Holiday Shopping

[joshuak]

Jeff Stahler, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio 12/01/08

In this cartoon there are two women who appear to be working out on treadmills. One woman says to the other, "Training for a marathon?" The other woman replies with, "No... holiday shopping." Also, what I noticed was the sweat coming from the woman training for holiday shopping, though no sweat from the woman on the left. The woman on the right also appears to be running faster.

Unfortunately, shopping is the new past time of the United States. The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, has proven to be the biggest shopping day of the year. With stores opening as early as Midnight and staying open until the wee hours of the next night, while simultaneously offering huge sales, why wouldn't it be the biggest shopping day? It's honestly ridiculous how serious people get while shopping. It has literally become a health risk and a danger to people's lives. This past Black Friday, a man died. One Walmart employee unfortunately was in the worst spot when the crowd sotrmed in. A quote from police in Nassau county said this, "a throng of shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground." The 34 year old worker was later pronounced dead. Also, a 28 year old pregnant woman was taken to the hospital to have her baby inspected. On top of these two instances three other people in the Walmart alone were injured. Something needs to be done in the United States about this whole shopping thing. Aren't the holidays supposed to be more about loving and caring for those close to you? Obviously not anymore. The media, department stores, big corporations, pressuring people into buying things for loved ones during the holiday season. Unfortunately those responsible for the pain and horror caused during shopping aren't' able to experience what happens first hand. The holiday season needs to shy away from spending loads of money and go back to the way it used to be. Family, friends, that should be what matters, not who received the most expensive present or who got the new Xbox 360. It's ridiculous!

[roycastro]

People being killed from being trampled by "storming shoppers" really is very ridiculous. It just goes to show the increasing selfish nature of people nowadays. The only reason people stormed in violently is because they were too preoccupied thinking about racing to the best sales first before the items were already sold, instead of thinking that maybe they could be hurting people. I've been a witness to "mad shopping." My mother was at Target and there was a sale there; as she was approaching the last item on sale, a woman came running from behind her and bumped her into a whole aisle shelf, which then proceeded to tumbling down on my mother. Luckily my mom was able to sue because she actually injured her neck, but it came with the price of pain. It just goes to show how far people will go to get a simple percentage off of the cost of items; it really is ridiculous.

[jonathons]

The whole holiday shopping thing is indeed ridiculous. This cartoon satirizes the fact that people run through stores to get gifts for the holiday especially on "Black Friday". The lady training to go holiday shopping is indeed clever and funny, but at the same time kind of embarrassing to know how greedy we truly are and how needing we are of gifts to have our families and ourselves go to stores and trample people over things we truly don't even need.

[Mr. Wells]

Description: 10
Interpretation: 6 This was accomplished only via implication in your argument; remember that a clear interpretation of the cartoonist's meaning and purpose should be in the first paragraph
Knowledge of Topic: 10 Great research
Argument: 10 Good argument supported by many specific pieces of evidence
Reply to Classmate: 10 A superb, thoughtful reply

46/50