The Horrors after Thanksgiving

Doesn't that look delicious? *stomach growls*

Ah, yes....Thanksgiving.

It's a wonderful day to get together with friends or family, and enjoy each others' company. In effect that aspect in itself is worth giving thanks, as many folks nowadays are lonely around this time, and can only muster up the courage to head over to a co-workers'/partner/office/public gathering to partake in the festivities. Of course, there are those who simply don't care and go about their day as usual.

Let's be honest here - The whole world doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but they understand that the people in the states have a certain day to give thanks to who-or-what-ever they believe in for everything they have up to that point...or what they will have in the future. That night, you pray(maybe), stuff yourself silly, laugh, have fun, then go home and sleep your food coma away until the next day, when you know you'll need it. Why do you need it, you ask? Because you're going to WAR.

Whooo! Look at 'em GO! Winner gets that Shopping Cart!

               "What? Why are you going to war? That makes no sense, you JUST had a peaceful dinner!" Well, why else would someone go to war, other than because their boss told them to (and signs their paycheck)? Why, to conquer something new, of course! This day, is a war day indeed, my friend - It's that one day where your dreams may just come true, and you could be that much closer to being cooler...a day where your wallet can actually bring you joy and happiness without the guilt, simply because wherever you go, giant signs point you to good things for your future; good, needless things that you desire when you're broke and out doing someone else's shopping.

Oh, yeah...I'm talking about that day, so ominous, they gave it a color: BLACK FRIDAY.

What's so horrific about Black Friday? Well...for one thing, we see the worse in humanity on this day (unless you work at Starbucks in a posh neighborhood. They see it every day.) because most people doing the shopping are doing so out of leisure, luxury, greed, or pure instinctual need. They saw that amazing 70" plasma screen and just GOTTA have it since it's on special. But guess what? Someone else wants the same thing...and there's only one available. What to do?

             Now you might be wondering what I mean by "we"...that "we" just happens to be all the retail workers in the United States. For this one day, heck, retail outlets become full-on army recruitment sites - if you'd been on-call for the whole year, but you worked for a major retail outlet, you would work on this day - you would get PAID. Now, what they don't tell you is that it's gonna be ugly. It's gonna be nightmarish and you'll regret getting up that morning to go to work. Some poor souls had to leave Thanksgiving dinner to GO to work on THURSDAY in preparation for Friday...ON SITE (overnight) preparation.

            Is it a negative thing? Depends on who you ask. Heck, there's a dispute going on with Walmart about it - apparently, they're not being paid enough to do their job. So, rather than take the beating like a good grunt, they decide to rebel and ask the company to loosen their wallet and take one for them, so they can, in return, take A LOT for their employer.

           I'm pretty sure you've encountered a frenetic customer or a person who goes at 100 mph while expecting someone to understand them. Whether the customer or person was speaking to you, or you witnessed their wrath on someone else, or you, yourself, went apes**t on a sales associate, you might've gotten to see why retail workers would be up-at-arms about working extra for minimum wage. With the economy as low as it is, someone out there's certainly enjoying it.

          See, there's one thing most people don't do nowadays, and that's get in another person's shoes. No one thinks about their fellow man, and as such, our society's one big free-for-all. Unfortunately, there is no winner in this battle royale, just a bunch of losers posing as winners for some vanity. Go ahead...laugh it up. That 70' LCD screen you're currently enjoying will go out of style in a few months, replaced by a thinner, sleeker, sexier, ummm....tech..ier model and you'll once again feel the tickle of Black Friday crawling up your spine, and into your brain, where it'll reside until you give in to the need to feed your inner hoarder.

-"...That's one smexxy lookin' dame right there..." -'aww thank you!' -"...I was talkin' 'bout the TV."

           We're certainly living in such an individualistic world where you're the only one who matters and no one else. "This is ME's world, and Me's law states that Me, Myself, and I are its' sole rulers. NO ONE SHALL PASS." Unfortunately, your world collides with more than 50+ BILLION others out there, and if ye old times bare any semblance to our generation, then kingdoms are meant to be hostile towards one another until a truce is created or one is defeated. In layman's terms, Black Friday is that war zone  You want that special and there's only one. Damn the bastards who touch it!

