Black Friday Boycott

Every once in awhile I like to get on my high horse and be ultra critical of something outside of my immediate family..  Today that will be the institution of Black Friday.

Boo!  I really can't stand the whole concept of Black Friday.  Even when I was scouring sales ads (erroneously believing that this was a good way to be frugal), something about this tradition didn't sit right with me.  Consider the following:

1. The proximity to a holiday - namely, THANKSgiving.  I'm not the first and I won't be the last to notice the irony in that. 
2. The fact that it now starts on Thursday, not Friday.  This was really the straw that broke the camel's back for me.  Once the frenzy took over an actual family-oriented holiday I knew something was seriously wrong and that I could no longer justify my participation.
3. The deals aren't that great.  Black Friday is for the "lazy saver" If my grandparents taught me anything its to look for savings all year long. There is no reason to wait in line for 3 hours outside of Target just to get $30 off a camera.  A coupon and/or refurbished model exists somewhere (and it might even be a better deal). 
4. Corporate big-wigs now want to guilt us into participating.  I read an article today where Black Friday Boycotters were called out for basically bringing down the economy.  Not shopping for one day is the problem? Seriously? If that is true, that is a terrible economic model!
5. Black Friday is more of an event than a practicality.  It's recreational shopping.  It's loading up in the van with your best girlfriends and, I dunno, running around like a lunatic in WalMart.  Can't you just listen to holiday records and play backgammon together instead?  This would end up saving you more money than Black Friday ever will because it will spare you from impulse buys you don't actually need (everyone is guilty of this, including myself...sales are a blackhole for reason)

Well, that's my little mini-rant for the week.  I'm making 24 Hour Salad for Thanksgiving, which we will be spending with Mr A's cousin.  I plan to stuff myself silly and slip into a football coma by 3pm!