When I was in Junior High through College age I used to go shopping with my friends the day after Thanksgiving. It wasn't called "Black Friday" back then. No "Blow Out" sales or "Door Buster" specials. The stores opened at 9-10AM like they would on any other weekday.
It was the roll out of the Christmas shopping season. The day Santa would start seeing kids, the decorations would be put up and lit. My friends and I would take the bus downtown in the morning. We'd usually have lunch at the cafeteria over the Woolworth's. Take the bus back home before it got dark or when our feet gave out. It was a fun day. A nice break from busy school schedules. One of the few opportunities to get shopping done before school and church obligations took over our time.
Then a few years down the road the "Cabbage Patch Kids" phenomenon happened. Followed by "Power Rangers" and "Tickle me Elmo" and a hundred other "MUST HAVE" toys and gadgets. Of course, kids have always wanted things for Christmas and their birthdays. Somehow, somewhere the want changed to need and the adults lost common sense. The day after Thanksgiving is no longer a fun day. It's a marathon that starts in the middle of the night and doesn't end until the day after New Year's.
I don't run that race.
Yes, I do still buy gifts for Christmas and birthdays. I am a consumer. I've been known to impulse buy and go overboard at times. Every year, though, I resist a bit more and with a bit more success. A gift should be symbolic of regard or emotion felt towards the recipient. I don't want my feelings to be symbolized by a chunk of plastic molded into whatever is the fad of the day. I don't need to go into credit card debt to measure anyone's worth or to project mine.
Today is official "Buy Nothing Day" in North America. You can read about it here: https://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd
Some sponsors of this day suggest extremes such as not using utilities or even not buying anything, ever! The main aim of Buy Nothing Day, however, is to take one day to make a conscious decision to not buy for one day. Become mindful of all the purchasing you do in the course of a day or week. Question your needs and your motivations behind consuming. Separate from the herd and do nothing consumerist today. I'm doing it...or NOT doing it. It goes against the grain of modern America but the splinters eventually wear down. Just takes a bit of grit.
I avoid black friday, too. The entirety of the thing is just a disaster. It saddens me and I don't desire to be a part of it. That said, Daved and Jason go to Wal-Mart every year at like one in the morning. And they come back with stories of crazy people rampaging around the store, ramming carts, grabbing, and overall mob-like behavior. Why?? I don't get it.
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