Yes, that's lady they're picking up. Savages.

           Maybe you've seen the news lately, how now arrests, tramplings, and attacks are the norm on this day. It didn't use to be that way. Heck, early 90s, there'd still be lines, but quiet ones. The doorways would be wide enough to accommodate many people walking in, and stores wouldn't try to herd you into buying their overstock. Today, with the advent of the internet, Cyber Monday would be the best answer to your Black Friday woes, right? One day where mostly everything online is for sale and then some! Why bother going through the hassle of parking, pushing your way through angry mobs, and going to a store only to find what you're looking for is "Out of Stock" if an online outlet can send it to your home in a few, convenient days??

"May I haz arrowz nao pleez?"  -'...you're short.' -"doh!"

              Simple. You want it, and you want it NOW. It's this anal retentiveness that affects most americans  and gives them that god-awful propensity for violence. It's not enough to buy something online at a low, low price - you have to have it before anyone else does! But their options don't work for you...Now what do you do? "Wait 3 days for shipping? 3 DAYS?! That's like...FOREVER!"

..And break, it shall, my good sign...break...it shall. (ò_Ó)

             Breathe, people. Relax. There's plenty of room for everyone and their momma to get what they want for Christmas. We're just told that there isn't enough so we go out and spend it on the highest bidder possible (cough*EBay*cough)...and we bite. Only when you don't have the money, does Black Friday make all the sense in the world.

Isn't it the truth? 

               This wondrous schematic is nothing more than that - a schematic. A schema, a set of protocols/rules set about to make you want to go out and spend your money on that new "something" and get mad when you don't get it. That, in turn, hurts those who're out there to accommodate you. The retail workers. The guys and gals you bug when they don't smile at you because some @**hole just cursed out their mother because he couldn't get his drink not too long before you walked up to them. Think about that the next time you mouth off to someone on a sales-heavy day...because no matter how big or tough you may think you are, when it happens to you...can you return fire without being fired?

All the money in the world is not worth the terror some of these people go through.

Be smart. Be safe. Be attentive.

#Neioism

Pic Credits
http://www.cuindependent.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/thanksgiving2.jpg - Thanksgiving Dinner
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Business/ap_black_friday_21_dm_121123_wg.jpg - Black Friday Fight
http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/358*232/2target1113.jpg - 42' TV Lady
http://actionfigurecanada.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/black_friday_trample_lg.jpg - Trampling
http://www.businesspundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/cybermon.gif - Cyber Monday
http://www.gametrailers.com/side-mission/files/2012/11/ZeldaBlackFriday.jpg Link in Black Friday

The World Ends With You...and Begins Anew!

FIRST!!!! LOL


Not on my blog you don't! Welcome to the innaugural post from me "NeioGeo"! As in life(and job interviews), a short-but-sweet introduction is quite necessary when engaging in a conversation for the first time, so here's mine:

As the title suggests, it'll be me against the world; I'll discuss topics relevant to today's high-tech culture and give you my thoughts and theories on it from a psychological standpoint, with a little flavor and a lot of edge. By that, I mean I'll make sure you understand where I'm coming from through facts, research, humor, sarcasm, and the occaisional soulless ranting non-bloggers(like me) are used to.

Consider this a typed stream of conciousness report with all the trimmings and then some!

Things I'll probably steer away from:

- Hate Lists
Why post this stuff out there? I undertand ANY publicity is good publicity, but coming off as a villain in the name of personification and identifying with the audience is kind of a double-edged sword - you might win over a couple-hundred, but lose a thousand.
> I'll stay neutral, often playing devil's advocate for the sake of discussion.

- Elongated Rants
As funny as they may be in the long run, they don't really do much more than extend what might be a very short response. In other words, they make things seem bigger than they are. And make you lok like an idiot. If ya are one, then by all means - Rant Out!
> As a wise man once said, "Hit it Hard, Hit it Fast!" - I'll get straight to the point, get my opinion, and let the users(you guys) get their two cents in. VLog, Reply, Rant, Link me back, whatever - Let YOUR voice be heard(or read)

...and with that being said, Welcome to my world! Feel free to drop in and say hi!, where you came from, and how you found me! You can even suggest topics for me to have open discussion about!