Compared to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, almost nobody has heard of Giving Tuesday. It may have been celebrated in a few schools, as I remember from one of my elementary schools, I remember the school donating cans of food, toys, handmade notes, and clothes around the Thanksgiving season, but my memory may not be accurate.
Giving Tuesday is simply never cared about as much as the previous couple of national events, while the majority of people gorge out on Black Friday and Cyber Monday only a small group of people– as it seems– contribute to Giving Tuesday.
Some may argue that they don’t have any money to give to any organizations or groups, but many of these causes don’t ask for only money, in fact, it’s the least commonly requested.
When taking a look at the Giving Tuesday website, we can see that out of nine “How to Participate” activities listed, donating money is just one. All the rest are actions we can take for free, such as giving kindness by making positive cards and notes, giving our talent to help repair toys, knit scarfs, teach a dance or yoga class, and so much more.
On the contrary, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are harmful to the economy. Particularly in the past, those two days were treated with this rush and need to buy. People would buy a lot of things they didn’t really need just because they were on sale, and many even prioritized shopping for Black Friday over their necessities.
This is not only harmful for the consumers, but also for the employees. Many who work at regular grocery stores such as Walmart, Target, Costco, etc. cannot go home for the break and enjoy being with their families because somebody has to be there for when everyone is filling in the stores for Black Friday.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the perfect examples of economic propaganda, and commercialism. They urge people to spend all of their money on trivial things, and we support it at a society. Of course, there’s no true way to escape commercialism, we all contribute to it no matter what we do, but it doesn’t take a genius to know what Black Friday and Cyber Monday are corporations blatantly obvious selling tactics of the season.
However, Giving Tuesday does the same. They do have their advertisements and their clever tactics, but it isn’t contributing to the downfall of the market.
In the end, it’s good to put more support into Giving Tuesday, and help nonprofit organizations. This is good for any time of the year, as well, but if we have a day to commemorate it, we should give it attention. If you have any clothes, toys, or food cans you are no longer using or have no dire need for, try and look into your local causes! Donate a thing or two, even if it doesn’t seem like much.
Every piece of support can go a long way.