The Prudential Center – Boston, MA
To be clear, I’m not here to defend violent consumerism or the exploitation of workers. But it’s been hard for me to stomach some of the harsh blanket assumptions I’ve seen floating around…
First, I’m going to ask those of you not shopping on Black Friday to stop (publicly) patting yourselves on the back.
Stop it.
Right now.
Just don’t.
Calm the f&#% down, because here is the reality for a lot of people:
Some of us are on fixed budgets.
Not the “I’m going to try to go to Dunks instead of Starbucks because $7 for a latte is stupid as hell” budget, but an actual down to the penny budget.
A lot of these shoppers work. A lot. They strategically plan their shopping to coincide with their time off and the best deals available.
A lot of these shoppers have children – that is to say, they want to give their kids an awesome Christmas (whatever that means to them), even on a fixed budget. If this means fighting the crowds for that one good deal, so be it.
Of course we can’t forget about the workers. Over worked, underpaid staff that are giving up time with their families to be there and help the budget conscious parent find their deal.
Some of them choose to be there, others are forced. The point is, don’t be an asshole. Don’t make people who may already be stressing about this day feel worse by going on and on about how great you are for not going out.
When’s the last time you looked a cashier in the eye, asked them how their day was, and genuinely was interested in their answer?
Thought so.
So I’m here to say to the majority of Black Friday shoppers (not the handful of awful viral video shoppers) – I hope you had a safe and successful trip out.
To retail workers: thank you for all the time and effort you put into the past two days. I’m sorry you had to work a holiday, but I appreciate your smile and hospitality when all you wanted to do was go home and sleep.
To the rest of you who will insist on telling me you’re a saint for not going out on Black Friday: don’t be surprised if I don’t ask twice for you to move out of my way…
…you know, when you’re out in DROVES every day from now until Christmas…
I walk through the Pru as a part of my 4-hour commute, and y’all add another 15-25 mins to that trip because you were too good to go out on Black Friday…
#ThrowDemElbows #Caution
The Boston Tea Party 