Go ahead, call me a Scrooge. I've got a mighty "bah humbug" for what Christmas has turned into. Or perhaps I'm the Grinch, plotting and scheming, hatching ways and means to steal Christmas.

I wanted to write a lengthy post about how much I despise concepts like "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday". I decided against is because I don't know if I can adequately express my contempt for them. But here's what I think.

Unfortunately the so-called "Black Friday" has become an integral aspect of the holiday season. This fact nurse my cynical nature and re-enforces my long standing opinion that Christmas has become much too commercialized. Which is certainly not a new idea. But when you consider that people are actually standing in line overnight to be the first to snag a sale item...when you take into account the herd mentality that seems to possess and overcome these bargain hunters...just watch video from store security cameras when the doors are opened. Have you ever seen such a ridiculous mob? The glee on their faces! The palpable excitement! THE COMPLETE DISREGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE!!!

Okay, that's an exagerration. But hey...why don't you talk to the family of the Wal-Mart employee who was trampled to death beneath the feet of one of these hordes last Friday? See what they think about "Black Friday" now.

Do I think the people who trampled him underfoot did it on purpose? Of course not. It could have happened anywhere because this kind of greedy excitement is the culprit. It's nursed and encouraged by retailers who are more concerned with "getting out of the red" than with crowd control.

I guess it all evens out in the long run...I heard that the person who accidentally knocked the unfortunate Wal-Mart employee to the ground was able to get her son a Guitar Hero for just around fifty bucks, so I guess that makes up for not stopping to help the guy up. Okay, so I DIDN'T hear that. It may not have been a Guitar Hero. But that's exactly what happened. And it's a bloody shame.

I understand that this tragedy was not typical. But the "greedy excitement" is widespread. And it sickens me that this is part of what Xmas is all about now.

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