Thanksgiving Profits

And then there was Black Thursday...

Black Friday wasn't enough to deter people from their families over the Thanksgiving holiday to go engage in extreme consumerism I guess. Rather than respecting the principles of the holiday and allowing it for their employees as well, why not exploit them further right? Much of the public will take advantage of the affordable prices for buying Christmas presents since the middle class is financially crippled somewhat now too, at least unable to splurge much. So why not exploit the lower classes and ruin family values further, and show what ungrateful, spoiled, insane idiots they all are to the rest of America and the world all at the same time!! 

-Naked Capitalism, photo of donation buckets inside Walmart

Angie Staft‏@stimpytoo

Black Thursday, the epitome of corporations exploiting their workers, and using social proof theory to make even more profit off the public.

The major department stores have managed to make "Black Friday" a jargon word that Americans are very familiar with, it's recognized as much as major holidays to much of America. Due to all of the media sources they have used to make it such over the years it became that way, even before the explosion of ads that are now littering the internet. It has been easy for them to advertise and make it seem like it's the normal thing to do, that you "should" go venture out on Black Friday or you will miss something rare.This is the essence of social proof theory for the individual, and it is progressed by the sharing of the information among peers. Indeed some of the prices are greatly reduced, but in general, it's a way to fool the consumer into buying other items that are at or close to the same price, while they are on this "important mission". Stores only have a select few items each for a fraction of the price and people camp out overnight, stampede one another, or get shot over parking spaces over it. It's really not all that big of a bargain, but consumers who partake fail to see the big picture. The psychology used is to make consumers feel they MUST get the deal, and leads to in some cases insane behavior and lack of their normal moral standards. Black Friday advertising is unmatched to any other advertising in the response it gets. I choose to boycott it, and hope that many will support small businesses struggling to compete with these giants to buy their gifts this year. The stranglehold of fascist capitalism will only continue if we feed into it. The majority of the hourly paid workers that worked on Thanksgiving instead of having family time are reliant on public assistance to put food on their tables, if they are lucky enough to afford a kitchen. These same companies pay little or no taxes on their profits and oppose social programs that help their own workers to eat or to be able to see a doctor. It's such a sad cycle, for a nation that hates the state of our failing economy. Thanksgiving is the time to enjoy the company of our loved ones over a meal and be thankful for what we have. 

-photobucket