Sales for the day after the Thanksgiving holiday rose to $10.7 billion. The figures were compiled by ShopperTrak RCT Corp., a Chicago research firm…….. The Wall Street Journal
Having been told numerous times in the last month that ”most” people don’t understand my writings (goes right over their head) or have no interest in the topics on which I write (stop reading out of boredom after the heading) or that I offend their belief system, I am the first to agree…I do not view life like “most” people. I ran the concept of this article by my ten year old grand-daughter this morning and it did not go over her head.
Who won that lottery…the big winners were Best Buy, WalMart, Toys R Us, Target and the large corporations which manufacture these “must have items” in areas of the world who it is most cost efficient to them.
Between the four WalMart heirs, their net worth is listed by Forbes as 70.6 Billion Dollars.
The day after Thanksgiving is dubbed “Black Friday” because it traditionally marks the day of the year when retailers finally move out of the red, indicating losses, and into the black, representing profits. The National Retail Federation reported massive crowds were out on the streets to buy what was termed practical necessities with the in-demand items being high-definition TVs, laptops, Zhu Zhu Pets robotic hamsters and winter coats. Also among the hot items were the Tom Tom GPS systems, Kodak digital cameras and the Nintendo Wii.
One closely watched sector during the season is toys. Zhu Zhu, the electronic pet hamster, was flying off shelves at Toys R Us and emerged as the frontrunner for this year’s must-have toy. There is a level of artificial intelligence in the Zhu Zhu’s OS and it can make over 40 noises depending on the stimuli. The little Zhu Zhus appear to have minds of their own as they dart around the room, zip up the ramps of their habitat and ride in their own little cars. And, of course, all accessories are sold separately. (Funny, I often see children behaving with this type of artificial intelligence in public places…learned behavior from their toys?)
Who Gave Away 10.7 Billion Dollars
Despite the highest employment in 26 years due to global economic meltdown the sales turnout was amazing. Most of the retail shops across the country had bigger early-morning crowds than last year.
Look at the lottery tickets purchased for $10.7 billion dollars…plastic, artificial intelligence, electronic technology, fad toys…all items which have a shorter usage span than the shelf life of a Ritz cracker. For 10.7 billion dollars, what will be usable and not ready to go into a waste disposal in two years? How many fad toys, electronic devices and computers have you gone through in the last few years? Personally, I got my first notebook computer in 2003 which died and I replaced in December 2005 with another which died in December 2007 which died on Thanksgiving Day. Each time that a computer died, it was obsolete. The idea of planned obsolescence was the product of American Technology which became widespread it the 1970 and contributed to the preference of foreign built automobiles.
Oniomania (from Greek onios = “for sale,” mania = insanity) is a medical term for the compulsive desire to shop or buy. Oniomania is commonly called compulsive shopping, compulsive buying, compulsive spending or shopaholism. This disorder is often linked to an inability to tolerate negative feelings, the need to fill an internal void, excitement seeking, excessive dependency, approval seeking, perfectionism, general impulsiveness and compulsiveness, and the need to gain control which are symptoms of fear. Impulsive buying seems to represent a search for self in people whose identity is neither firmly felt nor dependable. Most oniomanics try to counteract feelings of low self-esteem through the emotional lift and momentary euphoria provided by compulsive spending. These shoppers, who also experience a higher than normal rate of associated disorders—depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, and impulse-control disorders—may be using their symptom to self-medicate. The consequences of oniomania can be devastating as it is a form of self-abuse.
Does instant gratification bring happiness or love into our lives? Do electronic toys make us superior and give us self worth? Does the level of artificial intelligence in our children’s toys replace hugging and spending quality time with them? Are we such a lonely nation that we spend more time with artificial technology and connecting over the internet than we spend loving the people in our lives?
Is it possible that we could have gotten through the Holidays and the next year without giving away the big lottery?
TRUE LOVE IS EXPRESSED BY HONOR AND RESPECT
How can we say we love someone or something and yet tolerate abuse and disrespect in any form? Our natural environment is real, full of love and gives everything we need to sustain and nourish our body and lives beautifully. Our bodies are awesome works of natural art which really require very only a limited number of nutrients which are supplied abundantly in nature along with sunshine, fresh air and clean water. Love is real and not disposable.
The Opposite of Love is Fear.
Where love is real and simple…fear is artificial and requires constant reassurance. Fear is a cultural belief that is instilled in people as a means of controlling their behavior. We are bombarded with fear in our society which is masked as technology or intelligence and becomes addictive.
Fear always promises to “fix and save” and “keep you safe” by changing the outward appearance of your environment. Wars are fought in defense of maintaining our belief systems based in fear. Fear feeds materialism and consumer addiction to artificial means of attempting to “escape” the fear. The victim mentality and belief in ”lack” or “not enough” or looking for someone to blame is fear based.
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