Thanksgiving dinner.
For most of us who are fortunate enough, we gather our family and/or friends around a table and embrace our privileges. We say, or at least think to ourselves how truly fortunate we are to have friends, family, food, a home, our health, etc. And for that night, we realize that in reality, we have it pretty good and that we are truly content with what we have.
Then Black Friday comes.
Black Friday is by far the most ironic day of the year. Albeit the prices are cheap, it seems to mostly show the greed inside of everyone due to the fact that, less than 10 hours before, they were completely unostentatious and deeply appreciative of all that they have, so the sensible thing is to wait until midnight or 1A.M. to push and shove in order to get $50 off of a TV??
This materialistic culture filled with all want and the obsession with simply acquiring "things" whether they are ethical (in terms of how they are produced e.g. sweatshops) has seem to taken over, and in a timely manner if I might add.
The pushing, the shoving, the kicking, the punching, the slapping, the trampling, the stabbing, the shooting. All over 40% off? Maybe its just because I've never seen it as such a big deal, or because I don't shop much anyway, but I just see the entire "event" that is Black Friday as utterly superfluous.
So you're thankful for everything in your life at 6P.M. but then at 12A.M. you havetohavetohaveto have it all? Then lets consider the stores. Certain stores may force their employees to work during these dreadful hours filled with shoppers whom, at some points, have such intensity within their eyes they appear nearly blood-thirsty over a mere sweater or DVD player. If they do not, they are simply fired and that is the end of that.
In my opinion, by supporting these stores, although the deals are extremely tempting-- you are supporting these unethical rules/policies in place for the stores' employees. Is it fair that a mother or father or older sister or brother, just like our own (and sometimes our own) have to leave their loving families, or in certain cases work straight through Thanksgiving dinner, in order to meet our need of want?
Disregarding the scams that we call, "deals" in which the prices are merely marked higher than usual in order to appear as "such a steal!" when we buy them at nearly the regular price; Black Friday, to me, is simply a representation of our affinity for all things consumerism and when it truly comes down to it, the fact that although some of us are so inclined to praise what we have, if you're standing outside at 12A.M. to get that new T.V. for 60% off, well I guess you aren't that content now are you?
