Black Friday is a recent "holiday" in my life. I never understood this day, or why people loved it. I have a wonderful friend who introduced me to it three years ago and now it is one of my favorite days of the year. Some people may read that and think that I am horrible for feeling this way, but hey, I love a good deal!
This is a day that my friends and I do together mainly to have fun. We all celebrate Thanksgiving with our families and then come together to look over the ads and make game plans. We organize our lists and plan who is going to grab items that we all have on our lists. We look up the maps for the stores that publish them and work out a way to try to get everything that we are all hoping for. We love the rush of waiting in line and then finally getting into the store and rushing to find the good deals. This is the day of the year that I try to accomplish as much of my Christmas shopping as possible as well as picking up a few deals for myself. While my friends and I do it for fun, there are others who bring out their best on Black Friday.
Over the last three years I have seen people say horrible things to each other, play tug-of-war over items, make alliances to shut out other shoppers from being able to get an item that there are too few of. I have seen people get hurt in the scramble. I have seen people get angry and throw fits over not getting the item that they want. It is so interesting to observe first hand the effect that simple sales can have on people.
I went to school in Dallas, TX for two years and the school that I went to made a deal with WalMart where they would bring in the products that people returned or that they couldn't sell for things like broken pieces or torn packaging. It was a great place to pick up some free good like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, make-up, dishes, etc. They came in with a semi load once a month. Students would line up hours in advance, in some cases skipping classes just to be in this line. They would push each other and just load arm loads full of stuff into garbage bags trying to get as many of the FREE items as possible. Students that were normally very kind to each other suddenly turned against each other.
What is is about crazy deals and free items that make us so crazy? Things that we would normally never purchase are suddenly worth fighting over just because of a good price or no price.
As a personal fan of Black Friday, I get excited for it. It is mainly about the experience. A full 24 hours of planning, concepting, strategizing, and spending time with my closest friends. To me it is a like a game. Black Ops if you will, planning strategies to get to the target before the enemy does, sending my team out in different directions, and getting back to base (checkout) with it in hand. Yes this can be where some people take it to the extreme and actually hurt others and people. But I believe when people become like children and throw tantrums over items, it is merely because of their selfish desires. THEY want it, THEY want the good deal. Their true personalities come out.
ReplyDeleteFor some, such as myself, they hear the word deal or free and think, "I finally can afford it!"
Sad how greedy people can become in this world where they take out their aggression on innocent bystanders.
I am the same way, I love a good deal and can't pass up savings on the items I have been wanting. I love the hunt of Black Friday as well, the competitive side of me delights in a day that shopping can be a sport, but agree that it is sad how far some people's selfishness and greed take them.
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