Black Friday

[tyler90az]

Just interested in hearing what people think about Black Friday. Is it a good thing for a Latter-day Saint to participate in?

[thesometimesaint]

I don't like the big crowds of people. So most of my Christmas shopping occurs well before or after Black Friday. But that's just my personal preference and not something every LDS needs to approve of or follow.

[Calm]

This year was unusual. I didn't get my Christmas shopping done until October.

I hate crowds but I might go to my favourite small toystore tomorrow morning. Since I don't work there anymore, I have to take advantage of the sale to be able to afford the cool gadgets for the grandkids.

I don't understand why it would be an issue for LDS as long as they are civil and well behaved in their shopping habits.

Edited November 22, 2012 by calmoriah

[Freedom]

Black friday can be crazy, but if you do your homework you can save a lot of money. We go if we can save more than $500. Last year we saved $2,000 or more. Sometimes we play tag with friends. We go to separate stores and the husband stands in line. The wife shops at one and leaves the items with one to purchase and she goes off to the next store and leaves the items there with the other husband, and the other couple does likewise. It takes three hours which is far less time than to shop around on other days leading up to christmas. You have to be careful, because most of the stuff that have their prices slashed are junk and are only posted to draw people into the store.

[DH]

I think it's a purely personal decision, not something that's "good" or "not good" for a Latter-day Saint to do. Personally, I prefer to avoid the crowds. That, and I'm working extra hours today, so I have no time to shop!

Edited November 23, 2012 by DH

[thesometimesaint]

Freedom:

Thought you might like this.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324851704578133530559716180.html

[Duncan]

I went kinda... Just a big mall 'round here. I ordered new snow boots and they didn't have my size so I got called to pick them up because they are in but the lady couldn't find them...so they will call me back. But yeah, hectic but not overly.

[ERayR]

Just interested in hearing what people think about Black Friday. Is it a good thing for a Latter-day Saint to participate in?

One should never be involved in mob violence for things.

[DavidB]

I think it testifies to are our wanton gluttony

[bluebell]

One should never be involved in mob violence for things.

I saw one of those humorous sign on Facebook that said:

"Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have."

Yeah, being a part of something like that would be a problem for an LDS person.

[Freedom]

Freedom:

Thought you might like this.

http://online.wsj.co...0559716180.html

Oh absolutely We went by Best Buy and found people had been waiting outside for two days to save $300 on a tv or phone. Why not just get a job, earn the money in two days and buy it next Monday where there aren't any lineups? We went to three stores, and since I stood in line while my wife and others shopped, we actually waited about 10 minutes for our purchases. Some people were crazy - one lady tried to grab an item out of my hand even though there were still several on the shelf beside us. Walmart had police out front and in the store guarding electronics and monitoring crowds. We had fun, however, and didn't buy any more items than we would. The reality is we spent less than half price than we would of. It is not greed any more than hunting for second hand items is greed. if we need the items regardless, and if the savings are available, and if it is a wise use of time, then bring it on.

[ERayR]

I saw one of those humorous sign on Facebook that said:

"Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have."

Yeah, being a part of something like that would be a problem for an LDS person.

I saw one that said "Shopping is a contact sport for women".

[RobertAC]

It's not good for anyone to participate in. Early wake up call. Long lines. Crowded conditions. Questionable deals.

Best bet is to use the day to sleep off the turkey.

[wenglund]

I think it testifies to are our wanton gluttony

The question was about Black Friday, not Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks, -Wade Englund-

[DavidB]

The question was about Black Friday, not Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks, -Wade Englund-

Yes, dinner too.

"Black Friday" is a corporate concept motived entirely by greed, gluttony and the worship of material possessions. The corps must feed their lust for money - which is never satisfied. They use the "keep up with the Jones" concept to dupe the crowds to worship at the alters of Walmart, best buy, Apple etc etc etc.

I think we all will have to answer for our stewardship and what we did with our monies. So much of American is entrenched and addictively dependant on the idol worship materialism, and we Americans just gobble it down without thought. We are told in essence that we we can spend and borrow our way to the gluttonis feats we once had. we are never told that we should reevalute our concepts of self identity in terms of material things.

Edited November 23, 2012 by DavidB

[thesometimesaint]

I like nice THINGS as well as the next person, but I try for quality over quantity.

[DavidB]

I would also add that Zombie films are a metaphor for Americans gluttonis materialism. A zombie is a unthinking personage which only rects to a potential food source (deal), and when it finds a potential food source its mindles tunnel vision takes over often times to it own detriment.

Edited November 23, 2012 by DavidB

[bluebell]

I would also add that Zombie films are a metaphor for Americans gluttonis materialism. A zombie is a unthinking personage which only rects to a potential food source (deal), and when it finds a potential food source its mindles tunnel vision takes over often times to it own detriment.

