Why Black Friday Makes Thanksgiving a Pointless Holiday

Ever since it was declared a national holiday in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving has been dedicated to celebrating the things and people in one’s life they can be thankful for. However, in the 1980’s, the introduction of Black Friday made Americans care less about the things they were thankful for, and more about the things they could purchase. For decades, consumers have used Black Friday sales to save money on items that normally would have been more expensive. While one can see why this kind of sale is attractive to shoppers, at times it can defeat the purpose of Thanksgiving.
Some South students feel that Black Friday sales have a bad effect on people’s courtesy, respect, and overall behavior based on fights that have taken place during the sale in years past. Since 2006, there have been an estimate of over one hundred injuries and seven deaths as a result of Black Friday brawls. The most recent of these was in 2014, when two women were assaulted at a Kohl’s in California by three female shoppers.
“It’s a savage marketplace in person, with people violently trying to get the best deal with no regard to how they get it, for example, trampling others to get close to a display. It’s a sad situation, especially because it directly opposes the giving spirit and unity of the holidays,” Hannah Armstrong ‘18 said.
Many students like Armstrong also think that Black Friday almost defeats the purpose of holidays like Thanksgiving, which are celebrated in order to spread the ideals of selflessness and giving. To them, the only values put into emphasis on this holiday are greed and selfishness. These values are the opposite of the ones celebrated on Thanksgiving.
“The theme of Thanksgiving is being thankful for the the things we already have in life, be that material goods or otherwise,” Kendra Evans ‘18 said.
As Thanksgiving rapidly approaches, and with that, Black Friday, many South students are asking themselves if any of it has any value anymore.