Black Thursday?

[Brandi]

This is just not right! Everyone should have thanksgiving off! Everyone! My friend works for our local Von's. She has to work 11:00 to 5:15 thanksgiving. So we are waiting and having dinner when she get's off work.

[tangentgirl]

L*a*m*e*

Editing because it's super-lame. I agree, everyone should have the day off. I hope people refuse to shop on Thanksgiving.

[indysteel]

Totally agreed. Black Friday repulses me enough as it is. The fact that it's moved into Thanksgiving itself is sad. I can't wait to hear/read all the news stories about the crazy lengths people went to to get a deal on cr*ap they likely don't need or can't afford.

[skhill]

This consumerist orgy is ridiculous. I just wish every person thinking of shopping on Black Thursday/Friday would just take a moment, and consider whether his or her desire for a great deal on crap that's likely unneeded is really more important than the hope of a underpaid retail worker to enjoy a Thanksgiving with family and friends...

[limewave]

I normally do Black Friday shopping, but I am pretty conservative as everything I buy HAS to be a present for someone and has to be in our preplanned budget.

This year I am really bothered by stores opening up on Thanksgiving. I made the decision to shop at the local stores instead. They do a "Friday Frenzy" and offer a variety of discounts. All the stores are local and specialty shops. And they open around 8-9 AM. I won't have to wait in line all night! The gifts I buy will all have a local and unique flare.

[spokewench]

I think it is ridiculous to have stores open on Thanksgiving. What, people are so dumb they can't figure out stores are closed and can't plan their lives to not have to go to a store for a few days of the year.

[indysteel]

I normally do Black Friday shopping, but I am pretty conservative as everything I buy HAS to be a present for someone and has to be in our preplanned budget.

This year I am really bothered by stores opening up on Thanksgiving. I made the decision to shop at the local stores instead. They do a "Friday Frenzy" and offer a variety of discounts. All the stores are local and specialty shops. And they open around 8-9 AM. I won't have to wait in line all night! The gifts I buy will all have a local and unique flare.

If I had complete control over my Thanksgiving holiday, I wouldn't shop at all. I've made it clear that I'm not going to the mall with my inlaws and the family friends that they spend the holiday with every year. The compromise is that I will go to a handful of local shops--including one that's a gallery for local artisians. I enjoy that, but there's nothing "Black Friday-ish" about these stores and, sadly, they're mostly empty on Friday. But we don't have any shopping to do as we've already purchased the few gifts that we needed to buy.

[Jolt]

Totally agreed. Black Friday repulses me enough as it is. The fact that it's moved into Thanksgiving itself is sad. I can't wait to hear/read all the news stories about the crazy lengths people went to to get a deal on cr*ap they likely don't need or can't afford.

I agree...people in retail etc. should NOT be stuck working on holidays like that, they should be allowed to enjoy the day with their families. It's not like it's essential for stores to be open on Thanksgiving...totally different from those of us who do have to work holidays because our services are legitimately needed and people can't wait (can't close the hospitals just b/c it's a holiday!!). There is no reason why people should feel the need to shop on Thanksgiving; I don't even get the whole Black Friday thing (who wants to get up at 0dark: 30 and then deal with crazy crowds of obnoxious people standing in line and then pushing and shoving to get to stuff? Not me...I'll shop online thankyouverymuch and not have to interact with all the crazies). This whole thing disgusts me...it's just wrong.

[Crankin]

Well, I don't celebrate Christmas, so I don't get a lot about the need to stand in line in the middle of the night. I do buy holiday gifts, and I've been doing it locally or on line for years.
When I lived in AZ I did get used to grocery stores being open on Thanksgiving. Here, we still have Blue Laws that prohibit this. The Black Friday sales are not starting until 12:30 AM.

[indysteel]

The "mere" fact that people have died during Black Friday rampages is reason enough to dispense with it. Of course, I realize that's pretty unrealistic at this point. It's too much of a sacred cow.

When did Black Friday become such a big deal by the way? I vaguely remember the Friday after Thanksgiving being a shopping day when I was a kid, but I don't remember it being quite so crazy. Of course, when I was a kid, the concept of indoor malls was still a bit of a novelty. Certainly, there was no such thing as a "big box retailer." We mostly shopped at L.S. Ayres and Blocks--large downtown department stores. They were civilized places if memory serves. Going there at Christmas time was a treat because of all the pretty decorations, including a huge tree. Now everything is just so obnoxious and in your face. I'll admit it; I've grown to really dislike the holidays because of it.