If You Shop on Thanksgiving, You Are Part of the Problem

[avonlea]

From The Matt Walsh blog: http://themattwalshblog.com/2013/11/17/if-you-shop-on-thanksgiving-you-are-part-of-the-problem/

How appropriate, then, that a holiday created by our ancestors as an occasion to give thanks for what they had, now morphs into a frenzied consumerist ritual where we descend upon shopping malls to accumulate more things we don’t need. Our great grandparents enjoyed a meal and praised the Lord for the food on the table and the friends and family gathered around it. We, having slightly altered the tradition, instead elect to bum-rush elderly women and trample over children to get our hands on cheap TVs.

This next part really made me laugh. :)

Here’s a true story: a few days ago I had a conversation with a friend where we both lamented about the meaning and message of our important holidays being lost in a commercialized haze. Yesterday, this same friend posted on his Facebook page, excitedly announcing Best Buy’s earlier Thanksgiving opening time.

Yes, the man who hates the commercialization of holidays decided to become a commercial for the commercialization of holidays.

[footenote]

I capital-H Hate how merchandise for holidays has been appearing in stores earlier and earlier and earlier each year. (Happily I'm not in stores very often. But still.)

But - guess what - I read a business magazine article about it, and retailers are doing it because people love it and buy more holiday s**t when the merchandising period is extended. So, yes, Matt's buddy is causing what the buddy says he laments.

[JessieImproved]

Well, I don't "go shopping", so I'll be avoiding all the Black Friday (and Thursday, and Wednesday, etc) nonsense.  Now all I've got to do is convince everyone to not exchange Christmas presents and we'll be set. :-)

[clutchy]

I capital-H Hate how merchandise for holidays has been appearing in stores earlier and earlier and earlier each year. (Happily I'm not in stores very often. But still.)

But - guess what - I read a business magazine article about it, and retailers are doing it because people love it and buy more holiday s**t when the merchandising period is extended. So, yes, Matt's buddy is causing what the buddy says he laments.

+1

[MissStache]

Thank goodness someone is saying this!  It always makes me furious to hear people yammering about how these Evil Companies are ruining Thanksgiving with their greed and forcing their poor employees to work on the holidays and then THOSE VERY SAME PEOPLE are the ones who are going out on Thanksgiving and shopping. 

If you don't want retailers to be open on Thanksgiving, then don't shop on Thanksgiving.

It seems like an awful lot of misplaced anger directed at retailers when the anger should be aimed at all those people who are lining up outside of Best Buy after they eat their turkey.

[Frankies Girl]

I don't even get out of my pajamas the whole holiday. As we don't have relatives or friends over, we cook the meal (cause we both love the works and I tend to experiment with new recipes), sleep in, eat when we want and watch movies and relax. We call it "Cats-giving" since we basically act like lazy housecats. It's one of our favorite holidays. :)

I think the shopping part is just insane. If I had my way, we'd not "do" christmas - the presents and materialism part - at all. I'd love to just cook, invite some friends over and play games and eat and talk... but the stupid "what did you buy/what did you get" thing just robs the joy right out of the day. :(

[stevesteve]

I'm not sure I see it as a contradiction to buy things on Black Friday or Thanksgiving and dislike the idea of shopping on Thanksgiving.  It's two competing desires.  1) I don't want to buy things / shop on Thanksgiving and 2) I want to buy this item cheaply.  I think the complaint boils down to why do the sales have to be on this day?   I don't think that's the most unreasonable view.

Personally, I don't have a huge stake in making companies not have sales on Thanksgiving or a huge stake in buying things at those sales so I just sit back and watch and wonder why people have such strong opinions about it.  My guess is people really value shopping more than I do and also really value Thanksgiving more?

Well, I don't "go shopping"

I enjoyed that.

[TrulyStashin]

This is so sad:

 Jenice Armstrong of Philadelphia said she used to be opposed to shopping on Thanksgiving until a friend who was alone for the holiday told her that she planned to spend Thanksgiving shopping at Kmart.

“It sounded sad at first,” Armstrong said, “but when I checked in with her afterwards, she told me about how she walked up and down the aisles listening to the cheery holiday music and how it lifted her soul. Kmart was an outlet for her and got her through the holiday. So, since then, I’m on the other side of the fence…”

It's from the tail end of this column http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/walmart-wages/2013/11/21/8447fa5c-5228-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story_1.html and explains much about our consumer mindset.  Need to patch over loneliness, spend money. 

