Black Friday: worth the hype?

As someone who enjoys shopping on occasion, I can't say that I have ever fully understood Black Friday.  However, I can say that I detest the fact that it has begun invading the sanctity of Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is about family, friends, food and appreciation.  (It is also about Americans conning the Indians into eating with them so that they could later con them into stealing their land, Kanye West - style - "Imma let you finish, Squanto.")  We visit with family and friends -- probably (if we are being honest) a little less meaningfully than in years before the onslaught of technology -- for a few hours, stuff our faces, sit around and talk while we wait for dessert, then prepare to race off to Wal-Mart for big screen televisions and Tickle Me Elmos (that is so 4 years ago).  It is utterly distracting.

Alas, does anyone else find that the day most set aside for being thankful all year is tarnished by the fact that K-Mart is open all day on Thanksgiving morning?  Yes, it's fun to look at ads and to see all of the good deals.  I am not immune to the draw of the inch-thick Thanksgiving circulars.  The problem is that immediately after we're finished giving thanks, we've moved on to indulging in pointless consumerism.  It is one thing to seek out a deal or two for a few special items;  it is quite another to purchase tons of things for yourself or others that are either unneeded or truly, if you think about it, unwanted.  I guess that I just have a huge problem with sprinting into Kohl's at 4 a.m. with a wad full of cash, ready to thrust it at the first salesperson who offers me a clock radio or Isotoners.  This is how America got into this situation in the first place!  I just think that being cognizant of where your money goes is important -- especially in an uncertain economy.  Sometimes living on less is more liberating than being surrounded by tons of "stuff."

Anyway, the point is that no, Black Friday is not worth the hype.  I think that I like, eat Mexican for dinner day or make turkey pot pie day, or decorate for Christmas day -- something a little less focused on getting more of what no one really needs.