My Black Friday Disagreement
26 Nov
As much as I love my newfangled gadgets, toys, and clothes, I disagree with the vast, wasteful consumerism that most Americans subscribe to. Nothing quite exemplifies this like Black Friday.
Mass amounts of people gather together insanely early to buy things they don’t need at stellar prices. The reports of old ladies being crushed to death and gentlemen going to blows over the latest gaming system are not points in the whole system’s favor.
None of this nonsense here on my excursion.
Black Friday exposes a side of human behavior I’m not comfortable with and want to refuse. All of that violence, all of that panic and disorder for what? What sort of television is worth that? I’m hard pressed to think of a single gadget worth exposing myself (and I’ve seen photos of people taking their kids along to this ridiculousness) to that much avoidable chaos.
Now, I do suppose this is a bit hypocritical of me. Once upon a time, I camped out for a whole two hours with a friend for a Wii. This was not during their first release (I don’t think), but on one of the “oh-crap-we-don’t-have-enough” shipments. We sat outside in the cold Tucson winter until someone finally opened the door and we were allowed to make our purchase. There were a total of twenty people standing in line, not the massive amounts one sees at these Black Friday gigs. There were no tents, no sleeping bags, and no one showed any inclination of having stood there for more than two hours. We were even the first ones in line.
Do any of you guys participate in Black Friday?
Nope, I don’t do Black Friday live and in person, although I sometimes order online using discount codes if there’s something I want (today for instance I bought a few things I wanted/needed [yes, needed - they showed me the "don't loose the cable behind the table" clips I'd been looking for so I bought 'em] from ThinkGeek and used their discount code).
I’ve waited in line for hours for music act tickets many years ago; not much that I’m willing to toss away my time for.
Have fun! – Bob
I’m of the firm belief that stunts such as Black Friday really display the worst of the crass wasteful disposable consumerist mentality that has overrun a nation whose denizens were once renowned for their combination of hard work, thrift, and love for function and practicality.
It’s good for the big-box stores because they get the traffic numbers to provide pricing leverage when dealing with distributors. It’s good for the credit card industry because of all the interest they get to charge. It’s bad for most of the people camping out in front of the stores, because likely as not they really don’t have the money they’re about to blow in the name of getting a deal on teh shiny.
I think of how much better a lot of that money would probably be, were it donated to organizations that help feed, clothe, and shelter those who need assistance. But I’m a cynical bastard, so don’t mind me.
Not everyone uses credit cards for their purchases, and not everyone buys things they can’t afford… But, I do see (and agree) with your general point.
I mostly agree with you, but I can see the other side of it as well. Think of a family that is just getting by, but still wants Christmas to be special for their kids. Some of the deals on Black Friday are really good, and might allow them to purchase something for their kids that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.
While I disagree with the whole notion of teaching kids about Santa, I can imagine how difficult it would be to try to explain to a kid why Santa didn’t bring them anything but socks this year.
Personally though, you couldn’t pay me enough to go shopping today.
I do participate in Black Friday, however I do it for quality time with my mom. I don’t camp out, trample people, or get into shouting matches for things. It’s not worth it. I totally agree with Black Friday bringing out the worst in people so I try my best to steer clear of places inundated with crazies trying to get a toaster for $5.
I do catch some great deals for Christmas presents, but if something is gone, oh well, I’ll get it for the normal price later… no biggie:)
Kevin, I do see what you’re saying. But even with the Santa Claus / Christmas excuse, we could still argue that we’re sending the wrong message to the children. It can be difficult to convince a 12 year old hellbent on the newest video game system that spending time with their family is a better gift, but we can try, can’t we?
Tiffany, I can’t imagine spending that much time and effort trying to get a toaster for $5. It is good to spend time with your mother, that’s for sure. I’d likely try to convince her that we didn’t really need to go do all that crazy shopping. But, I hate shopping anyway. Thank you for sharing!