[aglassman]

The people who rush out for black Friday deals also, in my experience, tend to be lower income people.  They should just stay home, and enjoy thanksgiving.  Credit card companies should also be publicly shamed, as my wife and I received no less than 5 credit card offers this week.  Woah, what a coincidence that I get 5 the week before black Friday!  I bet those cards and deals are very tempting for low income consumers.

[Jamesqf]

I dunno...  I kinda like the idea, since all those folks who're spending the holiday in shopping malls aren't out clogging up hiking trails, or tracking up the new snow.  Selfish of me, I know...

[avonlea]

Good one! He has an interesting blog. DH and I used to go to two different thanksgiving feasts both on thanksgiving day. It stunk doing all the driving and eating. I talked last year to the host on his side about how it would be easier for people like us if some families would do it on Friday instead. She informed me how impossible it was since she and her fourteen year old daughter would be shopping at midnight and told me all about that tradition.

As for us, and shopping, well, I'm done getting stuff for my kids. Thank you, Amazon.Each of them got one item that would have been needed for homeschooling (foreign language and literature, what they love). Most of the rest of the people is simple, such as pick up gift cards at Kroger while they are offering quadruple fuel points for put of town nephews. Kiddos are making worm bins for grandparents.

Great idea to get gifts that can be used in homeschooling, Mom to 5!

Two feasts on Thanksgiving.  Wow.  ONE of those eat-a-thons is enough to put me in a coma. 
You say that you used to go to two different feasts.  Are you only doing one now? (If so, I'm guessing the one w/out the family member who needs to shop at midnight? heehee)

I don't even get out of my pajamas the whole holiday.

This sentence alone is enough to make me wish I were spending the holiday at your place. 
But your cooking sounds pretty freakin' awesome, too. ;)

[avonlea]

Thank goodness someone is saying this!  It always makes me furious to hear people yammering about how these Evil Companies are ruining Thanksgiving with their greed and forcing their poor employees to work on the holidays and then THOSE VERY SAME PEOPLE are the ones who are going out on Thanksgiving and shopping. 

If you don't want retailers to be open on Thanksgiving, then don't shop on Thanksgiving.

It seems like an awful lot of misplaced anger directed at retailers when the anger should be aimed at all those people who are lining up outside of Best Buy after they eat their turkey.

Agreed.  Well said.

[Charlotte]

We very thankfully dropped out of present giving for adults years ago. It took some getting used to, but it worked! Now we give to the kids and the kids only. And I give them all cash, so my holiday shopping is basically a trip to the bank for nice looking bills.

Now my holidays are spent enjoying time with family. And I simply love it!

My Black Friday is also spent in my pj's, and my girlfriend usually stops in between her shopping adventures. Life is good!

[davisgang90]

I have never set foot in a store on Black Friday.  If I need any deals, there are plenty online.

[pachnik]

I am in Vancouver, Canada. 

We don't even have Thanksgiving at the same time as you guys.  Cdn. Thanksgiving is in October.  But I have already seen a Cdn tv ad regarding Black Friday.  My local mall is opening at 7:00 a.m. on American Black Friday to, I guess, keep Cdns shopping in Canada rather than going over the border to the American Black Friday sales.  I promise you I won't be going to any Black Friday sales in Canada or the States. 

[vern]

One of my favorites on youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxyrBwhTo48

I hope he posts another one this year!

[stevesteve]

One of my favorites on youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxyrBwhTo48

I hope he posts another one this year!

You're going to have to explain to me how that's anything other than a man being a jackass.  Rolling into through a parking lot with a bull horn heckling people waiting in line by calling them "mainstream media-watching morons", "enemies of America", "slaves", "zombies", "pawns of the Illuminati".  That's not in any way a clever take on anti-consumerism, it's a smug self-satisfied man trying to make himself feel superior.

This sanctimonious behavior looking down on people who shop on Black Friday annoys me.  If you were going to buy something and you can get it much cheaper on Black Friday then why not do it?  While I enjoy being home on Thanksgiving with my family some people (including myself previous years, and relatives) prefer being able to get more hours.*  Yes, Black Friday is symptomatic of American overspending, consumerism, and debt but to attempt to use it denigrate anyone who purchases something on Friday is idiocy.

