Photo credit: tshein
An employee was trampled to death at the opening of a Walmart store in the New York suburbs on Black Friday. Others in the crowd “sustained minor injuries such as sprained ankles.”
The scariest part for me: watching our local news cover Black Friday, there was only a brief mention of this violence. The short segment about a man killed was just that: a short segment that joined other short segments that were put together to create the Black Friday piece.
I expected a discussion. Maybe a change in the news people’s expression. But no. There was no reaction to this news. They dryly reported it and moved on.
There WAS discussion on the internet. My friend Cath Lawson said we’re all responsible for the Walmart tragedy, even if we weren’t there, even if we hate shopping. I think she has a point: we’re responsible in the sense that we live in a consumerism-driven society. We place too much importance on buying and owning stuff. We succumb to advertisers that tell us we won’t be happy, won’t be complete, unless we buy more stuff.
So what are we teaching our children when we’re raising them in such an atmosphere? An atmosphere where getting what you want justifies killing someone? Where purchasing something is of an utmost importance, so important that it makes people act like animals?
My kids are young. They don’t watch the news and we have no intention of telling them about this. But if the subject does come up (if they hear about it in school, for example), we will address it as a case of out-of-control consumerism. We will take the opportunity to re-emphasize something that we’ve already started discussing at home: that buying stuff does not make you happier. There’s a very short period of content after you buy something new, but sooner rather than later, the excitement wears off and you’re looking for something else to buy to recreate that feeling of excitement, or temporary contentment.
Allowing advertisers to convince us that our happiness is tied with consuming is dangerous, because it leads to perpetual dissatisfaction, to overspending, and often to out-of-control debt. This is the message I’m trying to teach my children. What message are you trying to teach your children?
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One Response
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What happened at Walmart is a shocking tragedy and I agree that it should have gotten some more attention. However, I disagree with tying it to advertisers or to consumerism. Both advertising and consumerism are positive in my opinion and part of the American culture. Blogging about the tragedy is so important and I thank you for letting people know about it but making the link to advertisers overlooks millions who has not pushed a single person during Black Friday and millions of employees who are have a job thanks to our good and bad consumption habits.