Last week was full of advertisements and hype about upcoming big sales and the oddity that is Black Friday. This week has been all about the new IKEA opening up in Winnipeg and the rush to be first in line or just part of the first rush.
I don’t get it.
While black Friday is a rather new thing in Canada, in the US its so called purpose is to mark the first shopping day before the holidays and coincides with US thanksgiving. In Canada it admittedly has nothing to do with any holiday what so ever (really neither does the US version) and is all about getting consumers to spend their money in one spot or another.
What always gets me about all this is that out of all these so called amazing sales have I ever actually heard something really special. I’ve yet to know anyone who has gotten a once in a life time price that couldn’t have been found during a regular sale another time of the year. I’ve never heard of someone being hit with a great revelation or epiphany by being the first to buy a new item rather than second or 1000th.
What I have heard are the stories showcasing the worst of humankind in reports of black Friday, grand openings and door buster sales gone wrong. I’ve seen videos of literal mobs who appear more like looters than shoppers. I’ve been baffled to see people lining up in freezing cold, pouring rain and other terrible weather conditions just to be the first shopper inside a new store or to buy the first of an item.
In short I haven’t heard anything so special about participating in these type of events to want to do so myself.
I see greed and displays of animalistic instinct that make one question what we are capable of. Is this after all really what we are becoming? Animals so obsessed over the acquisition of things that the people around you whether stranger or friend is irrelevant? A world where common-sense and basic decency are less important than our most base instincts to gather?
Perhaps I’m being dramatic but it’s undeniable that these sales often bring with them stories of stomach-turning events as well. It’s something that really turns me off against these types of events and gives me a mild feeling of disgust simply to contemplate them.
All these sales and events make me want to do is remind others of the importance of people over things, time over items and love over money.
