Back in the good old days, Black Friday was simply the Friday after Thanksgiving. Stores would have massive deals in hopes of attracting early Christmas shoppers. Of course, it wasn’t always a cordial ordeal. There were always the occasional fistfights over a TV or a mattress. But the point is, it happened over the course of one day.

Alas, those peaceful days when things made sense are long gone. Black Friday started the minute November began, possibly even sooner for some corporations. All you have to do is walk into a store and you are likely to be bombarded by deals. 

What is that? In my opinion, it’s not even a Black Friday sale if it’s not on Black Friday! The other day I walked into a bookstore and the clerk was on the phone. I heard him utter the words “no we’re not doing a Black Friday sale right now.” I could barely hold in my laughter. In a different time, not having a Black Friday sale on November 17th would be perfectly reasonable. But now the idea is preposterous. 

Also, if you’ll allow me to discuss online shopping for a moment, I have some thoughts. There is a day called Cyber Monday! For those who are unaware of the concept, it is the Monday after thanksgiving. The idea is that everyone will be back at work but they will be actually browsing the internet and shopping. In order to make money on this idea, companies put their merchandise on sale, but only on their websites. 

Now, everything online is on sale from the start of November.  Want to prove me wrong? Google Black Friday deals. I promise you will get plenty of results from top stores that are already doing massive sales! 

I’m sure you have often heard people lamenting, especially in the last few weeks “nothing means anything anymore” to many that approach would seem drastic and dramatic. However, that is truly how I feel. The capitalist overlords that control big events like this set up a specific designation for each day following thanksgiving (black Friday, small business Saturday, etc.). But now people have decided to throw away the rule book in the hopes of getting a ten or even twenty percent discount on that perfume, sweater, tv, or whatever else they need to have. 

I am simply requesting that we return to the specified money-spending days instead of this chaotic mess of discounts and splurging. Happy Thanksgiving and I’m so sorry for your credit cards!