, sorry...but I can't breathe just thinking about this idea. Didn't go over well because no one believed that I hated shopping. What has happened to us, esp as women? We are taught that this is how we "get ours"? What a rip-off of real joy. The Great Distraction.

My closest female friends are women who also hate shopping. When we get together, we DO things. Creative things like sewing or painting or taking a walk or helping each other with our jobs, which are creative.

I've started saying NO (as you can see). Life is too short to do things that don't bring joy or purpose, but it does confuse people. Can't wait to read the book- always looking for a great read:-) thanks!

[reggie the dog]

34. all over Europe

town centers were built for people on foot. I live in a town of thirty thousand here in France and we can walk to do all our shopping. The butchers, many bakers, fruit stands, shops selling pens and paper etc., banks, town hall, are all five to ten minutes away by foot. Even the supermarket I go to when I stock up on things like milk is only fifteen minutes away on foot. I walk twenty minutes one way to drop my daughter off at the nannies in the morning and have a fifteen minute walk to work. Two days a week I drive ten to fifteen minutes away (12 kilometers one way) and then take the train 70 km along down to the coast to go to work. I only drive to work one day a week, Saturday, when I have a thirty five minute drive.

[CitizenPatriot]

36. Oh...You rotten person you! I am GREEN with envy!

You are brilliant, however you managed this. Absolutely brilliant:-) It is a dream of mine to live somewhere in Europe. France or Germany -- the villages or even a city. I remain in search of such a lifestyle here, and try to cobble it together as best as I can. Your description hit it right on the head; the walking is incorporated into your life, so it's not "exercise", it's purpose driven and built right in to the day. AND you're getting fresh food, supporting neighbors, etc.

Enjoy your day !(oh, to have French coffee and a hunk of good cheese smeared over warm, fresh bread...)

[Jennicut]

26. Wal-mart zombies are the worst. I can't find anything in that crappy store, its a mess

At least where I live in CT, the two Wal-Marts near me in Southington and Bristol suck. They are disorganized and the kids section never has much in it. Toys R Us is so much better and people there are generally not so zombie-like.

[lumberjack_jeff]

31. "Only way"? Hell, it's not even an option.

Our economy will not survive by simply selling other countries products to one another. We need to build things, like cars and planes.

I went to the mall on Friday too. Call it morbid curiosity because there was nothing I needed or wanted. Appalling. In retrospect, I shouldn't have gone, because every time I expose myself to stuff like this, I dislike people a little more.

[Cash_thatswhatiwant]

38. I woke up at 4am with my friends to go to t he mall.....

i have no shame