Black Friday: An American Institution

[docpepper]

Not long after 9/11, George Bush asked Americans to do their patriotic duty and go out and shop. Based on experiences reported here and in the media, we're definitely a nation of super-patriots

 

Seriously, though, what does the Black Friday frenzy really say about us? I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts in response to any or all of these questions:

 

• Is it something we're all doing with equal participation and treatment -- almost regardless of race, color, creed, nationality, or socio-economic status? For example, are there certain stores where certain types of people are dominant, or where people seem to get treated differently? How tolerant or intolerant of others are people when dealing with others depending on whether they are or are not in their category?
• Do we do it for need or greed? Are we consumer addicts?
• Is it a shared American experience that binds us, or just a bunch of ships passing (literally) through the night?

Happy Holidays, All

[Novac]

Excellent set of questions. Of course, I think the answers vary for the individuals.

 

People buy all their Christmas gifts on BF -- would you call that greed? People buy up the maximum of these awesome deals so others can't get them -- and then they sell them in stores or online -- wouldn't you call that greed?

 

People rush out and buy a massive amount of stuff, some of which they don't even need -- would you call that wise shopping? They also buy a massive amount of stuff because it's at the lowest price you'll find it all year round -- wouldn't you call that wise shopping?

 

BF line fights and people trampled in store entrances -- would you call that a binding experience? Dozens of people chatting with strangers, sharing information about sales and strategies, and helping others with directions -- wouldn't you call that a binding experience?

 

So, in the words of Lemony Snicket: It depends on how you look at it.

[heavenlysshine]

"Dozens of people chatting with strangers, sharing information about sales and strategies, and helping others with directions -- wouldn't you call that a binding experience?"

 

Agreed. I met a lady this morning at WM and she wanted to meet up next BF! She was so impressed that I had everything in order in my cart by store that I wanted to PM, that I had all the ads for PMing stapled together at the top and items circled, that I had my printed out Shopping List from GD, etc. I told her I was way regimented in how I went about my plan of attack and I gave big kudos for that to GD and agreed to meet her next year!