Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Annual Black Friday Rant



(yes, it's a re-run)

About this time each year, the FOX crowd starts trotting out their "War on Christmas" bs machine.


https://max-media.imgix.net/transfers/2015/11/12/66e2223e4402ea7d330fb91f59c6949b2a75a536.gif

 Oh, they will fight to the death to defend Christmas from the imagined "attacks" it faces from people who, um. . . are willing to acknowledge that some people celebrate other holidays?

https://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2m77x3h6l1qc8jh0o8_250.gif

Or folks who want to maintain the separation of Church and State?
Oh no,  wait, I mean INFIDELS!!!! AMERICA-HATING INFIDELS!!!!!


And every Spring they pretend there's a "War on Easter" to be fought.

http://static01.mediaite.com/med/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/hannity_war_on_easter.jpg


Heck, they've even discovered a "War on Halloween"


http://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/images/item/fox_halloween.jpg


Even though the only people who tend to object to Halloween are evangelical Christians who object to the holiday's pagan roots and scary "occultic" overtones. In other words, FOX news viewers.

But what about Thanksgiving?

Because Thanksgiving is actually under attack by the obscene spectacle known as "Black Friday." People are actually having their Thanksgivings taken away from them by stores who now not only insist that their employees be at work before the crack of dawn the day after, but now don't even close for Thanksgiving itself.

Where is the outrage on the right?

Why does the "pro-family" crowd raise no objection to people being deprived of family time in the service of feeding America's frenzy of acquisitiveness and materialism?

What's a bigger affront to holiday tradition, a cashier wishing you "Happy Holidays" or having a Thanksgiving that goes like this:  "Gee, Grandma, everything smells so good, you've really outdone yourself this year. . . well, got to go sell some cheap electronics or I'll be unemployed. See you at Christmas hopefully!"

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/2900000/Norman-Rockwell-Thanksgiving-thanksgiving-2927689-375-479.jpg

Well, time for me to go.  Those remote control drones aren't going to sell themselves!



Every year it gets worse and worse. The entire concept of "Black Friday" is grotesque enough to begin with. Once the term "Black Friday" went from being backroom retailer jargon to part of the everyday lexicon of normal people, we lost a part of our national soul. Once flyers began proudly announcing "Black Friday Sales!" we as a society should have stood up and said "No! We will not create a holiday based on celebrating your corporate profitability!" But we didn't. We allowed this indignity to infect our culture and it quickly spread like a cancer.

First it spread to Midnight of Thanksgiving day. Which of course meant that store employees were forced to leave their families by 10 or 11 that evening.

Then the stores began opening earlier and earlier Thursday evening until they got to the point where many stay open the entire holiday. As if it were just another day to make sales.

So where are the FOX News special reports on the "War on Thanksgiving?" Why does the one holiday that is actually under attack not see the same umbrage raised  as those holidays whose attacks are pure fiction?

Could it be because this war is being waged by large powerful corporations in the interest of increased profits? Instead of by "secular humanists" or whichever right-wing bogeymen are launching the imaginary wars on other holidays? Nah. . . couldn't be.



8 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

All excellent points. "The War on Thanksgiving" -- yes indeed.

anne marie in philly said...

celebrate "buy nothing day" on november 24!

DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING, either online or in a store!

on november 25, visit a mom-n-pop store instead and give them your money on "small business saturday".

REJECT CRASS CONSUMERISM/GREED!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Isobel Tolley said...

Stupid thing is we get adverts for black Friday in countries that don't even celebrate thanks giving

Tal Hartsfeld said...

I recently heard a commercial for a "Black Friday" sale on CFZM (a 50,000-watt AM station out of Toronto).
Since when does Canada ever celebrate Thanksgiving? Whatever would be the point of any of any Canadian businesses and retailers participating in a "Black Friday" event?

Professor Chaos said...

I'm so sorry we're infecting other, better countries with our madness.

Isobel Tolley said...

It's ok mate it's debateable whether we are a better country.

The Blog Fodder said...

Because we celebrate Thanksgiving when the weather is decent ie early October, Black Friday sales, held on the same day as USA, don't affect our family life. WE even have them beginning on Red Thursday. Thankfully, I want or need very little so I ignore them.

Tal Hartsfeld said...

If someone needs or wants something bad enough the "time of the year" is irrelevant anyway. They just purchase it right then and there.