Thanksgiving Day. A time when you can sit down with your loved ones and be thankful for what you have; your family, friends and the impending doom of Black Friday.

It is the call of consumerism that beckons many to load up on coffee, escape the comfort of their home and stand in the miserable cold. It’s a time for people to wait in a crazy line to purchase high-end electronics and scavenge in messy piles of clothing in desperation to find your size on that 50% off sweater.

What drives people to sacrifice themselves to such a frenzy?

“Honestly, I never really cared much for it. It seems like a huge hassle.” sophomore Henry Voelker said.

The Black Friday tradition began in the 1960s to indicate the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Retailers went “into black” when accounting was done by hand and red marks meant stores were losing profit and black marks meant they were gaining it.

Since then, it has evolved into what many know today as a night for mega sales, ferocious crowds and lots of overspending.

This almost barbaric ritual has so many things wrong with it. The mass hysteria that possesses people to drive themselves to purchase as many things as possible goes completely against what many of the participants were celebrating just a few hours before. The only way the people settle down is when they get home and look at what they bought and the money they spent, slowly realizing that most of their purchases are neither needed nor very wanted.

However, it does help people who don’t have a lot of advantages when buying things that they need or even want because of the drop in prices. People can also get started on their Christmas shopping, bond with their family and find a good price on something they may need. However, many of the things are bought on impulse and a lot of money is still wasted.

There’s also a major safety issue that haunts Black Friday. Not a year goes by when the news doesn’t report on someone getting trampled by a person who threw away their humanity for the night to pursue their materialistic agenda.

“There are too many people and everyone gets way too violent because of the low prices. It’s really ridiculous.” sophomore Jonah Edelstein said.

If someone really wishes to withstand the endless lines for one sleepless night for items they probably do not need, then there’s really no point in stopping them. But they shouldn’t forget that there are other, much calmer and safer days for sales when it is not necessary to lose a night’s sleep or a limb over glorified discounts.