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...the whole Black Friday shopping mania exhibited and shoved down Americans' throats each year after (and now during) the Thanksgiving holiday.
I really do not get it.
I have only went shopping on Black Friday one time. It was 27 years ago...way, way back when the day after Thanksgiving wasn't normally called "Black Friday" (in my local area at least) and instead was just called "the day after Thanksgiving."
Yes there were a lot of people shopping that day, but I don't remember crowds running around in hysteria, knocking people over to get to merchandise.
Were shoppers different back in 1984?
Of course back in the old days we had a lot more places to shop, many different smaller-family owned department stores, now we have Walmart, Target, KMart. Well...basically we just have Walmart.
Could the frenzy of Black Friday crowds in 2011 be attributed to there being only a few places to shop these days? (for example the one Walmart in town) Do large crowds shoe horned into one store result in mass hysteria?
Or could the frenzy of Black Friday crowds in 2011 be attributed to the main stream media's fascination with constantly labeling Americans as "consumers" instead of "citizens?" Which brain washes the American public into believing they must consume, consume, consume at all costs.
Or could the frenzy of Black Friday crowds in 2011 be attributed to something else?
Any opinions?
Personally, I look at the news reports and videos on the internet showing the crazed masses pawing at cheap plastic crap, as rather disturbing and sad.
What is interesting is to see the overseas news stories on these occurances.
I personally chalk it up to:
1) Boredom - I have a day off and I need some extra angst in my life to substitute for the passion I lost a long time ago - or never had - about living
2) Competition - my kids demand the newest toy, my DH or DW wants the latest electronic, and the neighbors have to be beaten out at all costs - "Keeping up with the Joneses" on steroids
3) Fiduciary irresponsibility - I can't budget all year long and make my purchases in a timely and well-informed manner - especially I cannot wait until the day after Christmas, when the prices are going to be far lower on things that will last longer and have more value
4) Insecurity - I have to give my kids/spouse/family/friends the absolutely best Christmas ever, otherwise I am a lousy human being and not worth the powder it would take to blow me to heck, and even though we will have to move out of our foreclosed-on home in January, this will be the best Christmas EVER because it has to be! It will make up for EVERYTHING and prove I am not a lousy provider because I lost my job and we can't even pay the heating bill this month...
5) Faith - If I do this then that means that I am really and truly trusting that God will provide, just like he promised in the Bible/Koran/Talmud - after all, I am spending all of my money on other people instead of myself, and that counts in my favor in the Big Book of Averages, right?
And the biggest one of all:
6) Gullibility - These things that I have suddenly been driven to desire by copious repetitive advertising - most of which I have no use for, or won't in three months - will bring me love, luck, fame, good looks, improved skills and ability, and praise, because the advertisers promised it would be so! Never mind that their prices two weeks ago were lower - this is a deal!
"Or could the frenzy of Black Friday crowds in 2011 be attributed to the main stream media's fascination with constantly labeling Americans as "consumers" instead of "citizens?" Yeah the media attention on it makes me so sad. There is so much other holiday time news they could be focusing on: soup kitchens, food pantries, etc. where people are actually doing something beneficial. Instead of giving 2 minutes of news time to some idiot who pepper sprays everyone in order to get their almighty bargain.
I think some people think it is going to be fun... all fun until someone gets hurt Personally, the deals are not that great, esp on those cheap electronics which you know will break within the year.
Our family has always gone low-key on the Christmas gifts and that is just fine with me. If I had the time, everyone would be getting something handmade. it is a religious holiday for us.
I really do think some of it is the adrenaline rush. I had a co worker come in to work after an early morning 'hunt' at the local shopping center.
She ran around bragging about what she managed to score and what a great deal she got on the items, complete with high fives and fist pumping! You could just see the excitement rolling off her.
Black Friday is just one vestige of how the whole Christmas Holiday has been turned into something utterly ridiculous.
When I grew up, people had a much better perspective on Christmas. You usually had a few strings of lights and a few family ornaments that you had kept for years stored in boxes. A few days before Christmas, you'd make a trip to the fresh tree lot and purchase a tree. You'd take the tree home and your family would have a little party decorating your tree. Sometimes, homemade decorations would be added to the tree.
As far as your house went, some people would have a single string of lights running across their front entrance or over their garage. They were big lights. They frequently broke and had to be replaced. No one had a house that looked like a small version of the city's Christmas decorations.
There was no Walmart and Christmas shopping was a fairly sane and rational process. You had to go downtown to shop because that's where all the stores were. There were often parking problems. Stores had Christmas sales that were advertised in the local paper. However, there was nothing resembling the "Black Fridays" of today.
There wasn't all this stuff made in China, Thailand, or wherever that was exported to the USA. Christmas gifts tended to be smaller, better-made, and manufactured in the USA. Families and individuals budgeted for Christmas. As a child, I bought my whole family presents for under $20 and they were decent presents. Some families made their own Christmas presents.
