Buy Nothing…hmmmm

So you know that yesterday I avoided the malls, stores, and any form of retail outlet. I did this because being in the middle of all that pushing and shoving just does not stir up a great holiday spirit for me. Anyway, I was listening to the NPR news summary this morning and I heard about the women who have been pushing this “Buy Nothing” day. Which you know, for the reasons they explain it, isn’t too bad of an idea.

On the other hand though, I have come to realize that for some people this whole shopping thing is like a drug. They have to participate in the rush of having people trampling all over them. They have to go for that bargain. They need to have at least one gift to give that would have cost them more if they had not gone out on Black Friday.

The whole process is like a drug that sneaks up on them once a year and shakes them out of their senses. It sends them scurrying into the malls. Like the lemmings, they rush through this way and that grabbing anything in their path. This urge to shop is the reason why some people (who rightfully need them) have a year’s supply of nose hair clippers, tie tacks or Bathroom readers.

But you know if you pull yourself back from wondering about this whole thing and look at the big picture… At least the need only hits once, maybe twice a year. Very few people end up dead because of it, as compared with other addictive behaviors. Plus there is the added benefit that if you happen to be related to or be friends with one of the addicts you tend to find some pretty cool stuff under the tree…and I don’t know about you, but I’ll sit through the “do you know what I had to get that,” war story anytime for an IPOD that I currently can’t afford to get for myself.

Oh, I may sound a bit cynical, but hey it’s an opinion, take it, leave it, trash it…you know what they say about opinions…