[BlueMR2]

I'm part of the problem this year.  I didn't go *out* shopping, but I got an e-mail filled with deals from a vendor that I have a bunch of equipment from.  One item was a piece of equipment I've been wanting for awhile.  Didn't quite "need" it, which kept me from paying the $49 price.  Well, on sale for $22 it was worth it, order placed Thanksgiving night...  :-)

[sheepstache]

The people who rush out for black Friday deals also, in my experience, tend to be lower income people.   

My facebook feed confirms that.  But I'm sure high-income also do shopping, just more likely to be online.  (In fact I wonder how many who posted righteous "I won't be shopping on t-day because I care about retail workers" pics this week will order online and not think about the fact that they're getting the same shipping time and customer service as usual despite the "holiday".)

I'm not sure I see it as a contradiction to buy things on Black Friday or Thanksgiving and dislike the idea of shopping on Thanksgiving.  It's two competing desires.  1) I don't want to buy things / shop on Thanksgiving and 2) I want to buy this item cheaply.  I think the complaint boils down to why do the sales have to be on this day?   I don't think that's the most unreasonable view.

I can feel that. 

For me the bleeding of one holiday into another drains the joy from it and turns me into Scrooge.  It's like, not only is the pleasure hard to maintain over a long period of time, if I have to dampen my enthusiasm at any point, it doesn't fully spring back.
Like, a sidewalk Christmas tree shop went up in my neighborhood on Monday.  Normally I get excited about them even though I don't buy a tree.  I like seeing the sign of the season, I like seeing the white kids they import from Vermont to run them, I like smelling the fresh pine as I walk by.  But after a moment of startled excitement I was like, 'wait, no, Thanksgiving's this week.  I have to still be excited about that instead.'  Eh.  It's like, in the safe first world, constant opportunity for fullfillment and "specialness" gets to be depressing.  To every thing a time and season seems like a better formula for happiness. 
Of course, that's just the culture here and if I don't like it I can stop complaining and find another one :)
Yet, even criticizing culture isn't always an option available to Americans.  You are told that a. you can democratically control it, like, through not shopping or b. individualism trumps all and there is no intersection between you as a private person and the culture you belong to--if you're affected by the culture it's your own damn fault.

[NWstubble]

I dunno...  I kinda like the idea, since all those folks who're spending the holiday in shopping malls aren't out clogging up hiking trails, or tracking up the new snow.  Selfish of me, I know...

+1  This is also why I like the major sports championships.

[vern]

One of my favorites on youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxyrBwhTo48

I hope he posts another one this year!

You're going to have to explain to me how that's anything other than a man being a jackass.  Rolling into through a parking lot with a bull horn heckling people waiting in line by calling them "mainstream media-watching morons", "enemies of America", "slaves", "zombies", "pawns of the Illuminati".  That's not in any way a clever take on anti-consumerism, it's a smug self-satisfied man trying to make himself feel superior.

This sanctimonious behavior looking down on people who shop on Black Friday annoys me.  If you were going to buy something and you can get it much cheaper on Black Friday then why not do it?  While I enjoy being home on Thanksgiving with my family some people (including myself previous years, and relatives) prefer being able to get more hours.*  Yes, Black Friday is symptomatic of American overspending, consumerism, and debt but to attempt to use it denigrate anyone who purchases something on Friday is idiocy.

Hey, I got a laugh out of it. 

So which store were you lined up at in the video?

[stevesteve]

Hey, I got a laugh out of it. 

So which store were you lined up at in the video?

Well, I was in front of the Best Buy and that Mark Dyce guy really hurt my feelings.  I don't want anyone to feel that way again.

[Empire Business]

Where did he buy his bullhorn and car?  Maybe he made them out of coconuts.

[Fletch]

Sometimes I wonder if the modern American use of "holidays" is why we don't have more official days off work. Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day - in addition to Black Friday they have all turned into days where retailers have sales because people just want to shop when they have free time.

[ender]

I dunno...  I kinda like the idea, since all those folks who're spending the holiday in shopping malls aren't out clogging up hiking trails, or tracking up the new snow.  Selfish of me, I know...

+1  This is also why I like the major sports championships.

I've gone out to a nearby state park nearly every time we have hosted our rival football game in my town. It's so great!