Black Friday is a term Philadelphia police used to describe the mayhem on the day after Thanksgiving in the 1950s, caused by the influx of shoppers. Perhaps racial tension played a role in the naming of the day. Either way, somebody (a retailer or marketer) decided to take the original story and put a spin on it to make a buck. Using the term “in the black” in the profit column. Either way, the idea stuck. Changing the culture in a primarily negative way and creating status through consumption.
These ideas are so powerful that they change human behavior about when to shop—embracing the chaos. And yes, even get violent to get what you want. It’s capitalism’s finest day. And one of humanity’s ugliest.
I can’t help but think about these things like money, time, status, assimilation, story, etc.—the lengths people will go to fit in, even when the behavior isn’t good for us.
Josh Allred's Blog 