“An Unstoppable Zombie Holiday” – Humanity Shudders as America Exports Black Friday to the World

Greater Manchester Police said two arrests were made and injuries reported as police closed some stores to prevent more severe problems. One woman was injured by a falling television set.

The force tweeted “Keep calm, people!” at one point.

There were problems in many parts of Britain, including Wales and Scotland.

– From the Associated Press: Black Friday Chaos Hits Britain

Black Friday is one of those days when all the hope and optimism one possesses for the future of humanity is threatened by the gross, primal, in-your-face reality. I’ve written about the “holiday” before, specifically, in the piece, The SDR: The Same Demented Regime. Here’s an excerpt:

The great game is of course the never-ending global struggle for power and dominance.  The current entrenched powers that be have been in their positions for a very long time and they have no intention of giving up that role.  What the moral and decent percentage of humanity need to understand in no uncertain terms is that these folks and their minions have no conscience.  They could care less how many starve to death, get blown to bits in war or waste their lives away in front of the television set watching Snookie on the Jersey Shore.  In fact, I am certain that they totally get off on these things.  Degrading humanity into an animal-like state clearly appears to be their aphrodisiac.  Notice how the media encourages people to go out and trample each other for a $2 waffle maker on Black Friday.  The scenes of people running into Wal-Mart or Best Buy in the early morning hours when they should be at home with their families having conversation after Thanksgiving dinner reminds me of scenes of cattle being shuffled into a sorting pen. 

It was always a uniquely American embarrassment. A day when the rest of the world could smugly and confidently sneer at the their consumption-obsessed, overweight, and violent brothers and sisters abroad; secure in the fact that they were distinctly different.

Well, as Bob Dylan sang, “The Times They are a Changin’,” and the highest-holy day of the American religion of consumerism is coming your way whether you like it or not. Naturally, it is gaining its most robust foothold in the United Kingdom. I thought Arriana Huffington summarized it well in the following tweet:

How did #BlackFriday migrate to the UK without #Thanksgiving? It’s like an unstoppable zombie holiday http://t.co/7a7sBuKxfS

— Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) November 28, 2014

Here are some of the observations from that article:

LONDON (AP) — Americans celebrating Thanksgiving in Britain may have felt right at home as Black Friday shopping chaos caused disruptions.

The practice of offering bargain basement prices the day after Thanksgiving has spread across the Atlantic, with some retailers opening overnight to lure shoppers.

Police were called early Friday morning to help maintain security at some supermarkets and shopping outlets that offered deep discounts starting at midnight.

Some of the worst problems were in the Manchester area in northwestern England where police were summoned to seven Tesco supermarkets after disturbances.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Peter Fahy said he was “disappointed” that stores did not have enough security personnel on duty for the after-hours shopping.

“This created situations where we had to deal with crushing, disorder and disputes between customers,” he said.

Fights broke out at some stores and major websites stopped functioning because of too much traffic as shoppers sought online bargains.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. As Glenn Greenwald notes, the Black Friday virus has also infected his adopted home country of Brazil. See below:

“Black Friday” everywhere in Thanksgiving-free Brazil #infectionpic.twitter.com/o1nzz8VKbm

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 28, 2014

Think you’re safe in Africa? Think again. Check out this piece from MarketWatch:

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Funmi Adeyemi has been saving all year for Black Friday. Since October, she’s been surfing U.S. websites and has picked out $300 worth of merchandise, including Ralph Lauren apparel for her two-and four-year-old kids and shoes from Neiman Marcus for herself.

And she’s made her selections from the comfort of home — in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

Black Friday “is when I wait to do most of my shopping,” Adeyemi said. “I can buy everything in one day. I buy whatever catches my eye and whatever is the right price. It’s a big thing here and has gone viral. A lot of people are waiting for (U.S.) Black Friday sales.”

The 32-year-old project manager is waiting until Friday to see what discounts she can get before placing final online orders. And she’s a pro. This is the fifth Black Friday that she has spent shopping for U.S. deals from Nigeria with the help of mobile shopping app, MallforAfrica.

Major U.S. retailers do not ship directly to Nigeria, so MallforAfrica acts as middleman, shipping the goods bought on U.S. websites to the West African country. MallforAfrica CEO and founder Chris Folayan, a Nigerian who lives in the U.S., said there has been a spike in signups to the app in the past two days.

And Adeyemi and her fellow Nigerians aren’t alone. While Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally kicks off the U.S. holiday shopping season, may be losing its sizzle in its home market, it’s gaining ground overseas.

“We’ve certainly exported the Black Friday madness to the world,” said Borderfree CEO Michael DeSimone. “It’s become a big shopping day around the world. We don’t just see (orders) from Canada and Australia but also the Middle East and China.”

Here’s a billboard from Nigeria:

Just in case you needed further proof that the religion of consumerism knows no borders.

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

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