And now, for the first time ever, we are participating in the all-American Thanksgiving pastime called Black Friday! And to make things even more stereotypical, we are getting a huge flat screen TV.
I’ve never been as much as out of the house on Thanksgiving, so this is a great new experience.
“we are getting a huge flat screen TV.”
While you’re at it, get one that will show 3-D DVDs and Blu-Ray discs in stereoscopic 3-D. (The cost is about the same, and the effect will knock your socks off!)
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I dunno. I don’t ever remember actually shopping on Black Friday. Though the Black Friday I remember was just a busier than average shopping day and not the spectacle of human degradation that it has devolved into, where people exchange their dignity for shiny baubles.
This video is pretty indicative of the change between 1983 and 2013. In 1983 you have normal people speaking normally about enjoying shopping even if it’s crowded (or enjoying being part of a busy but civilized crowd). 2013 shows a bunch of crazed animals pawing at prey and looks more like a herd of hyenas taking down a wildebeest rather than shopping.
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I’ve seen scary videos of Black Friday mayhem and they were, indeed, terrifying. But we are such a peaceful little town that yesterday’s late night shopping could be filmed as an instructional video for a Miss Manners class. 🙂
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thee spectacle of human degradation that it has devolved into, where people exchange their dignity for shiny baubles.
It’s easy to make fun of hordes of shoppers but for me and I suspect most people on this thread, Black Friday isn’t the difference between having something I really want/need and not having it.
I refuse to shop in stores on Thanksgiving because to me, Thanksgiving is to be spent with family and friends, and if it’s not some kind of vital service, it doesn’t need to be happening right after Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving day sales simply redistribute sales from Black Friday and don’t result in an increase in over all holiday sales.
<a href=”http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/1122/Why-are-more-businesses-shunning-Thanksgiving-Day-sales>
According to the National Retail Federation, the early Black Friday launch has caused costs to rise, while last year saw an 11 percent drop in Black Friday weekend sales, potentially leading to a shift in thought.
The federation said in 2014 retail spending dropped about $5 billion during a four-day shopping bonanza beginning on Thanksgiving Day, a slump from 2013 when shoppers shelled out $51 billion during a four-day period.
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As an intelligent person 🙂 once said,
“The reason why people go so crazy on Black Friday and Boxing Day is not that they really need all those two-dollar waffle-makers. What they want is the feeling that for once – even if it is just this one time – they have defeated capitalism at its own game.
It’s easy to despise people who jostle and punch each other to get discounted X-boxes. But these are people who feel so confused and cheated by the system they find incomprehensible that they deserve this symbolic little victory.”
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I have a comment (on Black Friday) in moderation.
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Bring a First-Aid kit, wear running-shoes, duck fast and often, and bring something you can use as a shiv.
Hey, the crazies are all out, and a shiv is the least thing that they have!
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We are a college town. Everything was very polite and orderly. 🙂
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For what it’s worth, there was a discussion on the Today Show this week regarding Black Friday and TV prices. The recommendation from the program is that the best prices on TVs are typically just after the Superbowl when retailers are reducing inventory in preparation for the new model year. Further, some manufacturers offer what are basically “seconds” on Black Friday — models with reduced features or quality that are basically only sold one day each year. They suggested doing a search on the model number, and if it only shows up in Black Friday sales, not to touch it.
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For what it’s worth, there was a discussion on the Today Show this week regarding Black Friday and TV prices. The recommendation from the program is that the best prices on TVs are typically just after the Superbowl when retailers are reducing inventory in preparation for the new model year. Further, some manufacturers offer what are basically “seconds” on Black Friday — models with reduced features or quality that are basically only sold one day each year. They suggested doing a search on the model number, and if it only shows up in Black Friday sales, not to touch it.
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For what it’s worth, there was a discussion on the Today Show this week regarding Black Friday and TV prices. The recommendation from the program is that the best prices on TVs are typically just after the Superbowl when retailers are reducing inventory in preparation for the new model year. Further, some manufacturers offer what are basically “seconds” on Black Friday — models with reduced features or quality that are basically only sold one day each year. They suggested doing a search on the model number, and if it only shows up in Black Friday sales, not to touch it.
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Sorry, don’t know how that heppened!
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Black Friday remains the one day where it is socially approved to look down upon poor people.
‘Haha look at those animals who can’t afford things the way I can. LOL!’
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“Black Friday remains the one day where it is socially approved to look down upon poor people.”
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As a practical matter, nowadays you can find bargains on the Internet which are as cheap as most in-store Black Friday sales, and in many cases you don’t even have to pay sales tax on the items — and the goods are delivered right to your front door.
I do about 95% of my shopping on the Internet, and have never gotten bitten or ripped-off doing it.
Massive crowds of people — who needs the aggravation?
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I just wanted to have the experience of going something very American on Thanksgiving. Plus, there was the added bonus of finding out that, once again, reality turned out to be joyful and fun, in contradiction to what crowds of drama queens always said about the supposed horrors of Thanksgiving shopping.
Love Americans, but boy, they overwrought and apocalyptic like nobody else I know.
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\ once again, reality turned out to be joyful and fun, in contradiction to what crowds of drama queens always said about the supposed horrors of Thanksgiving shopping.
Love Americans, but boy, they overwrought and apocalyptic like nobody else I know.
I guess stories about horrible Israeli service come from the same source. 🙂 You would have a great fun here.
and, just to remind, I honestly offered to help find info, if needed.
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“I guess stories about horrible Israeli service come from the same source.”
“and, just to remind, I honestly offered to help find info, if needed.”
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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