spectacle

I have a friend who has a tradition of going to a mall Thanksgiving night to watch the "Black Friday" shoppers. He doesn't buy anything; he just enjoys watching the insane spectacle. I find the whole thing too rotten and sad to get any pleasure out of it, perhaps for the same reasons I don't think I could possibly enjoy watching a dog fight or a cock fight: fighting animals and Black Friday shoppers are both pitiable creatures conditioned to enthusiastically destroy themselves for someone else's benefit.

I manage to avoid the consumerist frenzy of the Christmas season for the most part, as I don't watch TV or go to malls. There do seem to be more parties to attend though.