Misery in Italy: hours-long queues to get a half-price hamburger

On December 1,  thousands of people, especially young people, stormed the various McDonald’s points throughout Italy, creating numerous traffic blocks, hours-long lines, and absurd queues. All this was because of a simple offer launched by the American fast food giant, which consisted of the possibility of buying a Crispy McBacon, the multinational corporation’s particular flagship sandwich, and a large menu for only three euros (less than half the price of the normal).

Mile-long queues in McDonald’s

The event that created such a stir was the start of the so-called “Winterdays,” McDonald’s promotions on products throughout the Christmas season. Dozens of videos shared on social media show scenes of real collective madness. From Brescia and Milan to Bari, via Ferrara and Rome, there are non-stop apocalyptic queues from morning to night just to eat a sandwich.

@clipschips

Oggi i McDonald’s di tutta Italia sono pieni di gente per l’offerta del Crispy Menù Large a 3€ la gente sta in coda anche per ore intere #mcdonalds #italia #crispy #panino #code #offerta

♬ Circus – Color Clownies

The misery of our time and the special misery of Italy

The mobilization and struggle for a half-price menu by a multinational corporation symbolizing exploitation and globalization show the human and cultural misery of our time. The myth of consumerism has now become the only one capable of moving the masses and getting them activated, pervading individual passions and instincts. The psychological mechanism (in this case, winning) imposes the dogma “you can’t live without,” a classic imperative that accompanies the launch of every new product of postmodern capitalism, be it a sandwich or the new iPhone on duty. And Italy is no longer a Western country, but it is slowly sliding toward a third world of moral and economic decadence.