Reply #4: Sometimes I wonder...

[0rganism]

Is this whole overplay-the-carols-in-commercial-settings schtick designed to sour people on Christianity?

One year, I was paying my rent by working at a Prints Plus shop in a mall, and let me tell you: by the time I got off work at night, it was all I could do to not rip down the holiday decorations, burn the Christmas trees, and fling feces at the bell-ringers. Jesus was not making any birthday buddies. Few things are as poisonous as being around a 40-minute tape loop of popped-up christmas carols for an overtime shift.

And it was the same for everyone in the store, including the customers. NO ONE LIKED THE FUCKING MUSIC, all were annoyed to some degree, but company policy was to blast that shit at top volume throughout December. It's like mind rape. After about three times through the tape, no original thought is possible, and sheer desparation sets in. Chinese Water Torture doesn't hold a candle to having "Here Comes Santa Claus" drilled into your skull like a mantra.

The only reprieve we had was working the shop, framing prints and doing inventory, because it was permitted to wear a walkman at such times. But you can't run the register or work the storefront that way.