Anti-Social or Smart

Anti-Social or Smart

There is a saying; that “opposites attract”, I don’t think that it applies 100% of the time. In this instance I am making reference to an activity that is very common this time of year.  Famously known as “Black Friday.”  Even that special designated name is falling apart this year.  Many corporations have gone beyond greedy, and decided to start Black Friday one week early.  Some of those very same corporations have decided to open on Thanksgiving Day.

There was a time when you had to make sure you shopped for groceries or anything else including pharmaceuticals by 10 pm on Saturday because every store closed on Saturday night and didn’t open again until Monday morning.  In the case of Washington State much of that was attributed to the Blue Laws that were still in the books and among other things prohibited was the sale of alcohol and other (considered sinful) products.  It was during those times that convenience stores came into being (Seven Eleven and others like it).  I recall that if you needed milk for the baby your only choice was to go to the Seven Eleven, and pay twice or more the going normal price.

There seems to be a segment of the population that lives for the thrill of spending up to a week in line to buy a product at 70 or 80% discount.  I can’t imagine camping in a pup tent for a week without toiletries, or a bath.  In my particular instance my thought is that I can earn enough money in a week to buy up to ten of the items these people are purchasing at full price.  With the great shopping skills you need to have some common sense (which you can’t by), and place a real value on your time, and life style.

In comparing the skill set of this people and my own is where I argue that in this instance opposites don’t attract.  I can’t imaging standing or sitting on a line for a week where people must start smelling ripe after a couple of days.  Unless I am waiting for something vital like a donated body organ, I can’t think of anything that I can’t wait to acquire until after the demand for the item diminishes.

I’ve never attended store sales on a Black Friday, and I can’t imagine starting any time soon.  Many of the people shown on the news around Black Friday sales appear to be overly aggressive, and almost selfish, not to mention disrespectful toward others.  For those of you looking forward to it, I hope you get what you are looking for and do it safely.

If you think that I am misguided, rather than smart, I’m ok with it.  As they say different strokes for different folks.  Besides all I get at Christmas comes from Santa Claus anyway.  The best is yet to come……