Black Friday

There has been a very amusing image circulating the internet saying "Because only in America people trample each other for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have." The first couple of times that I saw it, I found it amusing and just laughed. I have gone to Black Friday sales the day after giving thanks. It seems that Black Friday has become such an integral part of Thanksgiving just like the turkey, mashed potatoes, pecan pie and football. People prepare, decorate, eat and shop.

As an outsider to this tradition of eating and shopping (my family has now only adopted the cooking and eating part), I have began questioning the idea of Black Friday. First and foremost, I remember being incredibly exhausted, hunting sales and dealing with unforgiving shoppers. Yes, I do remember buying cool things and being ready for Christmas gifts, but before Black Friday, I also bought cool things and Christmas gifts. Is there a real need to buy and trample each other?

I think we would all agree that the answer is no. No, there is no need to leave your family to go shopping. One woman that CNN interviewed said she skipped Thanksgiving dinner just to get in line outside Target although she didn't even need anything. She hasn't missed Black Friday sales for a couple of years and she seemed to be proud of this. Contrasting this story, the same CNN article also told the story of another woman who was in line to get one of the 50 TVs with discount. She is there not for herself but for a housing project that will benefit poor women with mental health problems. 

Regardless of the altruistic or non-altruistic motivation, these people were in line voluntarily. What about the employees of many stores such as Target and Wal-Mart that worked on Thanksgiving DAY? I don't think the extra pay is worth missing dinner with their families just to be mistreated by angry shoppers. The extra half hour per hour of pay is not even significant. Pizza Hut has recently been in the news for firing a store manager that refused to open Thanksgiving Day. Pizza Huts defense is that the manager quit, and the manager says he was forced to resign. Regardless of who did what, the man lost his job for wanting to his employees to spend time with their family. Where are our priorities?

So as I sit at home in the Netherlands, far away from Black Friday sales, in a town that before the economic crisis was a shopping point in Limburg, I am glad to be far from the sales. I am sure the store owners of Geleen would be more than happy to have their fair share of addictive shoppers boost their revenues, yet this has not driven them to focus on profit alone. Year-round, stores close between 5pm and 6pm and only open on "special" Sundays. People can easily have dinner with their families. No amount of shopping, sales or clothes can give you the warmth that family time does.

Happy Friday!