There was far more focus on worthwhile things like the town Christmas Parade. Children tried to join groups so they could march in the parade. No matter how cold it was, people would always assemble to watch the floats, marching bands, and dignitaries. The parade always ended with Santa waving and throwing candy at the children.
Perhaps, the best part of Christmas were Christmas parties. All the employers had one. Schools usually had them. Families would gather and have them as well. This, of course, still goes on today. However, its my observation that the parties of yesteryear were smaller and more intimate affairs and that people actually enjoyed attending them. Today, many employers have cancelled them either to save costs or because employees indicated they would prefer a Christmas bonus instead.
The whole Christmas Holiday has been turned into a mess. It has too little significance now for either families or those celebrating Christ. The kids may like all the cheap toys they get that are made in China. However, they don't realize what they are missing because of all the cultural changes that have occurred.
...the whole Black Friday shopping mania exhibited and shoved down Americans' throats each year after (and now during) the Thanksgiving holiday.
I really do not get it.
I have only went shopping on Black Friday one time. It was 27 years ago...way, way back when the day after Thanksgiving wasn't normally called "Black Friday" (in my local area at least) and instead was just called "the day after Thanksgiving."
Yes there were a lot of people shopping that day, but I don't remember crowds running around in hysteria, knocking people over to get to merchandise.
Were shoppers different back in 1984?
Of course back in the old days we had a lot more places to shop, many different smaller-family owned department stores, now we have Walmart, Target, KMart. Well...basically we just have Walmart.
Could the frenzy of Black Friday crowds in 2011 be attributed to there being only a few places to shop these days? (for example the one Walmart in town) Do large crowds shoe horned into one store result in mass hysteria?
Or could the frenzy of Black Friday crowds in 2011 be attributed to the main stream media's fascination with constantly labeling Americans as "consumers" instead of "citizens?" Which brain washes the American public into believing they must consume, consume, consume at all costs.
Or could the frenzy of Black Friday crowds in 2011 be attributed to something else?
Any opinions?
Personally, I look at the news reports and videos on the internet showing the crazed masses pawing at cheap plastic crap, as rather disturbing and sad.
Oh it's ridiculous. I do think it's psychosis. People are really too into this crap. I understand times are tough but jeez! We're talking about going crazy over foreign-made junk that'll probably be useless a year from now (that is if the person who bought it doesn't bring it back to the store a day later with buyer's remorse and forget about it soon after).
Black Friday is just one vestige of how the whole Christmas Holiday has been turned into something utterly ridiculous.
When I grew up, people had a much better perspective on Christmas. You usually had a few strings of lights and a few family ornaments that you had kept for years stored in boxes. A few days before Christmas, you'd make a trip to the fresh tree lot and purchase a tree. You'd take the tree home and your family would have a little party decorating your tree. Sometimes, homemade decorations would be added to the tree.
As far as your house went, some people would have a single string of lights running across their front entrance or over their garage. They were big lights. They frequently broke and had to be replaced. No one had a house that looked like a small version of the city's Christmas decorations.
There was no Walmart and Christmas shopping was a fairly sane and rational process. You had to go downtown to shop because that's where all the stores were. There were often parking problems. Stores had Christmas sales that were advertised in the local paper. However, there was nothing resembling the "Black Fridays" of today.
There wasn't all this stuff made in China, Thailand, or wherever that was exported to the USA. Christmas gifts tended to be smaller, better-made, and manufactured in the USA. Families and individuals budgeted for Christmas. As a child, I bought my whole family presents for under $20 and they were decent presents. Some families made their own Christmas presents.
There was far more focus on worthwhile things like the town Christmas Parade. Children tried to join groups so they could march in the parade. No matter how cold it was, people would always assemble to watch the floats, marching bands, and dignitaries. The parade always ended with Santa waving and throwing candy at the children.
Perhaps, the best part of Christmas were Christmas parties. All the employers had one. Schools usually had them. Families would gather and have them as well. This, of course, still goes on today. However, its my observation that the parties of yesteryear were smaller and more intimate affairs and that people actually enjoyed attending them. Today, many employers have cancelled them either to save costs or because employees indicated they would prefer a Christmas bonus instead.
The whole Christmas Holiday has been turned into a mess. It has too little significance now for either families or those celebrating Christ. The kids may like all the cheap toys they get that are made in China. However, they don't realize what they are missing because of all the cultural changes that have occurred.
For 99.99% of the country, xmas is celebrated just as you described above. What we see sensationalized on TV and online is the 0.01% of xmas activities. Most people still lightly decorate their homes. Most people have a simple tree. Most kids get a couple simple, affordable, practical presents.
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Personally, the deals are not that great, esp on those cheap electronics which you know will break within the year.
We're talking about going crazy over foreign-made junk that'll probably be useless a year from now (that is if the person who bought it doesn't bring it back to the store a day later with buyer's remorse and forget about it soon after).
