Black Friday-ed Nearly to Death

I have been assaulted by holiday hucksters, and this year has brought even heavier incentives and ads.

Small and independent shops pretty much let their employees get a good night’s rest after Thanksgiving, but many large corporate stores went into action before the sun came up, like sharks in a feeding frenzy.

Consumers swam with the current right into their jaws. Some of us were up in the middle of the night, hoping to be among the first 50 customers so we could bag an iPod for one dollar. And the coupons and discount offers we'd been barraged with for weeks were difficult to ignore. What a deal each item was, whether we needed it or not. Whether we could afford it or not.

We queued our cars for rare parking spaces at malls, risked losing our little ones in massive crowds, waited an unprecedented length of time at checkout counters, and were bombarded with canned Christmas music (all a full four weeks before the big day).

Oh, and we purchased suggested and discounted items, things we hadn't realized we wanted before the ad campaign and wouldn't have bought otherwise. Did this constituted savings for us?

I am insulted that the corporate world sees us as easy prey. And I am embarrassed that it seems to be right. I feel attacked, but excepting some wounds to my self-esteem, wallet, and peace of mind, I will live to shop another Black Friday (or boycott it).