Wednesday, November 21, 2012
A Brief History Of Black Friday
Posted by Virginia K. Smith on Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 10:40 AM
This year, Wal-Mart employees — who have already been pushed to the brink by the store's recent policy of starting Black Friday on fucking Thanksgiving Thursday — are taking the day to protest a whole host of other unfair labor practices (retaliation against employees who complain, virtually no available full-time jobs, lack of access to health insurance), leaving people with sort of an awkward dilemma: respect the picket line, or stock up on deals, deals, deals?!
How did we get to this place, on a holiday that is (very hypothetically) supposed to be about breaking bread with your loved ones? Why, again, do you need to spend Friday hiding inside for fear of a public trampling? Let's take a look back at the evolution of a questionable, deeply American tradition.
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About The Author
Virginia K. Smith
Virginia K. Smith is the Assistant Editor at The L Magazine and a Bushwick resident. Her profile picture was taken at Summerscreen, because she is a real team player.
