Black Friday obstructs Thanksgiving
December 11, 2014
The doors were lined with anxious crowds of cold hands pushing and shoving to get closer to the glass windows that held them back from all their materialistic desires. As the suspense grew stronger, a humble trainee approached the door, eventually building just enough courage to shakily complete three turns of his key before the door was quickly swung open and swarms of zealous customers flooded the store. Shouts of victory carried by the aroma of turkey dinner signified the discovery of products with favorable discounts. A stampede of nimble shoppers raced to the checkout line in hopes of a quick, easy ride home. Black Friday started early on Nov. 27, Thanksgiving Day. All states in the country should be prohibited from conducting retail business on Thanksgiving Day and any other national holidays.
In the years past, retail stores have participated in Black Friday shopping where prices are set lower and products are bundled in attempts to bring in more customers for early holiday shopping. As time has gone on, retail stores opened earlier and earlier in attempt to gain more shoppers than their competitors. It wasn’t until the Black Friday of 2012 that businesses opened at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. With the shopping extravaganza stretched by a whole four hours, employees were required to work on the national holiday. Although the same process will occur this year when stores opened as early as 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
In Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island retail stores are forbidden from opening to the public on both Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Thanksgiving is meant to be a day where families in the United States gather to recognize all good things that they could not otherwise do without. It is a time for relaxation and leisure activities with family.
It is wrong to open stores on Thanksgiving night as it depletes the festivity of the national holiday. An important landmark holiday such as Thanksgiving Day should not be portrayed as a night when people leave their family dinners early to be the first in line for discounted, materialistic things that could be purchased at a later time.
In recent years, Cyber Monday has been trending as a new sales day that follows Black Friday in attempts to turn profit as Black Friday does for the participating companies. Cyber Monday is convenient in the fact that shoppers do not have to wait in line for their products or go out early on a holiday dinner or even leave the comfort of their home as it allows people to shop on the internet. There are still the same and in some cases more valuable deals on Cyber Monday than Black Friday.
Loading ...Cyber Monday is a great alternative to Black Friday as it supports the importance and value of Thanksgiving. Cyber Monday should play a larger role in the shopping spree at the end of November because it has no interference with the national holiday. If the Monday after Thanksgiving were seen as a more advantageous day than Black Friday, there would be less chaos and disorder on the previous Thursday. More sales should take place on Cyber Monday so that stores would not have to open on Thanksgiving night to accommodate the expected sales. Cyber Monday could be the best way to control the complicity of Black Friday and move it back entirely to Friday at midnight as it used to be.
Although Black Friday disrupts the festivity of Thanksgiving, it has in some cases built a bond that has become tradition for some families. There are families that go out every year, after their feasts,to shop for the upcoming holiday season. Some buy gifts for other family members and some buy new technology such as televisions to share in the family.
However, traditions that keep employees of the retail stores supporting the nation wide sales event are unacceptable. Everyone in the country should have the opportunity to relax and enjoy a holiday break that is portrayed as a national vacation. It is not fair to take that away from someone based on their occupation. It is wrong for stores of any kind to be open on a national holiday. However, it is acceptable for retail stores to open their Black Friday sales on the day following Thanksgiving, as it is not promised to be a vacation day.
It is unethical for Black Friday sales to begin on Thanksgiving night as it requires employees to sacrifice their holiday for shoppers to save money by shopping a few days earlier than they normally would. Black Friday should strictly be held on the Friday following Thanksgiving. If die hard shoppers find that their thirst for discounts has not been quenched after a full 24 hours of Black Friday shopping, they should continue afterwards and not start earlier on Thanksgiving Day.
Sam Hudachek • Jan 7, 2015 at 7:55 pm
I loved your beginning! It was a real eye catcher for me and drew me into the story. You also put in real good arguments that make me agree with the Black Friday deals take away the Thanksgiving holiday from us.
Tessa • Dec 31, 2014 at 12:49 pm
I agree with the points you made as well as what Ty said. It is ridiculous that instead of craving time with family people are craving the deals of Black Friday and how an employee MUST work. I like how you added an alternative idea about how one can still spend time with their family and still get a good deal if they shop on Cyber Monday.
Ty • Dec 23, 2014 at 7:36 am
I think it is absolutely ridiculous that people camp out for $100 off a tv or some deal like that but whatever. What really aggravates me is the fact that employees are told to either work thanksgiving or be fired. All stores should be closed thanksgiving because that time should be spend with family, not stocking shelves.
Kyle Alvarez • Dec 19, 2014 at 6:46 pm
It’s nice to see an article on how the pursuit of corporate greed has crossed over into holiday spirit! The perspective really showed how Black Friday is interfering with Thanksgiving.