There is a growing concern in this country about drug use. But from what I saw during the holidays, cocaine, pot, not even Meth can hold a candle to the modern American mall. It was amazing to watch as normal, fully functioning humans walked into what is essentially a human maze and were transformed into dazed, non-attentive zombies.
It was an almost instant effect. Their walking pace slowed down to less than a stroll. Their focus was constantly obliterated as they stared into one colorful window display after another, often stopping dead in the middle of traffic completely oblivious of other shoppers who flowed around them like a sluggish river. And if there was group of three or more they oozed out to fill the entire walkway. The poor shoppers behind this impromptu roadblock wove back and forth trying to find an opening to pass the group before the human wall blocked the way again. At one point a lady was walking towards me, head up, eyes open. She wasn't on the phone, wasn't looking at a list, didn't have a child distracting her. She was simply walking with her newly bought treasures, covering the distance between us, getting closer and closer. The problem was that she was directly in line with me and it didn't look like she was going to give ground. Was I really about to play chicken with a middle aged housewife? She kept on coming. I guess I was. I had this funny thought that maybe she would shift to avoid me. Of course, the absurdity of the situation threw me off so much that I didn't think of moving out of the way either and we collided. She looked for a moment as if she had just woken from a dream, eyes wide she quickly assessed her surroundings. Then she looked at me and angrily told me to watch where I was going before hurrying off in a huff. She had every right to get mad at me. I could've moved. Wow, I had been effected by the mall myself.
What is it about the mall that seems to induce such a state? Could it be that it is a closed course therefore safer than the outside world so you don't have to pay as much attention to what's going on? Or maybe it's the overload of available options, too many choices overwhelming the mind creating an instant state of catatonia. Perhaps, for those conspiracy theorists out there, the large corporations that own the mall pump sedatives into the air-conditioning system to lull shoppers into a money spending comfort zone. Whatever it is, it is legal, easily accessible, creates massive cash flow, and can be highly addictive. There is one group though, that is immune to its effects--the modern American teenager. But that is for another time.
