Day 292
I find it utterly pathetic that American’s have taken a holiday of togetherness and thankfulness and turned it into football and shopping … and I won’t even get into the gluttony part of it.
Actually, I won’t even get into the football part of it. I am not a fan of “professional sports”. I don’t understand why the best minds in our country get paid what they do … while a select “few” are paid zillions of dollars for PLAYING SPORTS. I think it’s insane and disgusting.
So, I guess that leaves me with … shopping. Worse still.
Tomorrow/today is Black Friday. It used to be that stores would open at 10am on the Friday after Thanksgiving with fabulous sales and the holiday shopping season would begin.
Well, times have, sadly, changed. And yes, the holiday sales season starts in some stores in early August … and just increasingly gets “worse” as the months go by.
Hence, tomorrow’s Black Friday now begins today on Thursday.
The newspaper that arrived today was in three separate bags. I wish I had weighed it. I was just glad it was still dark out when my paperboy heaved it out of his car onto the curb because no squirrels were awake yet and if it was light out it would have surely killed off a squirrel, if a squirrel happened to be sitting there.
The bags/paper contained little news and mostly ads. I threw them all into the recycle bin. I can’t even burn them in my firepit with all that color ink on those pages. What a waste!
A few years ago the stores started opening at 8am on Friday morning. Then a few thought they’d get the jump on their competition and open at 6am. The following year some stores opened at 4am … while others decided that they’d open at the stroke of midnight.
Well, today some stores where actually open all day. Others opened tonight at 8pm with “Pre-Black Friday” sales.
I don’t get it. Does one really need a $10 toaster for $8 at 4am? I mean, really? Do you really need that 82″ plasma screen with 5 screen projection, gaming station and a built-in popcorn maker – even if you do save $40?
When did we, as a nation, turn into commercialistic gluttons? How did society allow itself to become a mob of stampeding morons in a Walmart store … just to get a discounted electronic gadget or game or toy … that is not truly needed in the first place?
I find it disheartening … disgusting … and disappointing. I like to think we, as a people, are better than that. Apparently not.
In any case … you won’t find me at the mall tonight or tomorrow or anytime this weekend … I don’t need to be anywhere near that lunacy and frenzy.
Every year we hear of someone being crushed by the hordes streaming through the newly unlocked doors of some SuperCenter . Who risks death for a discount? Who fights and get a black eye over a Cabbage Patch doll? Who comes away from shopping with black and blue marks from the jostling crowds? I guess it takes all kinds … and I’m just not one of them.