Nov 28

Nov 28 Black Friday Anemia

Chicago, Chicago Tourism, Demonstrations, Donald J. Trump, Performance, Protest, Public Declarations

“The night Santa went crazy
The night Kris Kringle went nuts
Now you can’t hardly walk around the North Pole
Without steppin’ in reindeer guts
There’s the National Guard and the FBI
There’s a van from the Eyewitness News
And helicopters circlin’ ‘round in the sky”

— The Night Santa Went Crazy, "Weird Al" Yankovic, from Bad Hair Day (1996)

A decade ago, Black Friday was the high point in what otherwise is the long Thanksgiving weekend filled with aunts and bread stuffing. Sure, take the cousin walk, but there is no antidote against your schoolmarm aunt. Not even a gummy or a big fat, Cheech and Chong blunt. This year, The Wall Street Journal reported that at least 50% of the people gathered around the table would be stoned. Maybe liquified gummies should replace fluoride in the water as an antidote to Trump-fueled divisiveness.

In bygone days, everyone loosened their belts after the late afternoon feast, collapsing into a stupor on the couch. The dirty china stacked in the sink could wait before finding its way back into the wood hutch, where it would remain unused until the next Thanksgiving family get together. With the stores opening at midnight, who had time to worry about the glassware or the good silver? Doorbusters and brawls over discounted flat screen TVs awaited. Nothing like seeing Elmo or a Cabbage Patch doll ripped in half as two moms fought over the year’s hot Christmas toy.

Sadly, those days are long gone. Too many people called out the crass commercialism as unseemly. How dare Messrs Macy, Gimbel, and Filene make employees show up to work before sunrise. People demanded that the holiday season revert to the days of A Miracle on 34th Street.

No longer a novelty, the Web is where most people do their shopping, particularly because those working retail know nothing about the products they sell, and even if they did, most have little inclination to assist customers. Yet, some traditions die hard. Don’t they Bruce Willis? Families still head to Michigan Avenue, but at 11:00 AM, a far more civilized hour. PopPop may have even prepared his legendary pancakes before everyone left the house, raising the question, “Are the still unwashed dishes in the sink now reproducing?”

Today, some people did shop, with their over-extended credit cards in hand, but many people were simply out for a brisk walk. Possibly to work yesterday’s apple pie off, some members of the Far Left also descended on Michigan Avenue, staging a demonstration in Jane Byrne Plaza at 11:00 AM.

As demonstrations go, this one was anemic. Labeled Blackout Black Friday, the rally brought together no more than 50 demonstrators, many decked out in the logoed apparel produced by the capitalist system eschewed by some. It’s called “consumer choice.” Whether a Trumper or a Marxist, everyone loves choice.

During the next 45 minutes, seven or eight people gave speeches, touching on a litany of issues, including the Epstein files, immigration, inequality, discrimination, military action in Venezuela, genocide in Gaza, unemployment, rising prices, fascism, “Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, and Tagism.” The overriding message, boycott Amazon, Home Depot, and Target.

Boycotting Amazon makes sense given the relationship between Trump and Jeff Bezos, as well as Amazon’s one million dollar contribution to Donald J. Trump’s inauguration. Superficially, a Home Depot boycott also makes sense. After all, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has been targeting migrants who head to Home Depot parking lots each morning hoping to find work as day laborers. Yet, I am not convinced that Home Depot has been facilitating the government’s effort. Can Home Depot stop the raids?

As for Target’s sin: it rolled back its DEI policies in response to Trump’s crusade against DEI. Yet, Target and other businesses are in an impossible position, with Trump threatening to sic the Justice Department on employers who do not eliminate long standing DEI policies.

If I recall correctly, three of today’s speakers were religious leaders, but not a single politician put in an appearance. Maybe the politicos were taking in early afternoon showings of Wicked: For Good, or Now You See Me: Now You Don’t at AMC Theaters. No original ideas at the box office this year, just recycled stuff from years past.

The organizers had planned a march following the speeches, but one organizer acknowledged today’s lackluster turnout. Using the cold as a convenient excuse, she suggested that everyone demonstrate in place for 10 minutes before departing. No different than the populous at large, the demonstrators enjoy college football, shopping, and sitting in cozy cafes; anything but seeing that miserable aunt who just won’t head home to her hovel somewhere in a small town or an assisted living facility. What’s her name? Maggie, Mary, Matilda, Mildred?

As I left the demonstration, I ran into a police officer from CPD’s Critical Response Unit. Passing him, I said, “You guys got luck today. No march.” He laughed. Despite what many think, the police are no different than the rest of us. He most likely had two pieces of pumpkin pie last night, so he was standing off to the side still digesting dinner. On a still full stomach, who wants to race up and down Michigan Avenue closing streets as the demonstrators move through intersections?

Shortly after the Blackout demonstration ended, another group was marching from Washington Square Park to the Magnificent Mile, where they would demonstrate in front of several high-end apparel stores selling fur-lined clothing and accessories. I would refer them as the PETA People, but the signage indicated that the group behind this second demonstration is Last Chance for Animals, a nonprofit that opposes using animals “in food and clothing production, scientific experimentation, and entertainment.” I can only imagine what these demonstrators ate for Thanksgiving dinner last night. Did anyone need to atone for that turkey drumstick? You know, the one with the crispy, blackened skin coated with maple syrup.

Whether you agree entirely with what strikes many as an extremist agenda, these demonstrators deliver a highly focused message, which was not the case at the earlier demonstration. Animals are sentient beings, who feel pain. They have feelings and families. So goes the highly appealing rap that those leading the demonstration repeat. To their credit, the organizers don’t toss in every issue, including the kitchen sink, which is still full of cranberry-stained dishes. Instead, they lock in on a single issue, giving their effort more resonance than the earlier one.

Today’s event, designed to raise consciousness among passing shoppers, was not their first rodeo—probably not an appropriate metaphor given the group’s mission. They have taken to Michigan Avenue countless times before.

When I caught up with the animal-rights activists, they were standing outside the Louis Vuitton store. Maybe 30 or 40 people lined the narrow sidewalk. Many carried bullhorns. The sidewalk was spattered with what looked like blood, but it most was likely maroon paint or dye. As the group chanted, one demonstrator scribbled slogans in chalk on the sidewalk. Extremely agile, his strokes were deliberate, exhibiting perfect penmanship as he worked his way along the pavement .

Standing in Louis Vuitton’s doorway was a single security guard—there may have been others inside. Like the demonstrators, he was wearing earplugs, which were a necessity. The racket coming from this group was loud and unpleasant. I chose a heavier all-synthetic winter coat today. Unlike my fall coats, I had not yet filled the pockets with earplugs, so I didn’t hang around long given the decibel level, which I think is part of the group’s strategy.

Unsatisfied with just the noise produced by the bullhorns, the group also uses sirens. From what I can surmise, the sirens are sounded whenever someone enters or exits the store, presumably to shame the culprit.

As noted, but worth further emphasis, I do give the animal-rights activists credit. They offer a singular, well-honed message.

Following my time with Last Chance for Animals, I headed south on Michigan Avenue. The streets were more crowded than on a typical late fall day, but not nearly as crowded as in prior years. Nor were shoppers carrying as many bags as they had on prior Black Fridays. How will any parent fill the space under the Christmas tree unless he or she is carrying at least six logoed bags from the Legos and American Girl stores?

We’ll see in the next day or two what the retail sales figures are for Black Friday, particularly how they compare to the sales racked up on Cyber Monday. Only then will we know whether Trump’s economy has an ‘abundance’ problem.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]