A Black Mark

I find all this "crying and gnashing of teeth" over the excesses of Black Friday shopping greatly hypocritical. The media, through its relentless advertising, has turned this into a social event that people want desperately to be a part of. Stores, of course, are mainly to blame for staging it. The government idly stands by, afraid to do its duty to, first of all, protect workers from being exploited, and, second, shoppers from being trampled.

This, of course, is consumerism at its worst. It's a degrading spectacle that should have never been allowed. People are getting hurt and, as was the case of the pepper-spray lady, are hurting others in this hysterical rush to save money on good deals. Nobody does anything to stop this insanity, as if this was some act of God or nature that can't be helped.

Free enterprise may be a good thing, but, like everything else, must be exercised responsibly and held accountable for its actions.

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