Taking Black Friday: An underground coup d’état to take back Thanksgiving

I’m calling for a revolution; a conspiracy to sabotage greed with service.  For once I want to see them riot instead of us. I want to take down Black Friday.  Its an idea that came into my head in September while shopping at Costco.  My 5 year old son asked me why all the Christmas decorations were out.  Jokingly, I told him that it was December and we had forgotten to celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving.  I soon learned, by his face, that he believed me….and in an effort to stop the tears I spent the rest of the shopping trip back pedaling, apologizing and explaining. 

But it was a valid question. Why were the Christmas decorations out in September?  The answer is to commemorate a countdown.  It was to begin a backwards counting time bomb leading up to the mother of all shopping days…Black Friday.  In the big corporate axis of evil - the big chain stores are foaming at the mouth; waiting for this day to arrive.  The turkey isn’t even in the oven and they’re gunning for the customer to get in the door.  And, they are taking us all down with them.  Why are we sucked in?  And why are we abandoning Thanksgiving in the process?  We are turning a day of thanks into a day of greed.  We are literally walking out on our friends and family for a sale.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is seen as the start of the Christmas “shopping” season but really, it’s the start of the actual Christmas season.  The season of good tidings and the celebration of Christ’s birth is now kicked off with a maddening sale, ensuing panic, anger, rudeness, debt, frustration, pushing, shoving, anxiety…and for what?  Discounted TVs and toasters….cheap perfume and toys?  How many 11:00 newscasts will kick off leading with a story of people being trampled by a mob of hungry shoppers with 50% off tags burned into their eyes?

Enough is enough.  I say lets boycott Black Friday.  Let’s make them suffer for what they’ve done.  They’ve turned, what should be a time of thanks and giving into greed and gimmies.  (Let me interject, briefly-  I’m all for businesses being successful - especially small business - but I’m simply calling out the big ones….the ones who have created this monster.  The giants making their employees come in on Thanksgiving for an extra day of holiday shopping.)  I realize that for many, myself included, the only way we can afford to get a holiday shopping list completed is by taking advantage of these sales.  My complaint is that the more we shop – the more these monsters want.  They open earlier, and through their marketing, they instigate panic. How is it that so many can get drawn in by commercial after commercial telling them their only chance to please their kids or spouse will take place on a Friday morning, (or worse – on Thanksgiving Day)?  There is a better way to kick off the Christmas season than by succumbing.

 

So here’s what I purpose:  Turn black Friday into a day of giving.  Give your family, time.  Give yourself, rest.  And give to others that need help.  Make some meals and drive them downtown to some homeless.  Gather blankets and hats and gloves and hand them out.  Begin Christmas doing what God sent his son to teach us to do.  Turn this day back into a day of joy. 

Will this stop Black Friday?  No way.  Will it dip into Wal-Marts fourth quarter sales?  Not a chance.  Will it make a difference when your weary neighbor, (who’s pulling bag after bag from his car, with the weight of January’s Visa bill already on his mind) asks, you what you did and you tell him you fed a man?  Maybe.  But it will it bring joy to that man you fed?  Absolutely.  And bringing joy to others…isn’t that what we keep telling ourselves Christmas is about?

The day changes people. People, who just hours before were being “thankful” over gravy and pie, are wreaking havoc on one another.  The riot was created by big business.  They have turned the day into chaos by instigating fear that all savings will be lost if you don’t act now.  But more important than avoiding the chaos is showing love to others.  That love does not need to be reflected via discounted items.  It can be simply be shown by offering someone a hand.  That is what we were taught to do.  So I will get off my soapbox and leave you with this.  However you celebrate is up to you.  But before you hit the stores and the join the fun of the Christmas season, take an extra day and remember why you were thankful on Thanksgiving.  Then, make someone, else thankful for you.

dc