We’re officially a mere month away from Thanksgiving, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday of the year for many reasons.
I love the food, traditions and family time, because seriously, who doesn’t?
As a whole though, the idea of devoting a full day to lounging around, eating and playing games with my entire family is just rare enough of an occurrence to make it the best day of my year.
Nothing tarnishes that more for me, though, than the most despicable day of the year, Black Friday.
Saying that I whole-heartedly despise that day is an understatement.
I hate the advertising, the media coverage and the dimwitted people who waste the entire day of Thanksgiving waiting in line at a Best Buy store for $50 off a television they don’t even need.
It’s a perfect representation of all that’s disgusting about our country, and I dread the social media explosion regarding it every year.
Now, it isn’t even Halloween yet, so my rampage about Black Friday comes off a bit premature.
But the trigger for the emotional explosion comes from information regarding this year’s Black Friday that was just recently ?announced.
Because apparently, the push the past couple years for some stores to open the night of Thanksgiving, instead of waiting until, I don’t know, Friday, isn’t good enough, Macy’s just stated it will now open at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day to accommodate shoppers.
Sound bad? Not even close.
Best Buy and K-Mart have also announced that for Black Friday 2014 they will open at 8 a.m. — on ?Thursday.
Those workers are being forced to miss their family and the holiday, if they celebrate it, to help someone buy a blender.
So before I have even tasted a bite of mashed potatoes or, heck, before Santa has even gotten to Macy’s on 34th Street in New York City, people will be elbowing and racing through their local ?K-Mart.
NBC News has reported that most major retailers who are regular participators in Black Friday discounting will open not just on the actual day of Thanksgiving but at least two hours earlier than they were last year.
I understand the holidays can be a financially stressful time for many people and getting certain items on discount is a benefit to a lot of households.
That’s what the Friday was for. This is a national ?holiday.
This is a holiday that, if it didn’t exist, our lives as we know it as Americans wouldn’t either.
I absolutely do not understand the need to support the disgusting consumer tendencies that are so vastly out of proportion in this country.
Not to mention the fact that there will be employees of these embarrassing establishments that have chosen to open Thanksgiving morning that will miss large chunks of really wonderful family time, maybe missing it entirely.
So congratulations America on, once again, taking another step in the direction of being the most unappreciative and material-possessed nation in the world, where not even a day of appreciation for all you have can stop you from obsessing for more.
cmcelwa@indiana.edu
