Black Friday comes every year the day after Thanksgiving. It is a "holiday" where Americans line up at ungodly hours in front of big box stores in hopes of getting deals (and sometimes buying discounted Christmas presents). However, Black Friday is nothing more than a consumer holiday, playing into our massive consumer culture. Why on earth would people want to line up all night the day after an ACTUAL holiday to buy cheap crap manufactured without environmental safety regulations or made with child labor or by unpaid, overworked factory workers? It beats me. I honestly disagree with Black Friday and I have never lined up at 5 am to go run into a store. Here's why I disagree with this "holiday."
Black Friday plays into our already problematic consumer culture.
Admit it, we have a problem in America. We buy so much stuff, waste it, and throw it away and it ends up in landfills everywhere. Most of this stuff is made from plastic and other materials that are non-biodegradable. This is problematic for the massive amounts of trash we are creating in this country that we don't know what to do with. We already spend so much on consumer items that will be discarded within a year. Why do we need a whole holiday to encourage it more?
It takes away from the actual importance of Thanksgiving.
While Thanksgiving is actually a real holiday where everyone gets off from work and school, many people still care about Black Friday more. Why take away from time spent with your family to go line up outside a store with a tent? The whole holiday and weekend should be spent with those you care about and reflecting on what you are thankful for. How ironic is it that the day after we are so thankful for what we already have, we go out and buy more?
It's completely unnecessary.
Honestly, overall this holiday is just completely unnecessary. Yes, it's nice to have good deals and discounts for Christmas shopping, but many people aren't buying gifts for other people anyway. If it's supposed to be about being thankful and Christmas shopping for loved ones, why are we rushing out to buy ourselves new flatscreen TVs? This holiday has been completely blown out of proportion. Stores should not be opening at midnight, 4, or 5 am so that people can run in and stampede others to the ground in hopes of buying some stuff. I completely disagree with Black Friday, and not only do I think it makes Americans look bad, but it also creates problems for our consumer culture, family and holiday values around Thanksgiving time, and our environment.
