Memorial Day Deals

Started by chrish, May 28, 2016, 09:22:56 AM

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chrish

I was checking out the deal alert thread today and noticed  25 percent off some boss pedals. I've been checking out the dd-20 pedal and my heart raced as i calulated the great deal price. The consumer in me,me, me said ''good deal, must have that pedal,good deal''. But then i started thinking about Memorial day and what it means to me, i pondered a story that my dad told me. My dad was a sargent in the army during world war 2 and part of the big red one division under General Patton. One day, in Germany, my dad was scheduled to go out on a patrol to a small town. Another member of my dad's company really wanted to go out on that patrol and asked my dad to take his place, and he agreed. Well, when that patrol entered the town, they received enemy fire and the patrol took cover in the roadside drainage ditch. That ditch turned out to be a trap as the enemy opposing the patrol were smart and had pre-sighted a machine gun to fire down that ditch. Everyone in the patrol was killed except the guy who took my dad's place, who was seriously wounded with a bullet to his head. So, no deals for me on these days when we honor those who gave so much so we may prosper. 

Chumly

#1
I respect and appreciate your anti-consumerism sentiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-consumerism

What you could do however, is take the savings from the sale price versus the regular price and donate the difference to a non-profit veteran organization of your choice. I have done similarly with various non-profit environmental organizations, non-profit pro-science organizations and non-profit freethinking organizations.
I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. - Richard P. Feynman

whippinpost91850


Now_And_Then

#3
 Well the thing is that if you buy the item because of a Memorial Day Sale, then you are encouraging businesses to continue to use Memorial Day as a time for merchandising. The business only knows that they had a Memorial Day Sale and they sold the items; they have no idea where the money that the purchaser saved went. Nor do they care.

The only real way that you can show your dismay at Memorial Day merchandising is by not buying.

But the problem is that Memorial Day is not only a holiday, but it is also the "Beginning Of Summer". So Memorial Day is never going to be a day as solemn as perhaps it ought to be.

Personally, I think that if you do remember what the day commemorates, then you have done all that needs to be done. I am not sure that the lives and deaths being commemorated require you to more.

Obviously it's a decision that each makes for himself (although we both know that most people don't give it a second thought...)

chrish

#4
Quote from: Now_And_Then on May 28, 2016, 11:41:42 AM
 

Obviously it's a decision that each makes for himself (although we both know that most people don't give it a second thought...)
Exactly. And i don't want people to think that i'm judging them for the choices they make in buying these products. When i checked out those deals, i was ready to buy but was then struck by two things, one being my physiological response to the 'deal'. Sure signs of an addiction to consumerism. The second was the words ''memorial day sale', which  caused the second thoughts about the true meaning of the day.  It didn't seem quite right,  ethically, to be using those words to sell products for profit, especially when i think about how i may not even be here to live this life if not for the sacrafice of others.