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Gray Thursday

America. The only place where you find people trampling over each other for cheap goods mere hours after being thankful for what they already have.

Each year, Black Friday sales begin earlier and earlier. In 2014, this became an even more controversial issue due to retailers such as Best Buy, Toys ‘R’ Us and JC Penney opening their doors at 5 p.m. and Target, Sears, Kohls, Macy’s and Wal-Mart at 6 p.m.

This blatantly interferes with many families’ Thanksgiving meals and although the public verbally expresses disgust, it did not stop many of them from physically beginning their shopping on Thanksgiving Day. According to ABC News, sales on Thanksgiving Day are resulting in a decline of purchases made on Black Friday.

The popular site Urban Dictionary describes Black Friday as “the day after Thanksgiving when stores decide to open at the asscrack of dawn to start Christmas sales. Most people fall for this ploy and wake up at 4 a.m. to fight other mothers for cheap presents.”

When I was a kid, my mom would go stand in line at five in the morning to begin Black Friday shopping at 6 a.m. In 2011, holiday shoppers were shocked when leading retailers opened at midnight for the first time.

Things officially started moving downhill in the past two years, when major stores pushed their opening times from as early as 8 p.m. in 2013 to 5 p.m. in 2014.

Protestors have relied on social media to express their concerns of shopping taking away the meaning of Thanksgiving in its entirety.

However, the nature of Americans has not allowed for any companies to consider changing this trend. Shockingly, boycotts aren’t successful when consumer shopping habits and actions do not showcase their so-called “lack of support” for Thanksgiving Day shopping.

The principle of the idea will never overrule society’s desire for good deals. The surpluses of criticisms are no match for the biggest players in retail that have crossed the line and will never look back.

The majority of shopping malls don’t actually have significant sales. They mark down the prices to make it appear like it’s a bargain so consumers can happily purchase items without feeling guilty.
The scam originates in advertising. When stores spin their fabricated discounts, it encourages people to go shopping. Naturally, the stores will profit by simply getting large quantities of people to get out during the holiday season.

Similar issues are occurring from the commercialization of Christmas. When asked to brainstorm words associated with Christmas, common responses would be Santa, presents and shopping. None of these answers actually relate to the meaning of the holiday—the birth of Jesus Christ.

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