I have never been one of those people counting down the minute till black Friday, or nowadays even going shopping on Thanksgiving thursday. I always used to travel to Virginia to see all my family and we would just go out for an hour or so late in the day on Friday. So this year when I didn’t go to Virginia I was planning on hitting the stores hard, and getting some awesome deals. Of course I didn’t even think there was a possibility of hurting anyone or becoming into a Black Friday ‘monster’ but that all came out of my control when my mom first said you know I don’t think it's such a good idea you go shopping. So when my mom and I got into a fight I couldn’t believe it. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite because there was no fights and here I am creating a fight over something stupid on a day that should be focused on being thankful. My mom and I made up. I will never forget now and I think it is important that we all don’t forget that Thanksgiving is about family and we should never let black friday creep into that much needed downtime in a life that is always so chaotic. Like said in the article “For shoppers who are planning to join the Black Friday crowds, she advises being mindful of competitive emotions that can build when an item is perceived to be in short supply.” We need to be careful of those emotions because mine hit me before I was even in the store.
I live in a small town. Black Friday here is celebrated as “The Day After Thanksgiving.” It isn’t important, no one is crazy enough to line up at midnight, and some family members even said they got a good deal on a TV after the crowds. I’m glad we don’t care for Black Friday.
It doesn't take a psychologist to understand that people become selfish and feel entitled when they are in a scarcity situation. If the US had better labor laws and a larger social safety net, people wouldn't use material things to make them feel better about whatever sad financial situation they're in. They'd be able to just enjoy life via experiences instead of using things (TVs, video games, smart phones, kitchen appliances, etc.).
I have a black belt in shopping. But. I also value my physical well-being. There isn't anything that could lure me into the vortex of mall madness. Just finding a parking space at the mall makes a trip down the unexplored Amazon River look like a snooze. Speaking of Amazon....
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>> “Just remind yourself that no special deal is worth getting hurt over or hurting someone else." <<
Remind animals who would kill their young for a Power Wheels Boomerang that they need to be mindful they might hurt someone?
This is the best newspaper chuckle I've had all month.
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Maybe people should take a few deep breaths and contemplate why they so eagerly need more stuff. We are obese with stuff. Perhaps we should think of other ways to give to those we love. Maybe visit our parents more, or perhaps actually spend time with our children playing games, drawing, painting, exercising. Maybe our Auntie would like her windows washed. Let's get real... stuff kills.
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Easy Black Friday solution - just stay home.
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Welcome to America: the land of bare survival.
The behavior is NOT at all surprising if you exam it from the perspective of a fight or flight response when you are trying to survive. The fact that people are willing to stand in the cold for hours for something that you should be able to comfortably afford if you are middle class but for whatever reason, you have to fight others for, there is something wrong with this country.
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I live in a small town in an artistic area. The day after Thanksgiving (aka Black Friday) is marked by a craft show featuring local artists for the benefit of our elementary school. It’s a day to visit with friends, support a good cause and find a unique gift. Afterwards I shopped in a few local stores. My money stayed in my community, local residents benefitted and I went home with a smile on my face. I’m 45 minutes from the nearest big box store and grateful.
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Forgot to mention the ones who sleep outside overnight to be first in line...I could understand (maybe) if the savings were going to be $1000 or more, and this item would never be available again in their life time.
The people for whom I feel worst are the retail workers. Rest assured the bosses are not in those stores on Thanksgiving night, or at 5 the next morning.
Kudos to the Mall of America and REI, which do not open on Thanksgiving. REI pays their people to go play on Black Friday. More kudos!
I, for one, will continue to avoid this phenomenon with glee. A second pot of coffee, the newspaper and a fire in the stove are much more appealing.
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Easy answer: 'It's on Sale."
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My son works at a big box store and was “lucky” enough to work when it reopened Thanksgiving night. While trying to clean up broken glass in an aisle, he was very nearly trampled by rushing, totally oblivious shoppers had it not been for a few brave souls who formed a safety perimeter around him so he could finish up the job.
