.
Feedback

Has Black Friday Made Us More Materialistic?

Black Friday will begin on Thanksgiving this year, allowing shoppers to cram in extra hours of bargain hunting.

Everyone in Los Angeles County loves a good deal. Everyone. There’s nothing more satisfying than getting half off something you’ve been wanting to buy for eons.

But many believe giant retailers like Target, Walmart and Sears have gone too far in satiating this hunger for a good bargain.

Black Friday—the Friday after Thanksgiving associated with gangbuster deals— will begin not on Friday this year, but Thursday.

Last year, retailers stayed true to the day’s title and waited until midnight on Friday to open their doors, still causing some discontent because employees had to cut their Thanksgiving dinners short and arrive at work.

However, this year, employees won’t even be able to spend Thanksgiving dinner with their loved ones and will have to prepare Thursday evening for the Black Friday madness.

Several petitions have been circling the web asking retailers to stop the “Black Friday Creep” and not open their doors on Thursday, but on Friday like tradition has always been.

But aren’t retailers actually giving customers what they want? More hours to get those incredible deals that only come once a year?

Many media outlets and bloggers have decried the holiday season as the antithesis of giving and all about who can hoard the best deals for the longest amount of time.

Note: This calendar year offers the longest holiday shopping season.

 “It has sort of turned into a ‘retail arms race,’” wrote the Philadelphia Inquirer.

And consumers are getting caught in the middle, debating whether or not to buy into the commercialism of the holiday.

Tell us in the comments: Is Black Friday increasing materialism in our communities? Or are these extended hours exactly what we’ve been looking for?

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from Diamond Bar-Walnut Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Loading comments ...
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Melanie C. Johnson (Editor) May 18, 2013 at 10:29 am
Hi Lynda. What police/fire information are you referring to?
pamylla May 16, 2013 at 05:23 pm
Why am I just reading this TODAY (May 16th) when the deadline was in April? Too late to do anythingRead More about it now...
Vito Spago April 13, 2013 at 03:48 pm
How about Hillary's failures: 1) Bill cheated on her 2) She was beat out for President by a Negro.Read More That is sure to "get" southern crackers like the Clintons, no matter how liberal they are. 3) Through incompetence, she is responsible for the deaths in Benghazi and covered it up.
Michael W April 13, 2013 at 01:45 pm
You are so cynical, Hillary is awesome! She enabled the North Koreans to test a nuclear bomb withoutRead More consequences, turned Egypt into a hostile nation supporting the Moslem Brotherhood, supported the overthrow of Khadaffy in Libya, which is a paradise of Democracy now- take a romantic tour of Benghazi to prove it. Your nasty comments might bring on another fainting spell! "I declare, can a gentlemen get a lady a lemonade and a parasol"
Richard Dobiesz April 13, 2013 at 12:45 pm
Can anyone name even one of Hillary's accomplishments in the last four years? Other than maybe theRead More Benghazi debacle.
Julia Nelson March 22, 2013 at 08:39 pm
So this sounds like a good reason to keep the proposed NFL stadium OUT of Southern California.