Do You Really Need Black Friday?

Thanksgiving is the day where we gather with friends and family, to eat a feast, and to give thanks for what we have.

The day after (a.k.a. Black Friday) has been reduced to a day consumed with needing more stuff. It is this need that requires many people to go into work.

What kind of work is this?
(Here comes the sarcastic part...)

If you are lucky, it is at a national clothing store chain that is opening at 3am on the Friday after Thanksgiving. (The only thing that should be open at 3am are convenience stores and gas stations - things people might need in an emergency).

Or if you are really lucky you get to work in a giant box store that is slashing prices just to draw big crowds...big mob-like crowds. And if providence is truly shining upon you, you will get physically hurt because you get to work where this happens:



By showing these, it may appear as sensationalism. But it's important to see what people have to endure in these situations. These incidents and more that will occur tomorrow draw a great deal of media attention.

I would like to say please think twice about participating in this charade known as Black Friday. There is nothing in these stores you NEED. There is nothing in these stores that requires this kind of rush.

Furthermore the people that are being rushed at, causing fear & possibly maiming is a person...at work.

More than likely you are a person at work. How would you like to get up a couple of hours earlier than normal. Chances are, you'd probably be more tired than normal. Only to come to work to find a lot of people in line as if they were ready to start a revolution. And know this - you are scared. Because you don't know who is in the crowd. Most likely there is going to be at least one person that sees this as a competition. And they are going to get That Thing. The Thing that everyone has to have. The Thing that as one person points out in one of the videos, "it will be that price by next year." And you are going to do all of this for a job that pays a wage that hovers around the poverty level.

Before you even come back with the retort...these people choose to work there...Don't. This is not open to debate. No one, no where, regardless of whether it was a choice or if it is the only job in town they have the qualifications for, should be put into any situation of fear or placed in harms way of physical violence at work. This is not cute, funny or entertaining. This is a sad state of affairs.

So have a great day on Thanksgiving. Be thankful for what you have.
Hopefully you have everything you need and it's not harming someone else.

And on the day after Thanksgiving, think about that again.
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Before I go:

First, some further reading - Laurie Reuttimann at Punk Rock HR wrote this:
Thanksgiving and Black Friday Horror Stories from Workers

Second some trivia - The phrase Black Friday originally referred to the stock market crash on September 24, 1869. The crash was sparked by gold speculators, including Jay Gould and James Fist, who attempted to corner the gold market. The attempt failed and the gold market collapsed, causing the stock market to plummet. (Thank you Wikipedia)

Third, a little song to hum in your head today...

Black Friday - Steely Dan