In Defense of Black Friday

Sure, there's the much-ballyhooed financial aspect of it all, which this year is more a part of the collective consciousness than usual. But still, in meccas to consumerism like Falls Church and Tysons and Woodbridge, people lined up, some as early as 7 a.m. on a Thursday -- and shopped, shopped, shopped. And they always will, since for everyone out there who's saving up for another rainy day, there's two or three parents with kids in need of more Guitar Hero. Regardless of whether or not the economy is reeling, Santa doesn't have a recession.

And absolutely, there are horrendous displays of animality -- this year's fatal crush on Long Island and shooting in Los Angeles come to mind. But these horrifying experiences are also part of the occasion's mythos -- can you recall a Black Friday in the last few years when something like this hasn't happened? Does that mean it's justifiable? Of course not -- but it does make a case that people are still finding palpable positives in the experience. Otherwise, what rational person would still go?

Inside the District proper, it's a mixed bag. We, as a city, are pretty new to this whole Black Friday thing; if not in practice, certainly in proximity. This year, there was the sterling opportunity for Washingtonians to experience this most suburban tradition of purchasing run amok in their back yards; and plenty took that chance as folks lined up at DCUSA to try and grab a deal. Imagine traveling back in time, if only to tell people in D.C. that in 2008, folks would be lining up in the wee hours of the morning at 1400 Irving Street NW to buy electronics and clothes and video games. It's astonishing, if you think about it.

So am I but one Districtonian who can find the positive tradition in -- as one Philadelphia Inquirer headline from earlier this week deemed it -- "Blech Friday"? It certainly seems that way. With the new-found opportunity to wait outside in the chill of the early morning, many seem to believe the experience an infringement upon the District's character -- as if it's always been our singular mission to laugh at all the stories of people acting silly, doing our shopping online from the comfort of the couch, checking WTOP to make sure that we wouldn't be spending three hours sitting in traffic and trying to find a parking space, and go about our lives eating leftovers. There's the arguments about the negative effect that big box stores have on local business, and the theories that tired, anxious masses are nothing but a powderkeg for chaos. But really, Black Friday is a kickoff for the season that brings so many people together to observe each other, in a frenzy to (well, mostly) buy gifts for other people. Call it materialistic if you must, but it's certainly a shared part of American culture, for better or for worse.

And besides, I'm almost done with my shopping.