Wal-Mart Worker Trampled Analysis

In class on December 1st `08 we just came back from thanksgiving weekend which included black friday, being the day where Americans go out and buy what they want for bargain prices. Andy presented to us an article talking about a man who worked at a Wal-Mart and opened the store early Friday morning for black Friday, he was trampled by the customers which ended up killing him. After reading this article I just thought, this just goes to show how capitalism and sales affects the citizens of America, Americans act like "savages" to get what they want for a good price. Competition and the idea of "Every man [or woman] for himself [or herself]" has been drilled into the minds of Americans and they live by this phrase causing "madness" and "utter chaos" as described by the Daily News article. Even if not everyone has this belief in their mind they are influenced by it, they are being "bum rushed from the back" as Andy desribed it. People are being forced into things because the rest of society has a predominant influence on them. Competition is part of the idea of capitalism and its forcing Americans to compete for everything such as, job offers, money, social status, bargained priced goods in this case, or even some recognition at their school, job, home etc. Part of the American dream I have noticed is fame, which is recognition that people compete for, artists compete to be on the top of the charts, and even students like myself compete to get recognition from colleges to get a better chance of getting a good education.