Opinion 
Black Friday: Everyone's thankful for sales
By
Alexandra Kramer
alexandra.kramer001@mymdc.net
Hundreds upon hundreds wait for Thanksgiving weekend to roll around every year and it’s not because of the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes.
And it isn’t because of what family means to the holiday either; it’s because of the “amazing deals” that come only once a year after Thanksgiving Day.
The last Friday in November, infamously known to bargain-driven consumers as Black Friday, causes malls and stores alike to become packed by rabid shoppers as they wait in long lines to buy anything from socks to laptops.
Some people wait all year for this devilish day, which seems to bring out the worst in those who have been patiently waiting for a ten percent discount on items such as: television sets, DVD players, cameras, laptops or other electronics.
Brothers, Rodolfo and Jorge Sayegh- students at the North Campus- camped out at Best Buy from Wednesday until early Friday morning to buy laptops for school. Laptops that regularly cost about $1,000, they were able to purchase for $460 a piece.
“We take advantage of this because we’re international students and struggle to pay tuition,” Rodolfo said.
Sure, the deals on Black Friday for electronics are amazing, but are the ludicrous amount of hours spent waiting in lines really worth it?
I understand undergoing the hassle to get a great deal on electronics, but what about the ‘Sherlock Holmes-type buyers’ who go through this hell for clothes?
Kristina Gonzalez, a 19-year-old biology major, missed Thanksgiving dinner with her family to wait outside of Old Navy.
“I’ve always loved Old Navy. I would do just about anything to get a cute shirt and jeans on sale, even if it means missing dinner with my family,” Gonzalez said. “There will be other Thanksgiving’s, but Old Navy $15 jeans? I just can’t pass up that opportunity.”
Has our generation really come to this?
Passing up a holiday in which we give thanks for our family and friends to wait in line all night just to save five dollars on a pair of jeans?