Painting Friday black

Ah, Thanksgiving. This peaceful holiday is generally considered to kick off “the holidays,” and allows college students a welcome break before finals week.

I enjoyed spending time with my family and friends while thinking about what I’m truly thankful for.

After the bird is eaten and the table is cleared, though, Americans’ time for appreciative thought is done. Our consumerist habits kick in.

Although we might talk a grateful game on Thanksgiving, Americans like their stuff.

When there’s a toaster to be had for $3, many of us can’t help but push others out of the way to get it.

I’m talking, of course, about Black Friday.

Best Buy opened at 5 a.m., Target at 4 a.m. and Kohl’s at 3 a.m.  

Walmart, in its traditional Walmart-ish way, offered up its best deals starting at midnight.  

As was the case last year, a fervent crowd of shoppers trampled several people. I guess discounted prices are probably worth a few injuries, right?

I must admit that I woke up at 3:30 a.m. on Black Friday. Or, rather, my brother shook me awake, but only after visiting both Walmarts in town (he was on the hunt for 500 thread count sheets for $20). After chugging half a pot of coffee, my Black Friday really did “run on Dunkin.”

As my family and I drove to the mall, we passed Starbucks, where the line of cars waiting in the drive-through wrapped all the way around the building.

We got to the mall around 4 a.m. J.C. Penney was already packed with semi-awake people, and the parking lots were filling up fast. At this point, my caffeine tremors kicked in.

We were well prepared for our excursion; we had perused the circulars the day before, and I used my iPhone to compare prices. As many other people that day, I was determined to get the best deals on things I didn’t particularly need.

I scored a few bargains: a “$60 value” blender for $28, a pair of Sperrys for $50 and a hoodie for $15. No big-ticket items here — despite my half-alert state, I was mostly able to resist splurging.

After our shopping was completed, we headed to the Machine Shed (or simply “The Shed”), a folksy restaurant that celebrates the American farmer and sells cinnamon rolls as large as my head.

My dad, the only one sane enough to sleep in, laughed as we talked about our great finds. By 11 a.m., I was ready for a nap.

Many others were out in force with me. The National Retail Federation reported that 212 million people in the United States participated in Black Friday festivities this year, up from 195 million in 2009.  

Shoppers also increasingly turned to the Web for bargains — according to ComScore, a marketing research company, online sales on Friday rose 9 percent.

However, Black Friday is no longer good enough. We now have Cyber Thursday (otherwise known as

Thanksgiving day) and Cyber Monday.  In retailers’ zeal to sell as much merchandise as possible, they’ve extended the orgy of spending out to a five-day weekend.

The NRF estimates that 106 million people will shop online on Cyber Monday, including 70 million people at work.  Nothing says “holiday spirit” similar to shopping while on the clock.

Always the overachiever, Walmart has even dubbed this period after Thanksgiving “Cyber Week,” with deals lasting through tomorrow.  This is a little confusing to me — I thought Walmart was supposed to have the lowest prices every day.

Should it be like this, though?

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the satisfaction of buying Blu-ray movies for $5 each. But I wonder if maybe the day after Thanksgiving isn’t the best time to launch a season of excess.

No matter your religious beliefs, the holiday season is meant to serve as a contemplative time for appreciating what we have and considering what things are important in our lives.

However, I do see similarities between the struggles of the Pilgrims and people hoping to score a deal on a massive television.

The Pilgrims were taught survival skills by Native Americans; the bargain shoppers were handed a couple of doughnuts and lukewarm coffee by a pubescent electronics store worker. Both groups camped outside for long periods of time, braved the cold and suffered ridicule from their peers, all for a cause they believed in.

When put in that light, maybe Black Friday isn’t all that bad.


E-mail: biglehar@indiana.edu