This past Thursday, Thanksgiving, I
was checking my phone in between our family’s turkey dinner and apple pie
dessert when I received a snapchat from my friend. It was a picture of her in an
extremely long line of people waiting to be let into Macy’s. I was taken aback
by the fact that she would wait in line at a store on Thanksgiving night. But
after asking a few family members, I realized that this wasn’t that uncommon.
In fact, many Americans actually did use Thanksgiving night as a time to begin
their Black Friday shopping this year.
In an article I found from the
Huffington Post titled “Black Friday Marred by Violence in Several States,” the
author talks about acts of violence that occurred on Friday (and even Thursday
night) because of shopping disputes. In one incident in Las Vegas, shoppers got
in a fight over a TV. The attacker shot one of the other shoppers before
driving off. The author also reported that in Virginia, a man was slashed
because he and the perpetrator were arguing over a parking spot.
It is ridiculous that these acts of
violence happened over unimportant shopping-related activities. The fact that
someone would hurt another person over a TV or a good parking spot is
absolutely absurd to me. It shows me just how important shopping and material
goods are to us nowadays; being the first one in line (most likely the reason
the shoppers were fighting over the parking spot – they wanted to get inside
the store sooner) and getting as many shopping items as possible while they are
on sale.
I’m not trying to throw my friend
under the bus here, but it is really a shame that shoppers have started
sacrificing their Thanksgiving night – a precious time that is supposed to be
spent with family – in order to arrive at stores sooner and assure that all
their desired goods will still be there. Below is a picture that shows shoppers
on Thanksgiving night waiting to be let into Best Buy. They are waiting outside
in the cold, content to be spending the holiday evening doing nothing but
staring at a parking lot. Some have even brought chairs and blankets, prepared
to stay for however long it takes until they can enter.
Now, clearly the attackers mentioned
in the article do not represent the average consumer, but their
actions still show the really misplaced values of some of these people. The
fact that many Americans are willing to sacrifice their Thanksgiving for
shopping shows just how addicted we are as a nation to buying things, and how
much we are letting our craving for goods control our lives.
I agree with you Alex that it seems like shopping and material goods have been put at a higher position than family during Black Friday shopping in a way. However, as we discussed in class, Americans have a role of being consumers. Without consumerism and events like Black Friday, many businesses may not be able to survive. Though there are extreme cases where people get crazy over Black Friday deals, that is what I find to be an unfortunate side-effect. I think that overall, businesses and the economy are benefitting, so there is nothing wrong with Black Friday. I know it might seem silly to wait in line and try to get the best deals, but I think that ideal of shopping has been taught to many Americans from a young age: if you can get something cheap and good quality, buy it. It is almost as though it is our duty to be shopping on Black Friday.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Alex and Josh that this is a little bit crazy! But the traditions of "Black Friday" have grown so strong that they almost seem normal to so many. People think it is a normal thing now a days to line up at midnight to buy a discounted TV. This year even more then before, I was asked why I didn't go Black Friday shopping, as if I had some sort of moral responsibility to do so. I also find it very ironic that after a holiday based around being thankful for what we have, and the good things we have in our life such as family, friends, health, etc, that people storm stores to buy material goods! I think this says a lot about our culture.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a very interesting blog post, and I agree with that opinion that Black Friday may be getting a little out of hand. I learned that this day is called Black Friday because it is the day that the companies rise out of the red, which is the financial loss zone, and go into the black, which is the profitable zone. I agree that this day may be beneficial to the economy, but I think the greed of companies has grown larger, as they now start sales on Thursday, Thanksgiving, and extend their specials to "Cyber Monday", in order to continue their soaring sales. One day should be enough. I think this shopping weekend is very telling about who holds power in American society. The selfish companies can just declare a "holiday", then extend that "holiday", tempting Americans with sales to in turn make even more money. Even these sales can be unjust, for some companies raise prices just to mark them down again for Black Friday. I think that this day has become somewhat corrupted by covetous companies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments guys! Josh I really had never thought about it from that angle, and I agree with you that it is great for our economy, but I respectfully disagree with you in that I do not believe that there is nothing wrong with Black Friday. Also, I really liked your idea about shopping being "taught". Do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing (obviously it is good for the economy, but what about for our nation as a whole)?
ReplyDeleteIsabelle, I really liked your point about how it is unjust for companies to raise prices for Black Friday. I was completely unaware that they did this. It really helps to give me a sense of just how corrupt some of these companies are, like you were saying.
Carolyn, I think you're right that a lot can be said about our culture based upon our shopping habits. Also, I get what you're saying about traditions of Black Friday seeming normal to some people, but was wondering if you think the popularity of black Friday is increasing? I have heard both yes and no answers and was wondering what you guys thought...?