Is it normal that working black friday just... made me sad?

86% Normal
7 Comments

Two years ago, I worked a seasonal retail job. I was in charge of crowd control during Black Friday. It was Toys R Us and there were people in line that have been in line for an upwards of 10 hours, wrapped around buildings to the other side of the lot.

That itself didn't get to me. What got to me were... the elderly standing in line in the freezing cold, small children waiting with their parents, women who were in their third trimester of pregnancy who were having early contractions due to being in the cold for so long and the stress, people having seizures in the line... the utter pandemonium. Just for a few toys and deals that could have been found on Amazon or at Wal Mart.

When I asked someone about it, they defended it by saying that Christmas is about sacrifice to give to your families. I highly doubt that standing in line for 10 hours to get toys that you could get cheaper at Wal Mart in September or online would be considered a "sacrifice".

I'm not a huge anti-consumerism person, but this.. this...

*Sigh* Is it normal that working Black Friday made me sad and by extension, seeing it makes me sad?

Voting Results
86% Normal
Based on 76 votes (65 yes)
Help us keep this site organized and clean. Thanks!
[ Report Post ]
Comments ( 7 )
  • Ldizzy1234
    11 years ago

    Honestly, I think its nobodys fault but their own. I mean, elderly people standing on line in the freezing cold? Pregnant women standing in the freezing cold??Thats stupid.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    2
    2
  • Mando
    11 years ago

    There is a strange pack mentality that sets in and they all get weirdly competitive as if their lives depended on it. I'm sure it is something really primitive that gets triggered. It is just bizarre. What else can be said?

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    2
    2
  • bananaface
    11 years ago

    I'm not majorly anti-consumerism either, although I think I can come across that way sometimes. I completely agree with you. I think that sounds pretty repulsive actually. The things people do for junk. I feel sorry for them, though. I mean, they seem to think that it's necessary, making these "sacrifices" and waiting so long in a queue. Makes me worry more about what or who is making them feel that way.

    And because it's me, I'm pinning a lot of the blame on adverts.:P What's more repulsive to me than that queue, is imagining the room full of sociopaths who were trying to make them feel like they had to be there, buying crap that "really works". ARGH, I will never get over that advert!D: Poor old people:(.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    2
    2
  • wistfulmaiden
    9 years ago

    Black Friday is bad enough, when I see stores open on Thanksgiving or Easter I want to scream. I refuse to work on those days...unless you are a cop, work in a hospital or a nursing home(someplace that cant close) you should have off. People shouldn't shop on those days either. Corporate greed is going way too far. And if you have a job where you have to work you should get double!

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • Captain_Kegstand
    10 years ago

    Last time I worked retail on Black Friday, I wanted to drop fire bombs on the general population for about a month after.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
      -
    • Evilbob
      7 years ago

      lol. But then you'd also be killing the sane people too! You should direct your anger where it truly lies, and only drop fire bombs on the Black Fridayists. Or maybe just disable all the stores that are planning on opening on Black Friday... killing seems a bit too extreme, in afterthought...

      Comment Hidden ( show )
      0
      0
  • ucipher8
    11 years ago

    Black friday makes you sad becaude the people who make it popular are brainwashed consumerists.

    No holidays for my kids except their birthday

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0