I am not trying to absolve myself. I know I am guilty of perpetuating this form of consumerism. These are just thoughts I had while talking to strangers during Thanksgiving's Black Friday.
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For years my mom and I have been Black Friday shopping. It used to be something fun that we would do together the morning after Thanksgiving. As the years progressed we began to rely more and more on Black Friday sales, financially. Money gets tight and family members continue to procreate.
The past few years we have needed to endure the increasing horror of this day not only for holiday gifts but for our own essentials. Towels, pillows, clothing etc. Many times we have gone without some luxury like a crock-pot or coffee maker in hopes of a decent deal on Black Friday.
The new horror in Black Friday is that it is no longer on FRIDAY. I feel absolutely terrible for the employees that have their national holiday taken away from them by a faceless corporate machine. I do not want to contribute to this, but I am at a conundrum. I know that the only way to stop Black Friday from taking over Thanksgiving is to not shop the so called Black "Friday" sales Period. My problem is that we rely so heavily on these sales.
The corporate people say that we, the consumers, want to shop on Thanksgiving. LIES. Everyone I talked to tonight and last year hated shopping on Thanksgiving. They felt guilty for the employees having to work too. They also disliked having their own holiday cut short.
Like I said before, the only way to stop this from continuing is to stop shopping. In theory it is a great idea, but in practice I do not see it working out. Too many of us cannot afford not to shop these discounts.
If this trend continues..."Sorry kids, no trick or treating tonight. The Black Friday sales start Nov. 1st at midnight."
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