And, of course, there were the usual horde of rude jerks.
This mob mentality is something I just don’t understand, especially when they’re chasing stuff that they’ve been led to believe that they (or their kids) just can’t live without but will most likely be totally forgotten the week after Christmas and in the charity bin this time next year.
Nothing kills my Christmas spirit quicker than stepping into one of these madhouses. “Silver Bells,” it ain’t.
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I hope your son was well compensated for working on Thanksgiving (overtime? double time?), which could end up giving him a better holiday season overall.
And wasn't it wonderful that some of the shoppers created a barrier to keep your son safe?
I'm not an especially "glass half full" sort of person, bu it seems as if there are a number of things to be thankful for in this particular situation.
Thank heaven Christmas is not my holiday. We used to give presents when I was a child. Now we don't. I'd rather have a good time with friends and family than brave the crowds of Christmas shoppers or surf the net for presents. Christmas is supposed to be about the birth of a child, not presents. Hanukkah is about the last bit of oil lasting for 8 days in the temple. But our culture has managed to turn both holidays into paeans to expensive and excessive giving of presents. Whatever happened to a simple shared meal, prayers of thanksgiving, and the celebration of life?
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Stop the madness!
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"Many of the participants, who were primarily female, white and well-educated, admitted to behaviors like trashing displays or yelling at employees."
Well educated? And how many of them look down on "uneducated" people?
One of the worst displays of monster shoppers that I've heard about was when Neiman Marcus had a sale on some Chanel merchandise. These shoppers were affluent and "well-educated" women who could well afford to pay regular price for the 4 and 5 figure merchandise. A NM salesperson said it was a total nightmare with all the fighting and yelling. The next time NM held a Chanel sale, they made shoppers line up to draw for numbers, then were let into the boutique as their numbers were called. Enough supposed wealthy and 'well-educated' people could not control themselves, acting worse than animals.
Thank God for online shopping, just to avoid getting caught in the middle of hand-to-hand combat, somewhat like innocent bystanders getting shot in gang warfare.
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Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and that means time with family, no school and the excitement of black friday. If you do not know already, black friday is the time of year where smart shoppers attempt to get a good deal on items with a special temporary offer. This may seem great and all, but shoppers are turning these special offers into a somewhat hostile environment, creating raging hordes which has even led to the death of some individuals! This begs the question, why shop until you literally drop? After all, the products that are deemed as special offers, end up going back on the shelves a few weeks after black friday for a price nearly the same as the black friday special. I hate to say it, but I think this black friday I am going to avoid the busy stores and shop online, no excessive line waiting needed. As Dr. Nichols said in the article, “no special deal is worth getting hurt over or hurting someone else”. Stay safe this black friday.
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I have always avoided shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving. For one, because I resent the lemming-like aspect of a day that is 'supposed' to be for shopping. Two, because I hate big crowds. No thank you! No sale is worth it.
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fomo? (fear of missing out)
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Good God! I meant "hordes" of course.
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Why do they behave badly? Because they can. Because Black Friday has become an accepted free-for-all. They have permissions to behave badly.
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Let's get this straight: Black Friday turns only some shoppers into raging hoards. Mobs, never the brightest lights, have always thought themselves privileged and powerful. You know, like the young people who closed down Barclays Center last week, when hundreds without tickets stormed the doors in order to get in.
You can study the phenomenon all you want, but it's of a piece with all mob goings-on. But not all human beings behave that way. Those who do usually have less than their fair share of brains.
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How thin is the veneer of civilization.
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This has gone on for years. One Black Friday decades ago, I drove to an upscale shopping mall to see firsthand what the fuss was about. By pure chance, possibly beginner's luck, I scored a prime parking spot. It didn't take long for me to leave the crushing mob scene and head home empty-handed. It did cross my mind to sell my parking spot! Just a whimsical thought that I'd never act upon although it would make a humorous movie scene.
