Admittedly I am not the biggest shopper, but Black Friday and other similar sales are some of the biggest scams around. As much as I try to reign in my cynicism, it is increasingly difficult to defend how gullible the American public is.
There is a famous line from a movie (I believe it is “Field Of Dreams”) “If you build it they will come”. In America the slogan for PR and advertising should be: “If you say it loud and long enough, they will believe you.” America has recently shown itself to be immune to fact checking and truth in….well just about anything. The election of 2016 showed how far we have come as a nation in disregarding fact checking, the truth and common sense in information disseminated to the public.
The reality is that none of us should have been surprised. All we had to do was look at the absurdity of retail sales and promotional campaigns such as Black Friday, to see that the public has long been primed to simply go for anything.
How can everyone not see the ridiculousness of the setup? Thanksgiving is supposed to be about family and giving thanks, but increasing it is just about football and retail shopping. Stores are opening earlier and earlier for Black Friday sales that typically begin at 6p Thursday Thanksgiving evening. The stores are then open to midnight and reopen at 6 am on Friday morning. So much for family values… America worships “things”.
In no way am I against commerce. I understand retails’ importance and effects on our overall economy. I do not have children, but I get the idea of presents during the holiday season. We did not have much, but my mother always made sure that we always had the best Christmas’. I get it… the holiday season is about gifts and buying things and who am I to derail the American Dream.
It is not the shopping I do not understand, it is people going for the brainwashing of these artificial sales and store hours to accommodate retail’s agenda. In case you have not watched television…ever or own an Internet compatible device, you realize that retail outlets now have sales nearly every month of the year. A big screen television or the most popular game or device is no less expensive on these manufactured Black Friday deals then they are at any other time in the calendar year.
So why do people allow Thanksgiving to be cut short, or get up at ridiculous hours to face crowds simply to shop for items that are available all year round for the same, if not better prices? Cause they have been told it’s a great idea and people have still not caught on that there is not anything special about the day other than the manufactured catchiness of the marketed name that demands against reason that you get out and shop.
I say against reason, because at this time, most people understand the efficiency of shopping online to avoid…lines. If you are a procrastinator, online shopping can be your best friends. Again, I admit to not being an avid shopper, but for the few retail products I have purchased online I am sure that I receive, minimally, bi-monthly sales offers throughout the year.
Black Friday is not a real thing people. It’s a catchy slogan to remind sheep to graze. Retail, whether the physical stores or online, offer sales all the time now. Every year you hear forecasts about holiday shopping and retail sales. It used to be that the vast majority of all retail store sales for the year took place in November and December. That may still be the case, but shopping overall in America is different.
America’s consumption of “things” is a year round endeavor. Online shopping has changed the way many shop. There are so many options available year round, the industry has to constantly re-create reasons for you to come to malls and wait in lines for sales that are available all the time, for products that you can just as easily purchase from the comfort of home and have delivered.
Malls are great people watching venues. Out of the country, I will go if time permits, to get a feel for the people. But, the idea of not spending time with my family or getting up early to purchase something for some fictional deal is just puzzling. Or is that the point I am missing? After spending hours with their respective families, some people need to escape and being surrounded by similarly hostile strangers is the better alternative to more forced family time.
Clearly I do not know the answer, but people need to open their eyes to these manufactured sales and deals and understand there is always a better alternative to the propaganda being pushed on them.
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#blackfriday, #retail, #holidays, #shopping, #sales
