First They Took Downtown and Now the Mall - Is this Amazon's Fault?

I'm a 57-year-old woman from Vancouver, Canada. I grew up in Chilliwack. And I still remember when I was a girl, if you wanted to go shopping, you went downtown. That's where the Eaton's Department Store was, the Sweet Sixteen Store, and all kinds of mom and pop businesses. But of course, that all changed in the 70s as malls rose from nothing all over the lower mainland... including our small town. 

Well at first, we loved it. Heck, you could go and try on all kinds of different things in stores in very close proximity without getting cold and wet. It gave you time to make up your mind. But then downtown died. It became a haven of second-hand clothes and used furniture shops. But now the malls have all changed too.

When I go to most of Vancouver's malls, stores sit empty, their windows boarded over. And I can't help but think, "What's going on here? Have people gotten so lazy they can't get up and go to the mall anymore? They'd rather stay home staring at a computer screen, too busy to enjoy life a little? To go for a walk? To meet with a friend for coffee?"

Seems it's true. 

I've watched over the years as department stores have disappeared - Eaton's, Zellers, Woodward's, Saan's, Field's. Even boutiques have gone the way of the cemetery: Mariposa's, Rickie's, Dalmy's, Radio Shack, names that have all slipped from the public's minds.

Is it Amazon's fault? I mean, they make it so easy to purchase anything with just one click. And they're sure giving Walmart a run for their money. Walmart's scrambling to catch up. Some author friend of mine posted today that she was a Walmart Bestseller? She was so happy! A what? Seriously? A Walmart bestseller?

What's our world coming to? We are slowly but surely being alienated from one another. Folks sit at home watching Netflix instead of going out. Teens text instead of having a friend over. People order things instead of going to the mall to buy them. People, can't you see, we're all sitting around alone!

It makes me think of Petula Clark's song, Downtown, where all the lights are bright. But that day is gone, and now our malls are dying a painful death too. Slowly, we're being taken over, our own slovenliness handing the control to the giants: Amazon, Walmart...

Think about it...