November 29, 2013

Black Friday Is Now Just a Dark Shade of Gray

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This year’s meme of the day—literally—is that Black Friday is just a bunch of meaningless hooey. To sample just a few: Neil Irwin tells us that Black Friday sales have no broad significance; David Lazarus says Black Friday crowds are losing out to the internet; Suzanne Kapner says Black Friday doorbusters are just an illusion; Lydia DePillis says Black Friday is a terrible and dangerous tradition; and the staff of the Christian Science Monitor this year debunks no fewer than 16 Black Friday myths.

Is it like this every year? Maybe. But I don’t remember quite such relentless dyspepsia over Black Friday in years past. Plenty of horror, shock, and disgust, to be sure, but not mere shoulder-shrugging dismissal. Because of this, I’m officially declaring that the Black Friday bubble has peaked. If you own stock in Black Friday Inc., it’s time to sell.

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Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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