In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

Black Friday versus Buy Nothing Day

(National Post) In recent years, the American tradition of Black Friday has crept across the border into Canada. Black Friday is known to be the busiest shopping day of the year in America and is the unofficial kick-off day for holiday shoppers. Canadian retailers such as Wal-Mart, Toys 'R' Us and Future Shop now offer rock-bottom prices to match their American counterparts. Bank of Montreal found 18 per cent of Canadians admit they shop in the U.S. on the craziest shopping day of the year. This rate is up 13 per cent from 2010. Shoppers will go to great lengths just to save a few bucks. To counteract the consumerism of Black Friday, 'Buy Nothing Day' was created 20 years ago. This year the anti-consumer day is especially profound because to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

1.

The origins of Black Friday

Mental Floss
A short blog written by Ethan Trex details an overview of the history behind Black Friday. It dates back to 1939 when Franklin Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week. This was in an attempt to save retail sales from tanking. Trex's blog explains how Black Friday got its name and how sometimes it will not foretell how retail sales will fare for the holiday season. Trex refers to a great source on American shopping behaviours, the National Retail Federation. The site also refers to Cyber Monday, a major American online shopping day. 

2.

Woman shopper takes Black Friday shopping to the next level with pepper spray

The Washington Post
A woman determined to get an Xbox pepper sprayed her way through a crowd of Black Friday shoppers. This took place Thursday night shortly after the door opened at 10 p.m. at a Wal-Mart in Porter Ranch, California. Police reported 20 people suffering minor injuries. The website shows raw live footage taken by onlookers. The Washington Post also links to stories and footage of Black Friday shoppers waiting for stores to open. 

3.

#occupyxmas

Adbuster
The combination of Buy Nothing Day and Occupy Wall Street has given birth to a new movement, Occupy Xmas. The Vancouver-based counterculture magazine Adbusters, promotes boycotting holiday shopping. Adbuster's co-founder Kalle Lasn says this movement is meant to remind people what the holiday season has evolved into. They list different ways of how to #occupyxmas such as changing from a big bank to a local credit union and organizing a Santa sit-in or Jesus walk. The site is fairly interactive as you're welcomed to take the free anti-consumer poster on their website. If you'd like to make your own poster and be featured on the site, you're welcome to email it to the web designer. There's a live Twitter feed to see what people are saying about #occupyxmas and #buynothingday. 

4.

Petitions to change store hours is ignored

Z6Mag
People such as family members of store employees and concerned consumers put together a petition campaign and Black Friday protest. The group says store hours for Black Friday, such as opening early the Thursday night before, cuts into precious family time during the Thanksgiving holiday. The petition on Change.org gained over 200,000 signatures. The petitions were sent to Wal-mart, Toys 'R' Us and Target. The website shows a video of excited shoppers interviewed by News8 and another video commentary concerning the extended Black Friday hours from CBC15. 

5.

Why are we buying so much if we owe so much?

Certified General Accountants Canada
Certified General Accountants Canada has been reporting on consumer debt and spending habits since 2007. On its site you can view yearly reports about how personal debt has increased in the past few years. The report, A Driving Force No More: Have Canadian Consumers Reached Their Limits?, illustrates how Canadians planned to manage their debt during the 2007-2011 financial crisis. CGA Canada says in the first quarter of 2011, levels of household debt (which includes credit card debt) hit $1.5 trillion, a new record high. Recent stats show 46 per cent of lower-income Canadian families have increasing debt.