*8 minute history of Black Friday*

Is history bound to repeat itself? Should we continue to fight against the powers-that-be? Is society really progressing? Who the hell knows? This Black Friday, millions of people stormed the doors of faceless corporations in hopes that they will save a few dollars on material items that the market convinced them are a “must-have” this holiday season.

They pack the aisles of Walmart, America’s largest corporation, fighting each other to save $10 on a video game or some other pointless item that will not make the world a better place. At the same time, the same corporation exploits their employees and pays them a wage that they cannot live off of.

The workers risked their jobs and walked out of Walmarts all across the country in a mass strike. They asked people to boycott the heartless corporation and refuse to spend money there. They were ignored by the masses. Ultimately, Walmart will make billions on Black Friday, Wall Street will skyrocket, the Wal-Mart worker’s plight will be ignored and low-income individuals will go further into debt.

Why do we continue to do this to ourselves? This morning I was reading Clarence Darrow, Attorney for the Damned, by John A. Farrell. It was stunning how the people of the late 1890’s and early 1900’s fought against the same type of injustices as we do today. The Populist platform during that time (1894) stated (this is just a restatement of their platform and is not an endorsement of all of their ideals):

“We meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, political, and material ruin. Corruption dominates the ballot-box, the legislatures, the Congress and touches every ermine of the bench.

The newspapers are largely subsidized or muzzled, public opinion silenced, business prostrated, homes cover with mortgages, labor impoverished and the land concentrating in the hands of the capitalists. The urban workmen are denied the right to organize for self-protection; imported pauperized labor beats down their wages, a hireling standing army, unrecognized by our laws, is established to shoot them down.

The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build up the colossal fortunes of the few… and the possessors of these, in turn, despise the Republic and endanger liberty.”

Although some of the references may be a little outdated, don’t they sound familiar? Police brutality, the mortgage crisis, wage stagnation, debt, and the wealth gap still exist.

The mindless mob is spoon-fed capitalist ideals and blindly supports the system. The rich sit back and laugh, as they get richer. They do not need to participate in Black Friday. They are sheltered from police brutality and an unjust court system. They love the debt that destroys families across the country and bang the drum of “Right to Work” policies. They own the government and know that they will dictate whatever change occurs in the future.

The Populists of 1894 believed:

“The President and his Wall Street allies are a small band of schemers… who have not a drop of Democratic blood in their veins, whose sympathy are entirely with the great corporations which treat the American republic as a foraging ground.”

 The players may have changed and certain issues have evolved, but the premise remains the same; Capitalism exploits and subjugates people. Can we ever change that? When will the People finally think for themselves and fight back? Will the revolution ever succeed? Who the hell knows! All that I know is that we cannot believe that it is pointless to fight back or they will definitely win! We Must Keep up the fight!  #WalmartStrikers #Ferguson

Visit www.blackfridayprotests.org to support striking Walmart Workers!

*The definition of psychosis is:”a serious mental disorder characterized by thinking and emotions that are so impaired, that they indicate that the person experiencing them has lost contact with reality.”