I felt compelled to write about Black Friday today for some
odd reason. I have NEVER been Black Friday shopping. I refuse to do it. I also
refuse to step inside a retail store on Thanksgiving, too. There are some days
that should be banished from the face of the earth....Black Friday is one of
them. I will apologize up front to all the readers who love the sport of Black
Friday shopping. This blog might not be for you!
As the image above says.....ONLY IN AMERICA will people
trample others for sales EXACTLY one day after (or in the case of this year,
the evening of) being thankful for what they already have. It is shameful. Black
Friday is a crazy American tradition (correct me if I am wrong on that one, but
I do think we are the only ones who ‘celebrate’ the tradition) that pushes people
over their normal and natural limits of pride and safety in order to save somewhat decent
money on things like tablets, televisions, telephones, the latest clothing
styles, and the year’s most trendy toys.
It is the one day a year many Americans go crazy in order to save a buck
THE DAY AFTER (and sometimes the night of) Thanksgiving. People line up for
hours on end, set up camp outside stores, do nothing but complain, argue, push,
shove, and fight over MATERIAL THINGS. I caught a glimpse of the news this
morning before I took Shabazz to basketball practice and what I heard/saw in
that brief clip sickened me. Gunfights in stores, people being trampled, fights
erupting over items, and then, I heard Bill Simon, the CEO/President of WalMart
tell all the viewers, when asked if he was conflicted about being open on
Thanksgiving Day, say...."Not at all. WalMart is a service industry."
Say WHHHHHHAAAAAAT???? I darn near
choked on my coffee. Sir, you seem to be mistaken. WalMart is NOT a service
industry. You, sir, run a RETAIL operation which thrives on profits. This is
what is wrong with our nation. What service did you provide for the people by
being open: The opportunity to PURCHASE things for their Thanksgiving that they
didn't prepare well enough for in the days leading up to the holiday? The opportunity
to go shopping for things for the next holiday on the calendar? No, you didn't
provide a service.....you provided an opportunity to line your pockets with the
almighty dollar.
This day of the year frustrates me to no end. As much as I
LOVE Thanksgiving, I absolutely loathe Black Friday. There is NO deal worth
fighting over. There is NO item worth waiting for. There is NO way I would be
out of my warm comfy bed to go stand in a line just to go shopping. Nope. No
way. It makes me sad that so many people feel this is fun and rewarding. I
choose to remain thankful for what I already have…..
….and besides….Cyber Monday has much better deals and I don’t
have to leave the comforts of my home
(and my jammies!).
Think Thankfully!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment