BLACK FRIDAY, OR CYBER MONDAY 

By Michael Abler, Staff Writer

As we enter the latter half of Fall, we start preparing for Thanksgiving and possibly Christmas. People coming up with shopping plans before November ends and before Dec. 25 rolls around. But there’s something else that coincides with these two iconic holidays, something that many people know all too well. These events are the two shopping days known as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

For those who don’t know, Black Friday and Cyber Monday take place right after Thanksgiving, and entail people desperately shopping for the hottest deals of the upcoming holiday season, which, much like the holiday itself, only take place once a year. The Black Friday mayhem starts the first Friday after Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday starts the on the first Monday after Thanksgiving, but with two well-known shopping days, which one do people prefer more? And even more to the point, why do some people prefer one day over the other?

“I like Black Friday more because it’s more accessible and I know more about it than I do about Cyber Monday,” Freshman Ala-Al Sindi said, which was also the same reasoning by Senior Scott Robinson who still somehow managed to still maintain a neutral outlook on the question on the whole, “I prefer Black Friday more, but I don’t care that much about either of them.”

However, some shoppers prefer Cyber Monday over Black Friday. Junior Bailey Walker enjoys Cyber Monday more because, “It’s more convenient to shop online, and there aren’t any violent hassles like there is with Black Friday.”

Junior Jackie Reed feels the same way, saying that, “It’s easier to see the quality of the products without dealing with other people.” Reed, however, didn’t find any crazy stories that came to mind but, she did say that, “I enjoy seeing the videos of people running through the doors, there was one video I saw where this Nike store was totally trashed.” So, it’s clear that Black Friday certainly has more notoriety when it comes to what people think of when they hear the name.

Despite its popularity, many people can’t deny how utterly chaotic Black Friday is in comparison to Cyber Monday. The violence associated with that day has become infamous.

“The craziest thing I’ve heard about Black Friday is that people have shot others in line to get a new product first,” said Sindi. Walker also said that, “It’s crazy, people getting into fistfights over an item in the store,”

Robinson also shared the same sentiments on this occasion too. Yet, despite this infamous reputation, Black Friday continues to be the more well-known day.

So, this holiday season, have fun shopping at either Black Friday, or on Cyber Monday –  just be aware of the apparent dangers involved with shopping both online and  offline.