Darkest Before the Dawn

Once again we come to the time of the year where our morality is really tested. While many people are enjoying the company of their families, there are those who are planning their routes for tomorrow's shopping extravaganza. Some think those shopping for bargains at 5am or even earlier are foolish, others think it is the best time to shop for gifts that may be even cheaper than usual. Either way, tomorrow is going to happen and no one can stop it because there are those who will stay in line to purchase that much needed television or camera. But in reality who are we kidding? Many of those purchases will be for gifts, but many will also be for the buyers...when have you ever gotten a flat screen television for someone else? Few people are generous enough to have say that they have given that to another (not to their wives)...but what of those standing in line right now, before midnight? Are they really going to be in the spirit of giving or are those televisions going to be set up in their living rooms before 10am? Have we lost not only the Spirit of Christmas but also the Spirit of Black Friday?

I attend the Friday after Thanksgiving events sometimes. I am one of those people, but in reality I am not. One year I was, I spent an hour in line outside a store so I could get an item my mother wanted at a cheaper price than usual. After that day I refuse to be the one who waits in line. Now, I pick up the occasional good buy, but what I really attend them for is not really entertainment but more of a study of human behaviors. It is the one time out of the year that I can actually view my interest at a real level. People will show their true colors, get out from behind their masks at these events and well...sometimes it is ugly. I consider myself lucky to have not witnessed a death, and what I have seen is pretty much mundane to what you hear on the news but scary non the less. I've seen our society's system of order crumble because someone wants a toy that their child wants. I've seen parents on the verge of tears because the store had run out of one product, only to see them begin to berate a customer service employee about the "false advertising" practices of said company a moment later. I've seen one man accidentally hit another in the head with a box on his shoulder only to have both of them continue on as if the contact had never happened. I've seen grown adults force their way into places as if they are going after a quarterback. I've seen people position their carts in ways as to keep others from getting items and employ younger members of their family to do the same - does a five year old really need to be up that early? I've seen parking rules ignored so that the capable can park nearer to the store. Certain people should be banned from getting up at that hour of the day since they really can't function properly.

You can say that it is an interest of mine, this Black Friday as we like to call it. Usually, when a day in history is labeled as "Black" it is often taken in a negative way - Black (insert day of the week) relate to stock market falls due to almost anything and recently due to devalues in currency. Black (day of the week) was also given to days where riots, mobs or unexpected weather occurred killing many people. Only Sunday seems to be the day where most bad things don't happen...except in Thomas Harris' world...or Raiders fans. Granted people claim that being in the red is bad and being in the black is good...still seems like a bad omen.

While I take all the festivities as a sort of social experiment, where I am the observer, I have to wonder what it is that really makes me get up in the wee hours to partake in a ritual of commerce. I came across the answer one idle Tuesday...Hope. Hope that one day I will see something good come out of all the chaos. That someone might be not full of avarice and actually do something nice for some stranger that is doing the same thing they are. The people of the early dawn are there for reasons, but there is a sense of camaraderie out there. That you too have decided to wake up at an earlier hour just to perhaps get something cheaper. But sadly each year is the the same, a repetition of the previous year where people get angry at not getting what they want. Maybe getting that television wants supposed to happen. Maybe being the 11th person in line behind 10 family members all getting the limit 10 free games to be given away is a sign. Maybe it wasn't meant to be for you to get that cheap mp3 player or cheap Blu-ray player. Because as we all know, you get what you pay for.

Maybe one day I will find that one kind person and will get to end the foolishness of rising early...that is unless there is a really good bargain.