A One Day A Year War Zone Poem by R.K. Cowles

2003: a woman first in line
Waiting to get into Wal-mart
For a $30 DVD playerWhen the 6AM siren blared
She was pushed down
Knocked unconcious
Trampled over like a herd of elephants
Her sister yelling 'Stop! '
'My sister is on the ground'
Her and an employee reached her
But the mob continued to trample
As they rush for deals
All they cared about
Were lousy DVD players
Medics discovered her unconscious
On top of a broken DVD player
Surrounded by shoppers
Who seemingly was oblivious
She was flown to Halifax medical center in Daytona Beach
She stayed in the hospital 2-3 months
Someone said 'Never heard such of a thing

Well let me tell you another
A year before in 2002
There were bargain bullies
In a witchita department store
There's people actually fighting
Over a shirt
That's right a shirt
One shopper woke up
And realized what was going on
She quoted 'This is ridiculous'
'I don't want my life in danger for this'
Apparently she retained her common sense

In Cascade Township, Michigan
Wal-Mart did not provide enough security
Shoppers just stampeded for deals
Two people wound up in an ambulance
Instead of the checkout line

Orlando, Florida
Man alledgely cut in line
He ended up getting tackled
And was beaten up
People this is not a third world country
This is Orlando, Florida

Another department store
Promoted they had plenty of laptops
In reality they only had a limited quantity
Only twenty-two laptops were in stock
Hundreds of shoppers went home empty handed
The employees threw the laptops into the crowd
The crowd tusseled, stampeded and collapsed on each other
Merely to grab cheap laptops
Leaving a dozen injured

In Secaucas, New Jersey
A woman repeatedly stabeed a man with a kitchen knife
From the warehouse section
Just to prevent him from buying the last X-box

In Tucker, georgia Toys-R-Us
A woman bludgeoned another to death
With a baseball bat
all over an American girl doll
Yelling at the victim
'Hasta la vista, baby'

Cars were overturned in Chicago by angered customers
Angered because they weren't able
To get their hands on a cheap DVD player
The department store didn't have enough for all the customers

A security guard was beatened to death
By a mob in Sheboygan, Wisconsin
All over an X-box
In Columbus, Ohio
There were shortage of Star Wars toys
One customer yells
'They have some over here'
'Four left'
People were injured from the stampede
That happened to be in their path

In Glendale, California
Two men were fighting
Over an electric toy
Knocking over shelves
Creating over $1,000 in damages

A woman was trampled in a store in New York
And was in the hospital until March
Have I mention this is not a third world counrty but America

In Beaumont, Texas
Police forced to use pepper spray
On a bargain shopping mob at a Wal-Mart

Employees at Circuit City
Handed out pamphlets to shoppers
At front of the line
Mistakenly thinking it is a voucher
For limited items
Shoppers from the back
Rushed, trampled, shoved
And assaulted fellow shoppers
And even fought police
Just to get their hands on these pamphlets

At an Oak Park department store
People were rushed up an esculator
Just so they can be first
To the next floor's deals

At a Grand Rapids Wal-Mart
A thirty-seven year old woman injured her knee
From a greedy stampede
A thirteen year old girl tried to help up a pregnant woman
Who was also trampled by the unruly mob
She said
'Wal-Mart did not do enough to protect us'

A seventy-three year old woman
In Coconut Creek
Busted her tail bone
From being trampled in a department store
By a stampede of hungry bargain seekers

2002: NewJersey four police departments
Were called to keep order
That is right, you have heard me
Four police departments
Not policemen, but departments

Also in 2002
In Chicago at a Best Buy
The shoppers caused pandomonium
Police officers were called
So order could be restored

One woman was robbed at gunpoint
For an X-Box
After she got home
'He was going to kill me for that game'
The robbery victim said

2005 in NYC a woman was trampled to death
This time at a K-Mart
Lately there have been shouting matches
Over parking spaces on this day
That happens to arrive one day every year

Pretty soon people are going to start
Running each other over with their cars
Just that they weren't lucky
Lucky enough to get some cheap item
That was a limited quantity
From a department store

This a product of our materialistic consumer society
These shoppers are acting like
As if their lives are depended on it
What is it?
That would be so important
To inspire such primitive behavior, you ask
Cheap prices on cheap items
For Christmas presents
From department stores
That open up early on Black Friday

They say it is done in the name of Christ
Didn't Jesus say he didn't care for material items?
Well, he didn't care for them
I don't think he is happy
With what goes on on Black Friday

Jesus wouldn't shop any of these place if he was here
Hasn't anyone read anything about Jesus?
Doesn't any one read the Bible?
Love thy neighbor, shall not kill
Apparently not
Or people wouldn't be so greedy during the holidays
And willing to harm someone else
And act like vicious animals
For items that are garbage

These items are useless
That these people purchase
The reciever most likely won't use it
A year or two
They'll give it away
Or be sold at their garage sale

Doesn't anyone give the gift of love
Gift of comfort?
Gift of their aid?
Gift of their presence?
And many other gifts
That you don't need to buy with money
These gifts are right inside you

This is one of many reasons
I'm ashamed of being a human being
A human being in today's society
A materialistic society
A materialistic society of America
On this day that happens to be a war zone
On Black Friday