That's what they've been saying about Zombie movies and symbolism since the first Night of the Living Dead in the 60s.

[DavidB]

That's what they've been saying about Zombie movies and symbolism since the first Night of the Living Dead in the 60s.

I have never heard that.

I thought of it a few weeks ago when thinking about the message from the book "Who moved the Cheese" and an area 51 scene from the movie "Independence Day".

[bluebell]

I have never heard that.

I thought of it a few weeks ago when thinking about the message from the book "Who moved the Cheese" and an area 51 scene from the movie "Independence Day".

Yeah, it'll popped back up in different places every now and then. The last reference i heard to that symbolism was from one of the characters in the New Moon Twilight movie

[Freedom]

I am trying to understand the criticisms of black friday and it comes down to the following logical falacies:

Corporations are greedy - ok, then don't every purchase anything ever again because they do not reserve their greed for the day after Thanksgiving.

There are long line ups - ok, then don't ever go to a temple open house, Disney Land, or opera because any event with a lineup is evil

Deals are questionable - ok, then don't every purchase anything ever again because deals are always questionable.

It is ok to purchase items, just not on Black Friday - ok, so I will spend 60% more on many items because of someone else's fear of crowds.

[Jude2]

I don’t go near a store on Black Friday, I stay home and clean up from Thanksgiving. At the moment we’re watching the Jazz, looks like we’re losing another one.

edit; Oh we won!

Edited November 24, 2012 by Jude2

[WalkerW]

Before we continue the consumerism bashing, perhaps we should give ear to the contrarians:

Think, for a moment, about Black Friday’s ascension. According to the National Retail Federation, at least 71 million U.S. citizens are planning to shop this weekend. Even with the premature openings, many shoppers simply can’t wait and are already staking out their places in line.

When was the last time you heard of anyone who was so eager for Easter to arrive they spent seven days sleeping in a church parking lot just so they could commandeer the first pew? How many people design propriety t-shirts to celebrate their love for the Fourth of July?

Black Friday has no federal sanction. It draws upon no centuries-old tradition. The Hallmark Channel has yet to sentimentalize its virtues in dozens of made-for-TV movies about the way the pursuit of deeply discounted toaster ovens can mend old family wounds. And yet millions of people celebrate Black Friday now, some casually, others with great ardor, because it stirs them in some way.

Like Thanksgiving and Christmas, Black Friday celebrates bounty and benevolence...Black Friday lacks the nobler pretenses of its forebears. It’s the St. Patrick’s Day of shopping, a day devoted to explicitly performative consumption. On Black Friday, buying four big-screen TVs you don’t need isn’t stupid, it’s epic. Waiting in line for a few hours isn’t a nuisance, it’s the way we show gratitude that we live in a country where we have heated mattress toppers—mattresses for our mattresses, with soothing, highly targetable and granular temperature control! Blessed with such abundance, is it any wonder we sometimes descend upon a stack of $2 waffle makers like a pack of starving piranhas?

Because Black Friday is so deliberately bacchanalian, a suburban Mardi Gras where the beads have been upsized into brightly colored boxes filled with children's toys and the goal is to test the absolute load-bearing capacity of today’s all-plastic shopping carts, it’s natural to focus on its most negative aspects...Ultimately, though, Black Friday is more about accord than chaos—witness the increasingly common matching t-shirts, the frequent invocations about Black Friday as a cherished "family tradition." In addition, Black Friday’s not just a highly inclusive holiday that draws participants from all creeds, colors, classes, and political persuasions—it’s a holiday that does so in shared public spaces. And outside of jury duty and events like St. Patrick’s Day and Mardi Gras, where the vomit quotient and general chaos are much higher, where does that happen anymore? Thanksgiving and Christmas are largely private affairs, celebrated at home with only select invitees in attendance. Black Friday is for anyone who wants to show up.

Basking in abundance.

[Calm]

Let's not forget Small Business Saturday.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Business_Saturday

Pretty soon every day will have some 'holiday' to promote going out and spending money.

My issue is not with the businesses. They wouldn't be open if the consumers didn't come. I find it hypocritical though that people say they are standing in line and sacrificing spending Thanksgiving with their families because they are there to buy such great presents for their families. If family is so important for them, then why are they ignoring them in favour of shopping? Why not buy smaller, less flashy presents and actually devote some attention to their families instead. People have twisted priorities, in my view, measuring love and attention through material items that require no actual emotional commitment.

[blackstrap]

Riddle me this... if all the money spent on Black Friday,was instead donated to homeless shelters,would there still be the same number of shelters next year?