Editorials / Opinion

A crowd walks down an aisle at a Target Store in Thursday. Instead of waiting for Black Friday, which is typically the year’s biggest shopping day, more than a dozen major retailers are opening on Thanksgiving day this year. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Americans should be thankful for what they already have

I recently read the article titled, “Sounds of more jingle in holiday shopping hunt” [page one, Nov. 27] about how many consumers have different opinions regarding what we like to call Black Friday.

The irony of Black Friday is that people stand in lines for hours at stores and trample others the day after being thankful for what they already have. Much of our country’s culture is completely submerged in consumerism, a government’s solution to an ever-expanding economy.

I believe we should all enjoy spending time with the ones we love on the day in which we give thanks for what we have. We should do this instead of waiting in freezing cold temperatures and pushing through overcrowded shopping malls to obtain the latest technological gadgets and items which we will simply discard in a few weeks anyway.

Camping outside of malls and running through stores has become a sport

In this Nov. 26 photo, toy department manager Gayla Harris stocks shelves for Black Friday sales at a Wal-mart store. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Black Friday, what was once an innocent marketing scheme among retailers, has recently become a full-out competition to offer the best prices to customers [“Sounds of more jingle in holiday shopping hunt,” page one, Nov. 27].

Ever since the less profitable holiday seasons in 2008 and 2009, big-name stores like Toys ”R” Us, Best Buy, Walmart, Target and Kohl’s have been opening their doors early in hopes of meeting annual earnings.

Earlier this year, retailers announced that they are planning on opening on Thanksgiving Day, earning a new name, Grey Thursday. Do retailers really expect employees to miss out on family celebrations? Traditionally a holiday devoted to spending time with loved ones and giving thanks for what we already have, Thanksgiving has become a day for customers to score the lowest prices on holiday gifts.