-----Original Message----- From: Eric Yost <NYCEric@xxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Nov 27, 2004 1:05 PM To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Black Friday What in the world would possess *anyone*, much less *thousands* to stand in line in the middle of the night to rush into a store with the other thousands of frenzied shoppers at one in the morning?! . . . I would love to gain an understanding of why.... _____ Besides the financial reasons Robert gave, there's the simple fact that THERE IS NOT THAT MUCH ELSE TO DO! I mean, what is there? Judging from small-town Pennsylvania, people have to use cars to get everywhere, are isolated by technology and local ordinances, and there is no community beyond gatherings at malls. For example, police in small towns stop and question people who are walking or bicycling late at night because it is "suspicious" or they are bored. For a society loudly proclaiming its freedom, America, at least in small towns, certainly curbs all group activities unrelated to shopping. So here is one day of the year where groups of people can do something irregular, at an irregular time of day, and not be thought weird or hassled by police. It is a socially approved violation of the enforced regime of small-town life. So why should its popularity be surprising? A.A. Since people choose to live in urban and suburban areas, if they're bored, can one conclude that their boredom is of their own making? It isn't only those in rural and suburan areas who believe that Happiness lies in filling the attic and basement with stuff, and Extreme Happiness is doing it at 65% off. Whether Wal-Mart or Bloomingdale's, rural Pennsylvania or Fifth Avenue, all stores await the the day after Thanksgiving with equal anticipation. And the 65% off is equally a sham, a herd tweaker, used by all stores. It's called a "price point" and exists to camoflage the raised prices in the rest of the store. What would retailers do if people had no herding instinct? Existence itself would have to be rethought. Maybe the Creator is actually a retailing giant. Regarding a scientific basis for Creationism, isn't that a contradiction in terms? The intelligent design idea is apparently also known as the anthropic principle, that the universe was created in a manner friendly to humans. Certainly no hubris in that. The latest issue of Time has a story on it: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101041129-785349,00.html Andy Amago Eric ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html