The morning after Thanksgiving, I rolled out of bed around 3 a.m. Thousands of people across the state were up and about before me and already standing in line at malls, department stores and outlet shops. My reason for getting up early was not to go shopping, but to talk to people lined up at the Sanford Wal-Mart.

  Everyone was in a really good mood, despite the cold and several friends I used to work with were there. Cold shoppers slugged down hot coffee and chatted with the people in front of and behind them in line.

  By the time the doors opened at 5 a.m., some people had already been in line for more than five hours. I was impressed with the crowd at Wal-Mart. There was no pushing, shoving or running.

  Sadly, the same could not be said for a mob of frenzied shoppers at the Valley Stream, New York Wal-Mart. That bunch took “door buster sale” literally. The crowd of 2,000 people surged forward, so anxious to get in, they broke the glass doors and bent the door frames. According to one report, “shoppers had pushed glass sliding doors to the ground, bending their aluminum frames like an accordion.” 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, a 34-year-old employee was knocked to the ground and trampled by the crowd. I cannot imagine what was going through the minds of those people who stepped on and over the victim, Jdimytai Damour. What in the world were they thinking? Was it so important to get a Polaroid 42-inch LCD HDTV for $598 that a fellow human being in need was ignored? In that mob mentality, life had no worth and it certainly wasn’t more important than saving money on an Xbox, toys or anything else.

  Some reports said employees tried to get to the fallen man and were unable to for “several minutes” as the crowd jostled. Even police officers and other first responders were pushed and shoved by the unruly shoppers.

  The store was closed following Damour’s death and that angered shoppers, too! A witness was reported to have said shoppers acted like “savages” and said when shoppers were asked to leave because of Damour’s death, people continued to shop and complained because they had been in line for hours.

  Merry Christmas, huh?

  I am a Scrooge and this is exactly why. Christmas has become commercialized and revolves around a shopping frenzy. People spend money they don’t have and gifts are rarely sentimental and meaningful.  Christmas is magical for little children and it’s fun to watch them open gifts, but as children get older, gifts are expected and their “wish/demand list” becomes more expensive and lengthy.

  I always ask myself, “What did they do to deserve a laptop computer, a 16 GB iPod, a digital camera and every other item costing more than $150?” The answer – nothing. They expect to receive those gifts simply because it is Dec. 25. That’s not a good enough reason for me.

  They took out the trash every other day? Great. That is what they are supposed to do as a member of the household. They kept their room clean? That’s what they should be doing. Good grades? Again, that is something they should be doing and the reward for that is admission to college.

  I’m waiting for one person to tell me exactly why we should spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for Christmas other than the fact that it is Christmas.

  I love Christmas lights, decorations and Christmas trees. I don’t like the frenzied buying simply because it’s Dec. 25. Something is lost along the way – civility and common sense come to mind.

  I wonder what those people from the Long Island Wal-Mart will say Christmas morning when their recipients open their gifts?

  “A high definition plasma TV? Oh, boy! It’s what I always wanted!”

  “I know, honey, that is why I trampled a man to death to get it for you. Merry Christmas, darling!”

– Renee Worthing