I remember when Black Friday would mean something in this country. Everyone would feed their gluttonous appetites on Thanksgiving with family and watch football or the Macy's Day Parade. The kids would run around and maybe watch a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The next day, everyone would feverishly rush to the stores and take advantage of massive sales discounts. That TV you were eyeballing the other day? It's half off now. Need some new clothes for the winter? Every retail store in the country can cut you a deal.
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Nowadays, Black Friday doesn't even matter anymore. For starters, Americans adore the convenience of online shopping. Consequently, they'll wait a few extra days and take advantage of what's going on during Cyber Monday instead. They condition themselves not to interact on a human basis much anymore, a separate discussion about how we treat each other. Why go through the headaches of lines and talking to people on Black Friday when you can stack up your wishlist on Amazon and wait?
Additionally, these "sales" are absolutely terrible. I remember seeing big ticket items going for half the price. My dad was good for taking the hasty swing on household utilities and the occasional TV on Black Friday. But it would be worth it, the price clearly called for the beating his wallet inevitably took. Unfortunately, corporations like to play in our face today with flimsy discounts left and right.
Black Friday Sales Hardly Feel Like Deals Anymore
Truly, what's the point of this 15 percent off? Congratulations, I saved $20 on a $150 bill, I might be able to afford dinner for one tonight. It feels disrespectful at some point and all it does is make people berate the store employees as if they make these stupid prices. It's a lose-lose for everyone.
Lastly, Black Friday doesn't really have the novelty anymore either. Most stores and websites promote their sales for an entire week, if not even longer. The reason it was special in the first place was because of its exclusivity! You couldn't wait to cash in on it later. Sometimes, you would need to call off work to ensure that you nail the deals you want that day. That lousy 15 percent off today can come back at any point in a given year. Wait for the next holiday, you'll see the same predictable markup to try and drum up excitement. But I'm not saving enough money for this to be an exciting affair.
Therein lies the core issue with Black Friday. It's one of the easiest ways for people to indulge in capitalist excess and drain their wallets. At the very least, we would feel like we were coming up on deals. We might spend an exorbitant amount of money but it'll be worse if we wait for later. Now, it's just another day and we have to be more frugal with our expenses now more than ever.
