Stop sneering at the unwashed masses mobbing the local Walmart and see Black Friday for what it really is: a big help for poor people.
In his article, Cole Webb Harter explains how a priest from a poor country made him realize that Black Friday is actually a boon to a huge slice of the population who want to stretch every dollar as far as it can go, while enjoying some of the luxuries most people take for granted.
Black Friday is truly one of the most beautiful examples of capitalism we have around these days. It’s a day when everyone gets richer. The producers get richer because more people are buying their wonderful products, and the consumers get richer because they both come into possession of something they greatly value and because they save a little of their hard earned money in the process. This is what capitalism is all about: mutual enrichment through mutual gift-giving.
Judging by his accent and the color of his skin, this priest is almost certainly an immigrant from a very poor country. He definitely understands poverty, and the fact that he sees something charitable and Christian in a day so often sneered at by upper-middle-class Americans in general for its apparent celebration of consumerism and materialism is extremely enlightening. The truth is Black Friday benefits the poor and the working class most of all. The rich don’t need a discount. They buy what they want regardless of the price.