Mon 20 Oct 2008
No. 40 The Pigs are at the Trough
Posted by Jeffman under ugly greed
[7] Comments
If anybody needs further proof that the human race is beyond saving, then they need look no further than the recent re-opening of the Curry’s Superstore in the delightful shire of Wednesbury, which offered a veritable feast of knockdown electrical consumable bargains.

Ugly displays of wanton greed are not the sole reserve of the rich, the merchant bankers, and the production line of successive arrogant politicians that have succeeded in bringing this country to its knees. Not at all.
Dignity and self respect means nothing nowadays. Not when there’s a cut-price Sony camcorder on the cards. The fangs are bared; the pigs are at the trough.
As with every other high-profile store opening of recent times (Primark and Ikea for example) that offered ridiculous first day reductions, it was destined to plummet into chaos. I say ridiculous reductions, as this is probably the closest these items will ever be to their actual value.
The scum of every race, creed and colour descended like a plague of locusts to brawl it out in the ten items or less queue over something they’d managed to live their lives without thus far, until £100 was knocked off the asking price.
Not wishing to sound like Fanshawe, but this debacle could’ve been foreseen by anybody with half of their grey matter still intact. Wednesbury, for all its faults, is actually a festering hive of scum and villainy… oh, and chavs too; so much so that a section of the M6 motorway had to be closed off to allow them all access to said store.
What possibly goes through the mind of somebody who is willing to step out of their front door in the belief that cheap and dangerously flammable sportswear is the height of sartorial elegance? And then is willing to wait outside a shop (this is just a shop) all night so that they can be one of the first through the gates at opening time? Like a drove of swine surging forth to the next trough of the farmer’s discarded slops.
There are invariably casualties along the way, even before a chubby hand has so much as touched a bargain. There will be those that are crushed and trampled underfoot in the initial stampede; like a herd of spooked elephants the fallen are left behind to fend for themselves as the bargain hunters are dazzled and drawn in by the promise of pounds off.
And that’s when the trouble starts.
Woe betide anybody who’s managed to get the last 40 inch LCD TV; or a nest of cheap Swedish tables; or even a scraggy halter top; for it will come to blows when somebody else decides they want it and snatches it straight from their grasping hands.
Human co-existence in action.
Of course, as is always the case when greedy multi-conglomerations (made up word) sell stuff at a price nearer to their actual worth and flaunt it under the snouts of equally greedy but not so multi-conglomerated animals, the police had to be called to break up the proceedings.
These stores know exactly what they’re doing and feigning shock when the inevitable happens whilst wringing their hands to the tune of the cash till beep won’t wash. Knowingly taking advantage of people’s inherent, selfish greed ensures maximum profits for the shareholders.
It’s a sad indictment on society as one big festering whole.
Consider yourselves warned!
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October 21st, 2008 at 4:25 am
You know, Baby..there just ain’t that much I’m willing to stand in line to pay for…specially with flu season coming on.
Eve
October 21st, 2008 at 5:34 am
Colorful if a bit uncharitable account my
friend. Is yours the only appropriate description ? what do you have to gain from such a lengthy description of the human scene?
Methinks thou doth exploit the very subject of your critcal acclaim to profit from with the attentions of your readers. It may all be what you say it is, however, What does it make you
to so loftily judge it from your distant vantage? Is all of it so much worse than your own prurient interest?—Doug Rosbury
October 21st, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Eve: That’s where the shotgun comes in handy, Eve. It not only elimnates the problem of tiresome queues, but also the need to actually pay for stuff. Never leave home without it, my dear.
Doug: Uncharitable? Well that’s a case of subjectivity. Whereas you see my words as uncharitable attempts at bolstering my own narcissistic tendencies, I see them as being not nearly as harsh as they could’ve been.
If your criticism of me is for exploitation in a bid to profit from the attentions of my readers, then you’re right. Every word here is put down to gauge a reaction either pro, against or apathetic to from the person reading it. That is the entire point of me writing in the first place. If it gets the occasional laugh or a cry of indignation from just one person then I’ve succeeded in what I’m doing.
However, these aren’t innocents being exploited from the shadows by some Svengali type. If you choose to push into a queue causing a dangerous surge and the very real possibility of serious injury; or you choose to fight it out in the middle of a shop over a Satnav, then you leave yourself open to criticism. The fact that I choose not to do these things may not make me any better than those that do, but it certainly doesn’t make me any worse.
Society is now corrupted by the selfish streak more and more people see fit to live their lives by. Anything resembling a modicum of manners and respect for others and their property is being eroded away and this pisses me off. When I see or read about such ugly public displays of greed such as this, I see it as my right to comment on it.
As for the lofty judgement from my distant vantage point (I’m not peering down from some ivory tower), you have no idea who I am or anything else about me, yet you’ve made your own judgement. That’s fine. That’s how it works.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Doug.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:09 am
Great post, Jeffman. Your description of the of the insufferable human scene is dead on and elegant in prose. Greed is a disease. A disease in which we humans infest ourselves with every time we take and take to fill the empty voids which we call our souls. Trouble is…. we can never be fully fulfilled with items and gadgets and money. We turn away from the real prizes of love and brotherhood of man only to gorge at the trough of greed.
Sad. True. Doomed.
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:58 am
Now everyone is talking about the American economy and elections, nice to read something different. Eugene
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Cheap camcorder! I’m there. The kids can live off of Ramen and government cheese. Again.
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:52 am
Kelly: Doomed indeed, sir. Nicely put. Show someone an unattainable goal, and trick them into thinking it is attainable, and they’ll trample down former friends and colleagues in a bid to reach it. That’s how they destroyed that long forgotten concept of solidarity. Divide and conquer.
Eugene: As I have no say in the American elections, I have barely any interest. You can read this and other similar nonsense twice a week, every week. It would be foolish not to.
Starcasm: I’ve no idea what Ramen is, but government cheese? Your government hands out cheese? It sounds a wild idea that might just work. I shall be placing my order with Gordon Brown for a nice delivery of Somerset Brie.