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Black Friday shoppers self-select. People who enjoy competition or have a strong economic need for a bargain turn out.
They need to get a life!
Thanksgiving ideally should be time relaxing with friends and family, not skirmishing with other frenzied shoppers in a large box store.
How about being thankful for what you already have?
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Shopping is their life. Having already purchased a flat-screen TV set two years earlier, they want a bigger one, and so they shop and, when moved to, stampede.
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Everytime it starts to get cold and October slowly shifts into November, I become very eager and giddy. Not for Thanksgiving, but for Black Friday Shopping. I can always stock up on new shoes, sweaters, and jeans for an astounding price. Never have I experienced a mob, trashing of displays, harassment of employees or any other traumatic behavior. I guess I’m just lucky. I would say if you plan on going Black Friday Shopping, go with an open mind and realize there will be a lot of people - some more intent than others - obtaining these rare deals. This can help to prevent any anger or misbehavior with your expectations already low. The article declared when customers weren’t provided the advertised “doorbusters" they were ensured, they acted out. This makes perfect sense because people are looking forward to these bonus deals and goodies. Some even come extra early or buy a certain number of an item in the chaos of the many other shoppers. To be told the "doorbuster" is unavailable after going through all that will just tick them off.
I also found it interesting that some people believed Black Friday Shopping to be a game and that stealing items and getting in fights with people was normal. I guess with all the hectic stories displayed on the news concerning competitive shoppers, people started to stereotype Black Friday as a time people could go mad and snatch all the bargains.
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Selfishness and entitlement are two attitudes that come to mind when considering this. Unfortunately, society and the stores seem to encourage bad behaviour, consumerism and overspending. Similar sales and behaviours come up around Boxing Day sales in Canada; as I've told my university aged kids, no one needs these items and if you're smart about your shopping, you can get just as good a deal at another time.
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There is no 'thing' I want badly enough to endure in-person shopping on Black Friday.
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The only place I'll be on BF AM at 6:30AM will be the gym, and I doubt anybody will be breaking down THOSE doors. After that, I'll be watching the Bruins: a perfect day off for me!
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Consumerism at its peak!
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To quote David Letterman "Is it just me, or does it seem Black Friday has gotten too commercial?"
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What a revolting spectacle. My contempt for anyone who lets consumerism make them behave like a barbarian knows no limit. What kind of animals are we?! There is also no limit to vivid examples of how capitalism is reducing us to something less than human. Disgraceful. Stay home, people, and have a conversation with an elderly relative or find some way to serve in your community. Don't waste your time acting like a fool in service to making somebody's stockholders ever wealthier!
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Are there similar shopping orgies in other parts of the world, or is this another unfortunate example of American exceptionalism? It has always struck me as deeply odd to go to such lengths to spend money.
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China. Singles Day is biggest shop day in the world. And it is not all online.
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(In reply to Fred who asked if this was special to the US)
We have exported this to the UK, which has the same Black Friday event, even though they don't celebrate Thanksgiving. With pretty much the same results, I read.
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The entire Black Friday spectacle is designed to draw out people prone to antisocial behavior. It's like that movie franchise, The Purge. The rest of us stay home and hide.
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"Feelings of unfairness" and "wanting to win" or a breakdown of decency and dissolution of personal responsibility? You decide.
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I am so thankful that in our family, we draw names out of a hat in October. Everyone just gets and gives one present with a price limit on it. I already have purchased "my" present, and I look forward to enjoying a relaxing, peaceful Christmas with our extended family.
I am so glad that I do not need to deal with black Friday - that is the worst that the holiday season brings out of people.
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There really has to be something wrong with you to leave the house at 3 pm on Thanksgiving to line up at a store that opens at 5 pm in order to obtain a bargain. The same thing for people who get up at 3 am on Black Friday to go shopping at 5 am. I used to go to work at that hour. I've seen them, hordes of people racing to Walmart, Best Buy, and the malls at 4:00 in the morning.
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