Black Friday? No thanks.

As you all know, Black Friday was a week ago. I'm sure many of you go out and shop on that day, however, I refuse to get out there in all that insanity. The one day I was out on Black Friday, I was working at Bed Bath and Beyond. We offered coupons, I think they were 70% off coupons, to people who showed up extra early. People were practically getting in fights over them! If someone dropped theirs, someone else would run up and try to snatch it before they noticed they dropped it. Some would have advertisements for the early coupon and try to use that as their coupon and were irate when we told them that wouldn't work. It was complete chaos!

I read an article on the Fort Worth Star Telegram's website titled: "Dallas-Fort Worth stores report good Black Friday traffic as shoppers hunt for deals." This article mentions that Toys R Us opened their doors to shoppers at midnight November 27 while other big retailers opened to the public at 5 am. It states that the lines were horrendous. Some showed up in line at Toys R Us around 5 or 6 on Thanksgiving Day to ensure they would get the good deals.

Every year there is some kind of injury. Last year people were trampled and killed. The article tells of a deputy sheriff trying to confront a suspected shoplifter and was pushed into a clothes rack, cutting his arm open.

What I'd like to know is when did family values get replaced with materialistic ones? People are supposed to be especially loving and caring during the holidays but instead people are killed, shoved aside, and seriously injured due to selfish desires! I don't care if there are major deals on Black Friday. I spent the day with my mom, we took our dogs to the dog park to have fun with them and each other and to enjoy the nice weather outside. My sister spent the day painting for my grandmother. That is what I feel Thanksgiving and Christmas should be about, family bonding and helping others. The rest of the year is filled with hectic hustle and bustle and it's nice to have a break from that and just relax with your loved ones or help the less fortunate who may not even be able to buy Christmas presents for their children. No, instead the majority of the United States goes out and spends thousands of dollars on frivolous items that essentially mean nothing. I think, as Americans, we should rethink our values and concentrate on what really matters in the end: relationships, not stuff.