The Optimist
  • Home
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Features
  • Print Edition
    • The Pessimist
    • Special Projects
  • Police Log
  • Classifieds
You are here: Home / News / Black Friday illustrates insane growth of American materialism

Black Friday illustrates insane growth of American materialism

November 28, 2007 by Kelsi Peace

By Kelsi Peace, Managing Editor

After a lazy Thanksgiving Day spent stuffing myself, halfway watching the Cowboys dominate and marveling at the fluffiest snowflakes ever to fall, I braved the cold to catch a movie.

The Thanksgiving-night movie has always smacked of anti-social, awkward families to me, but sharing a movie with loved ones pales in comparison to the hordes who waited outside Radio Shack in the frigid air.

Forget Thanksgiving Day with the family – sales wait to be shopped on the aptly named “Black Friday.”

The Dallas Morning News reported that this year, shoppers lined up earlier than ever, eager to garner one of the door-buster sales stores offered.

Some stores opened at midnight, a new bow at the throne of consumerism that encourages people to leave their families even earlier to line up. I hope that discounted HDTV justifies cutting out before grandma can serve coffee.

Apparently for 14.3 percent of adults surveyed by the National Retail Federation (NRF), cold weather and early morning lines are a small price to pay – they scampered to line up before 4 a.m. Friday.

These early risers join the ranks of 147 million shoppers, 4.8 percent more than last year, who scamper to uproot the best sale and keep up the family tradition.

Don’t get me wrong – most year’s I’m a statistic myself, braving the frantic shoppers with Starbucks in hand.

The astonishing and, well, disturbing aspect of this whole event is how grossly out of proportion it has grown.

Business Week reported that about 48 percent of surveyed adults carry a higher credit balance this year than last year – and half of those with higher credit say they plan to spend less.

The NRF report almost supports this effort, with the average consumer spending $348 this year compared to $360 last year.

Even so, a $12 difference does little to allay such mounting debt. Surely the average consumer doesn’t believe such a small change will counter rising debt.

And our spending rises with our debt, with retailers raking in an estimated $474 billion by the end of the Christmas season.

For those who didn’t brave the physical crowds at the mall, Monday offered a chance to battle virtual crowds, as an estimated 72 million surfed the Internet for gifts on what is now called “Cyber Monday.” Last year, 60.7 million logged on for Christmas gifts on Cyber Monday.

The insatiable lust for more is best represented by the ridiculous phenomenon of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. What may be lighthearted renders others slaves to the desire to possess – so much so that people will forsake time with family and friends to shiver in the bitter cold or wait in insanely long lines to purchase this season’s hot item. We’ve known for quite some time that a mutated breed of obsessive shoppers turns up at Christmas- let’s remember the Tickle Me Elmo fad or the million-dollar E-bay Beanie Baby sales.

But this year’s craze is apparently to pretend to cut back, stand in line earlier and hope that $20 discount somehow helps a stifling credit card debt.

I wonder how many diehards outside Radio Shack on Thursday vowed to spend less this year. I wonder if the door busters justified waiting in the frigid mist on a holiday. And I wonder why we willfully line up at midnight to spend money we apparently don’t possess. Call me crazy, but I think things have spiraled out of control.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Thanksgiving

Other News:

  • Provost adopts new policy for emeriti faculty

  • Demolition begins on Sherrod residential apartments

  • ACU Gives exceeds goal, raises over $919,000

About Kelsi Peace

You are here: Home / News / Black Friday illustrates insane growth of American materialism

Other News:

  • Provost adopts new policy for emeriti faculty

  • Demolition begins on Sherrod residential apartments

  • ACU Gives exceeds goal, raises over $919,000

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

Retweet on Twitter The Optimist Retweeted
optimistsports Optimist Sports @optimistsports ·
26 Jun

The United Athletic Conference is officially taking the place of the Western Athletic Conference in the 2026-2027 athletic year. The UAC is a joint football effort between the WAC and the ASUN but will now extend to all sports. #acuoptimist #acuathletics #wac #uac

Reply on Twitter 1938240320854008109 Retweet on Twitter 1938240320854008109 2 Like on Twitter 1938240320854008109 7 Twitter 1938240320854008109
Retweet on Twitter The Optimist Retweeted
ashleyh1607 Ashley Henderson @ashleyh1607 ·
3 Jun

My second year at ACU was full of opportunities that grew me as an individual and a journalist.

In my first year as editor in chief of @acuoptimist, we published six print issues, filmed a 3-hour live election show, and revamped our newscast, all while producing news weekly.

Reply on Twitter 1929734328445178254 Retweet on Twitter 1929734328445178254 1 Like on Twitter 1929734328445178254 1 Twitter 1929734328445178254

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

1 years ago

The Optimist

Video

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

2 years ago

The Optimist
"Ending my college education early was always the plan for me, but the things that I have been able to see, experience and examine about ACU’s community were not. I have found immense growth in ACU over the past three and a half years, but ACU still has a long road to climb if it wants to keep catering to students as the world changes around them." To read more of this article visit acuoptimist.com or click the link in our bio. #acu #abilenechristianuniversity #privatechristianuniversity #collegestudentopinion #acuopinion ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Optimist Newscast Feb. 28, 2024

Our top stories today include a recap of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, the ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 21, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 14, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Jan. 24, 2024

Latest Photos

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Policies
    • Advertising Policy
    • Letters to the Editor and Reader Comments
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Features
  • Advertise
    • Paid Advertisement
  • Police Log

© 2025 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved