Black Friday - Has it Gone Too Far?

Door buster sales, free bags of toys and one-time-only discounts seem to have become another part of the Thanksgiving tradition. Each year, on the day after Thanksgiving, people line up outside of stores to wait for hours for the chance to save big and get their holiday shopping done on the cheap.

It's hard to say when the term “Black Friday” began being used to refer to the day after Thanksgiving. According to Wikipedia, the term originated in the mid-60's in Pittsburgh. Because of the huge traffic jams and high number of car accidents caused by the rush of Christmas shoppers merging with the crowds from the annual Army-Navy game, police officers dreaded the day. The phrase caught on and Black Friday sales began showing up all across the country.

For decades, this day has been a huge shopping day and one that puts retailers in the black for the year. Traditionally, stores would open at 6:00 a.m. and have early bird sales. Since the year 2000, that time has gotten earlier and earlier and stores would open at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. In 2011, things changed even more dramatically as major retailers began opening up at midnight in order to kick off the holiday shopping season earlier. This year, stores are advertising sales that start at 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving day.

It makes me wonder if this is simply taking things too far. If the current trend continues, by next year, we won't even have to bother with turkey and football. Instead of a Thanksgiving dinner, we'll be having a Thanksgiving breakfast followed by shopping at noon.

Not only are the sales cutting into the traditional family time, they are dangerous. Each year, stores compete with each other to offer better deals and create a higher sense of urgency in customers. For example, this year, Toys R Us is offering $30 bags of toys for free to the first 200 families in the door at 8:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving day.

This type of marketing seems to bring out the worst in people and causes them to behave like maniacs in order to get their hands on “must have” merchandise in the name of holiday giving. Shoppers and employees have gotten arrested, been seriously injured and have even died in the name of good deals. In 2006, a shopper at Best Buy was caught on tape assaulting other customers. That same year, several Wal-Mart employees were pinned against walls and doors by stampeding crowds and 9 mall customers in California were seriously injured when the mall released gift certificates from the ceiling.

I wish I could say that it was just a bad year and since then, things have gotten better. Unfortunately, I can't because things have only gotten worse. In 2008, unruly crowds outside of a Wal-Mart got tired of waiting for hours in the cold for the store to open. When the employee attempted to unlock the door, the crowd rushed forward, breaking down the door and trampling the employee to death. As the employee lay on the ground, people continued to stream through the door, unwilling to stop in order for the employee to receive medical attention. In fact, when emergency services arrived, they had a difficult time reaching the fallen worker because the crowd refused to stop.

According to the National Retail Federation, that was the first instance of an employee being killed by customers on Black Friday. Since then, the violence during these sales has only escalated. If you want to be really horrified, take a look at the 13 Most Brutal Black Friday Injuries/Deaths.

Now that Black Friday sales have begun creeping into Thanksgiving day and causing thousands of retail workers to miss spending time with their families, I wonder when we, as a society, will decide that enough is enough. There is no reason that stores can't offer great sales in a more responsible fashion. However, they won't change as long as customers are willing to wait in line for hours on end to shop. The more insane the mob gets, the more the companies make.

To protest both the mandatory sacrifice of family time, lack of fair wages and other mistreatment, this year many employees of Wal-Mart are going on strike on Black Friday. They hope that their protest will hurt the company where it counts and will raise awareness of their complaints. After all, employees shouldn't have to risk their lives for minimum wage so that their employer can sell more stuff.

Personally, I think that Black Friday shopping is a picture of America at its worst. People turn on each other just to save money. Every year, we spend a day celebrating gratitude and togetherness and the next day, we tear each other apart trying to be the first to get a low price on an Xbox 360. To make it worse, most of these sale items are destined to be given as gifts during a holiday that celebrates peace and love.

In protest, this year, like I have for the past few years, I will be participating in Buy Nothing Day, which is a campaign to stop the madness. On Black Friday, I plan to stay at home and not buy anything. Although I would love to save money on holiday gifts, I can't live with the knowledge that by participating in the shopping insanity, I am only making things worse.

What did you do on Black Friday? Did you see any shopping madness? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

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