Saturday, November 24, 2007

Black Friday

I don't usually participate in "Black Friday." And I didn't this year, either. Except that we were out of town, and we needed a warm and safe place for the kids to play before we stuck them back in their car seats for the ride home. So we went to the mall's play area. Where we sat, in amazement, watching people push and shove and grab like lions at a fresh kill. What kind of behavior is this?

Then we went to Goodwill, to find some actual bargains. On things we actually need. And I wondered:

  1. How many of the things purchased at such cost ("bargain") on Black Friday are actually needed in any way?
  2. How many end up, unopened, a year later, at Goodwill?
  3. How can people justify trampling all over one another in order to buy gift that's supposed to honor the birth of Christ?
  4. Really, how many $5 t-shirts does a person really need? Just because you can get a DVD player for $15, does that mean you should have it? Yes, it's a great deal, but $15 worth of groceries can go a long way for a hungry family.
I understand that it's the hunt for the bargain that appeals to people, but if someone can sit back and watch this mindless consumerism from an outsider's viewpoint? Well, it sure looks a lot like gluttony to me.

Not to offend anyone, I'm just saying.

2 comments:

zdoodlebub said...

Agreed and agreed. And dealing with a husband who is just coming off the toxic high of spending three days in another state with our rich friends. They have two flat screens. And everything else you can possibly imagine. It's hard to stay vigilant against the idea that we need more than what we already have.

I mean, we have our new Xbox 360. What else is there?

Sunny Ellis said...

I think Black Friday is a horrible way to kick off the Christmas season. It starts the holidays with everything that I hate about the holidays.

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