At this point, it's pretty much universally acknowledged that Black Friday is a horror show for everyone: shoppers, retail workers, humanity. It is one day a year in which we take everything that might potentially be good about the holiday season and turn it into a greedy human stampede. The only people that really win on Black Friday are our corporate overlords, and let's be honest, they win every day.
But now, there is a growing revolution, like a small school of salmon swimming upstream, trying to combat the day of unbridled consumption. First, REI decided to close on Black Friday to give employees a chance to get outside. Then, state parks in California decided to be free on Black Friday. And now, Oregon state parks are following suit.
Yesterday, Oregon State Parks tweeted the good news:
Put this Google map on your phone and get out of town on Black Friday. It will bug our corporate overlords, if nothing else, and that's always a great idea.
Willamette Week