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| Reverend Billy (Photo by Dvaldes21) |
These days, Thanksgiving is not being endangered by any one particular creep, but by retail creep in general.
Ever since the Pilgrims realized just how important material possessions could be, they began coveting such bare essentials as food, clothing and shelter. Over the centuries, things have gotten way out of hand, and the acquisition of material possessions is now threatening the very soul of Thanksgiving.
Not that Reverend Billy isn't shaking his fingers at us right this minute and saying, "I told you
so…" His Church of Stop Shopping has been warning Americans for years about "ever expanding commercialism and the over-consumption it demands."
Turns out he was right all along. Jillian Berman of The Huffington Post
reports that Black Friday shopping frenzies are now spilling over into Thanksgiving itself.
This can be negative for shoppers, store workers, and their friends and families.
Because stores "make 20 to 40 percent of their annual sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas," some (such as Walmart, Best Buy and Kmart) are beginning their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving evening.
There has been some backlash about this practice. People have been expressing their displeasure with it on sites such as Facebook. Nevertheless, retail creep continues on relentlessly.
Resources
http://www.revbilly.com/about-us
http://wwrn.org/articles/41201/?place=united-states
Copyright November 24, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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