A Different Kind of Black Friday Rant

Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash

Black Friday has been coming under attack these last few years as people are waking up to our obsession over mass consumerism. Strangely enough, the anger over buying more plastic items, at least on Instagram and the like, seems to be louder than the anger over people actually dying on Black Friday. There have been so many incidences that there’s an actual website called blackfridaydeathcount.com. Have there been hundreds of deaths? No. But, the fact that people are dying, at all, while shopping for sales is more than a little concerning, especially since a lot of the incidences resulted in people being shot. Who needs to bring a gun shopping?! #murica, I guess.

Anyways, completely other topic of discussion.

Black Friday isn’t as big in Canada as it is in the States. Sure, you can still find some good deals, but we wait until Boxing Day to go into our frenzy. I don’t even leave my house on Black Friday, but I risk the crowds on Boxing Day. It became exciting for me after working every single Boxing Day since I was a teenager until my mid-20s. That being said, there aren’t hordes of people just waiting to get inside, ready to trample anyone who is in their way (it’s just not the polite thing to do).

While people need to calm down about Black Friday, and you know, just try not to kill someone over a TV or tablet, some companies are going to the other extreme and putting the kibosh to Black Friday sales, altogether. They are, of course, mainly greener companies that are popping up all over my feed telling us all to boycott Black Friday. Why? Because the companies don’t want to promote mindless consumerism. They’re often small businesses, so my assumption is just that they can’t afford to slash prices down to the bottom of the barrel. Thinx, a brand I love and use regularly, has stated that they won’t do a Black Friday sale because they want people to enjoy Thanksgiving instead of rushing off to the stores before dinner is even over.

I mean, sure. That’s a noble reason, but it’s a bullshit cop-out if I’ve ever heard one. Thinx operates online, which means no one will be rushing outside to line up for deals. You could discreetly shop a Black Friday sale while seeking refuge in the bathroom at your aunt’s house. Another way to get over that issue? Put your your Black Friday deals on…