You’ve all seen it before. They always pop up on your TV or Twitter feed when Halloween is over: those annoying Black Friday commercials. Black Friday isn’t a national holiday, but some frantic pre-Christmas shoppers make it seem like one.
Black Friday should not be a frantic eat-or-be-eaten day where there is imminent danger of being trampled to death. Seven people have died from Black Friday shopping and 90 people have been injured from it. Does that not tell some retail stores that some changes should be made to this day? They will end up with people dead or injured in their stores with a prized iPad in between the two of them clutched in their cold, lifeless hands.
What exactly does saving a few dollars on Christmas items really cost? It’s just one more thing that your family member will not use or will donate to GoodWill within the same year.
On the news, you see angry shoppers fighting to be in the front of the line during an all-nighter in Walmart’s parking lot when they should be at home, enjoying grandma’s sweet potatoes. Then inside that same Walmart, we have the employees who weren’t lucky enough to get the day off and are missing out on those yummy yams that their family’s are enjoying at home.
As a person with a father who works in a retail store, there is always that fear hanging over my family’s head that my father won’t be home for Thanksgiving, or worse, if he does have to work, then there is always a risk of him getting harmed by a crazy shopper who just had to get that X-Box before another guy did.
Let’s be honest, the only thing you save on during Black Friday sales are electronics. Don’t be that person who gets caught on camera, fighting over a five dollar toaster. It’s not worth trampling someone to death over that brand new flat screen TV no matter what the price. I beg you people, please don’t be a zombie shopper. I promise those deals will be back later if you are patient.
As a high school student, I’m not the biggest fan of going out and wrestling with crowds anyway, let alone angry mobs. So, I enjoy the practice of online shopping because who has the time to stress about Black Friday, your gas money isn’t worth it, your time is worth more and not to mention you can go online shopping in your pajamas and still get great deals.
So instead of going out on Black Friday and becoming an adrenaline high, frantic, zombie-like shopper who has no regard for human life, stay home and eat dinner with your family while your dad and uncles scream at the TV during the Cowboys game and your mom and aunts gossip over a good cup of coffee. It’s just more memorable that way.