I hate Black Friday. I hate it with an intense passion.

The entire premise behind the whole idea of Black Friday revolts me, and it also revolts me that not more people are revolted. Seriously, I know people joke about it, but Black Friday is the epitome of so many aspects of American capitalism and consumerism that is just flat out wrong.

People say things jokingly like “Black Friday: The day people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for everything they have,” but does anyone else see how pathetic that is?

Black Friday has slowly been taking over Thanksgiving, forcing so many retail workers to work over the holidays because they are too afraid to say no because they really need the money because life tends to be expensive.

Should we even have a Thanksgiving anymore? It seems that the only reason people are pumped for this time of year is because they like pigging out on a lot of food, like the great “deals” on Black Thursday – I mean, Friday – and also the vacation time off of work and school (unless you work retail, apparently).

Morally, Black Friday really should not be OK. We live in a very materialistic culture, and I can maybe accept that, or at least tolerate it. But when something is so blatantly against the usual moral compass, people should take a moment and understand what exactly they are doing. They are going out after Thanksgiving, a time to reevaluate all that we are lucky and blessed to have, and adding more unnecessary materials to their lives because that 54-inch TV is nothing compared to that 70-inch TV, gosh darn it. And it’s all at the cost of some poor guy or gal having to work during their Thanksgiving “break” because you want more than what you already have, because you are not satisfied.

Not only that, but apparently a certain mob mentality activates and craziness ensues, causing people to literally lose their lives over your desire to have more. And if someone hasn’t lost their life, then they certainly have lost their sanity because apparently during the mayhem, people lose their common decency. It’s disgusting.

However, some people enjoy the extra pay they get from working during Black Friday sales. Some stores even hire temporary employees, which gives some extra money to those people as well. But is it really OK to hire someone who has no experience and no idea what they are doing for the busiest day of the year? And is it really better to work on Thanksgiving wanting to acquire a little more cash instead of spending the day at home with your family, literally having the opportunity to save money by not doing really anything all day?

Now, on to the more technical matters of Black Friday.

Did you know that those “deals” aren’t really that good of deals? Sure, you might find a nice one here or there, but honestly, the deals aren’t that good. They are exaggerated and made to seem so much better as an enticement to get ignorant shoppers to buy items that they would not usually buy. They put the mediocre stuff on sale that would not normally be a top choice, and people eat it up like candy. And guess what? The deals are much better closer to Christmas. If everyone was patient, they would be able to wait for better deals on all of their favorite products.

Furthermore, the best “deals” that let a TV or some other expensive thing you don’t really need be sold for hundreds of dollars or less are usually in limited supply, given to only the first few people that show up. Yeah, it’s cool if you are one of the first few people to show up, but if you aren’t committed and haven’t camped in line all day, the most likely scenario is that you were baited into the store by the deal that isn’t available to you anymore. And now that you’re in the store, you may as well take advantage of the other deals since you didn’t get your first choice, right? It’s all psychological manipulation. Once they get you there with an empty promise, you are already in the purchasing mood and will buy things you don’t really want and definitely don’t need.

Now, I understand that Black Friday has turned into this whole event that can be fun to share with your friends or family if you enjoy total chaos, but is it really the best way to spend an evening? Why not just, I don’t know, play a game of cards?

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I hate Black Friday.

Why not just shop online? It’s a thousand time easier.