Jennifer Allen
By Jennifer Allen
We live in an era of consumerism and it’s all about desire-based consumerism and it has nothing to do with things we actually need.
~ Aloe Blacc
After the whimsical time of ghosts, goblins and gobstoppers we have the next two months of colder temperatures, holiday decorations for various faiths, and with them comes an almost subconscious desire to spend, spend, spend. Whether that act of spending is for others or for ourselves . . . it still becomes a time that retail executives rub their sweaty palms together with glee and that most retail workers absolutely dread.
The day after Thanksgiving actually started as a happy accident. Well more like a happy traffic accident. The early 1960’s in Philadelphia were noted for having a lot of dangerous traffic on the 2 days after Thanksgiving. Traffic was due to many folks having the day off and wanting to get out of the house after a Thursday of family and turkey. Indeed, as if folks actually wanted to avoid the turkey and mashed potato sandwiches, they instead chose to get out of the house and do things. Retailers obviously took to this concept like a duck to water and started offering special sales on those days, which in turn attracted even more to walk away from actually interacting with family members you barely visit with otherwise and instead rush into stores to get the hot new gimmick for up to 50% off.
The moniker of “Black Friday” wasn’t always called that, but the name has stuck for over 50 years… and is in no way planning to go away anytime soon. While the Saturday shopping day has gone in and out of fashion over the decades (now known as “Small Business Saturday”), the Capitalist society we live in just can’t seem to contain all that consumerism into just one day anymore. Now we also have “Cyber Monday” when many internet retailers have their own special moment to shine with online only discounts, and even more recently we’ve added “Giving Tuesday” which is where many large corporations take some of that cold hard cash earned over the long weekend and offer some of it back to charities.
Most of us born after 1950 have had at least one experience as a child of wanting that -one toy- as a gift during the holidays. Whether it was a Tickle Me Elmo, 8-inch GI Joe Action Figure, Cabbage Patch Doll or the Official Daisy Red Ryder Range Model 1938 Air Rifle. . . we all wanted one and would beg ’til our faces turned blue to our parents to get one.
As a kid, you don’t really get the full grasp of all that goes into getting that one great toy. Heck it wasn’t until years later that I learned how much strife my mother had to go through to get me that Cabbage Patch Doll. She was no doubt very happy that I didn’t want the creepy talking teddy bear or the game system. Regardless, our child brains and hearts have come to the conclusion that we know that we must have it, by whatever means necessary.
As we get older, I don’t think we completely grow out of this particular mentality. The toy simply changes to things such as the latest electronic gadget. Even more so, holiday shopping has become more of another “status symbol” used by fellow constituents as they prance along in your local mall or shopping center. Many times it’s about buying that one item that either is the largest, most expensive, or hardest to find. Then once they’ve made this purchase, often with credit cards to pay off for many months down the road, you watch them strut out the shop door like a peacock with tail feathers in full view. Whether said new shiny purchase is for them or someone else, the bragging rights are still there.
I’ve been one of the (un)lucky few who have experienced the other side of the coin. . . as a retail seller in both store and internet mediums. You’d think it would be the one time of the year where we’d rejoice at making sales higher than the rest of the year, right? Well unfortunately this often entails larger sales goals, longer hours, and having to deal with the aforementioned peacocks and their often rude behavior. Sometimes they would even bring along their kiddos who would then proceed to not only “test” all the toys in each aisle, but also leave the items in various states of disarray.
Online retail wasn’t without its issues either. The office being locked out of any and all vacation (outside of the usual holiday time off) from October to January was standard. Trying to post as many products as possible as quickly as possible so that the consumers on their computers or tablets can snag that perfect item and have it shipped just in time. The sales quotas are still there as are the longer hours. The peacocks send rude emails instead, and the kiddos are caught buying things with their parents’ credit cards when they’re not looking.
In more recent memory, the whole Black Friday trend has met with even more drastic ways to purchase. Stores open either the night of Thanksgiving or very early Friday morning so that you can get that extra 10% off that won’t be available if you try to get some decent rest after eating all that food. Even worse is when you see those doors open and the sheer flood of people rushing in. The peacocks dramatically shapeshift into vultures as they clamor through aisle after aisle to snag whatever items they can. There have been cases of major injuries and even death to both patrons and staff due to this extreme pecking frenzy, and there’s no chance of it getting any better soon.
Is it all worth it?
I like to go shopping as much as the next girl, but after witnessing fellow human beings turning into such hostile creatures for the sole purpose of consumerism, I have since taken a step back and let the peacock and vultures duke it out between themselves. Getting a great deal is nice, but saving a few extra bucks is not worth losing perfect good sleep or ending up in either the hospital or being arrested.
This year, I suggest that we all take a few more hours away from standing in line. Take time to embrace more memorable moments with friends and family. Take a breather and sit back to let all that holiday food digest. Whatever you do, don’t let yourself become the peacock or the vulture. Wait for the mobs to clear, and then you can always swoop in like a falcon later on
