We don't know about you, but sometimes we have to wonder about our fellow Americans.
What is this nonsense about rushing out on Thanksgiving, of all days, to join in two-fisted shopping frenzies?
For that matter, why is there a frenzy in the first place?
We've seen sharks circling wounded seals with better manners, and they leave the ocean cleaner than when they found it. We have it on excellent authority ravenous shoppers strip shelves, scattering what they don't want all across the floor.
Some stores have resort to having law enforcement on site. Think about that. Shoppers requiring crowd control.
Perhaps you remember the Walmart worker on Long Island, N.Y., who was trampled to death in 2008. It is easy to see why stores take precautions.
A sales clerk at the Avon Park Walmart, who asked not to be identified, said people brought chairs and blankets into the store late Thanksgiving, lining up in the aisles early for certain special sales. One line formed at 9 p.m., for instance, for a television sale that didn't start until 5 a.m. There were even hall passes, like back in elementary school, so people could go to the bathroom without losing their place in the line.
Many shoppers were in stores so early they had to have skipped their pumpkin pie.
Does anyone know what triggers this kind of hysteria? Why do people run out, bellies full, high on triptophan right after Thanksgiving dinner. Is it just an elaborate way to get out of doing dishes?
Did they have time to give thanks for what they already had before they ran out to get more? Or were they so focused on buying that their Thanksgiving prayer was, "Please Lord, let me score a 42-inch, High Definition TV tonight."
Have we no sense of gratitude for what we already have? Are we never sated? Why is it so many of us always need more?
Now, we understand how important shopping is to the American economy, and we certainly applaud all those individuals who are doing their patriotic best to raise our GNP.
We have to say, however, that news footage of the crowds stampeding through store doors as if their lives depended on it is completely unsettling, especially because of the scary almost maniacal look on their faces -- a look that reminds us of addicts headed for free methadone.
For goodness sake, it gets so bad men have been known to play tug-a-war over towels -- with winner take all.
Is there some hole in our hearts that cannot be filled by faith and compassion alone?
Where is the spirit of Jesus Christ in all this materialist lunacy? Where is the Peace on Earth?
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - www.newssun.com/edt-112812