I’m not sure why everyone is so enraged by the pictures of fighting, shouting and arrests from Black Friday. British people have been exhibiting this sort of behaviour for years, whether it be at the open doors of a shop holding a sale or even trying to get into a Tube carriage (I was elbowed in the stomach on Monday morning by someone who clearly had a very important meeting to get to). When Primark opened its Oxford Street store in 2007, there was the most absurd stampede of thousands of screaming shoppers into the building, as though they were being chased in by some enormous monster. Instead, it turned out they were being chased in by a monster desire for a cheap cardigan.
Anyone who has worked in a shop over the Christmas and New Year holidays will recognise the strange atavistic behaviour of apparently quite well-socialised adults when confronted with a 50% off sticker.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in