No exceptions allowed

Alas! Big business - especially big retail business - is so hurting these days that Thanksgiving Day was pulled in to assist the struggling big retail department stores from going under and causing Americans to lose out on all the junk we might not otherwise be able to buy for Christmas. We schmucks who struggle from paycheck to paycheck are now enlisted in the cause helping the rich to get richer and rightly making ourselves poorer by spending all our money on useless goods so that we don't miss out on the Fight Club experience held annually on what is known as Black Friday. Brown Thursday is now an anticipatory event leading up to that nonsense. I once erroneously thought Brown Thursday referred to the gravy on my turkey and dressing but now I find it is mostly on my face for not admitting to the stupidity and ignorance of the American character. I've been duped, Jeremiah said to God after prophesying and realizing how much trouble it gave him. And I've been duped into thinking that Americans can still revere a holiday tradition for our families. But American families aren't families anymore. They are something else which no word can define.

In Indianapolis on November 29 the youth membership of Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral on Monument Circle was raided by city code enforcement officials because they were selling cookies and hot cocoa to the crowds gathering for the lighting of the monument's Christmas tree. This violated a city ordinance that regulates vendors from taking advantage of innocent citizens during special events held in the downtown area. There is a 'clean zone' in which such vendors must refrain from all sales.

The Indianapolis Star reported that Christ Church has been giving away hot drinks during the Circle of Lights for decades, and selling a few cookies on the side as a youth fundraiser for quite a while.

But because big business is hurting so much, on Friday night city code enforcement officials sent the youth membership packing and their cocoa and cookies went undrunk and uneaten. The city ordinance enacted before the Super Bowl in 2012 enables big Downtown special events to establish a "clean zone" where vendors are closely regulated, if not out-and-out prohibited. According to the Star, Christ Church "and its outlaw cookie operation — fell into the clean zone for the Circle of Lights."

The church requested of city officials they be allowed to give away the left over cookies. But no way! That would harm the city's ideals assisting only the biggest of vendors. How dare those youth try to undercut the greedy city's aims. You see, the ordinance protects the hosts of large special events, such as the Super Bowl, the Final Four, Indiana Black Expo's Summer Celebration or the Circle of Lights from competing interests. It should be emphasized that these expensive venues can compromise not at all with the aggressive and unruly youth wanting to earn a pittance by selling cookies and cocoa. Why waste your pennies on such foolishness? It means less income for big business.

A curious addenda to this incident is that even the neighboring Starbucks had to close down a sidewalk sale at the same time. I would have thought Starbucks would have regarded the youth as unnecessary competitors.

I believe both youth and church hospitality events have been put in their place!