I've participated in #Buynothingday
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_Nothing_Day for a long time. My extended family basically does #Occupyxmas too - hand-me-down and handmade gifts are welcome, and charitable contributions, but we all agreed to forgo anything new for everyone over 5.
Actually last year I tried to do a reverse Black Friday where I reduced spending and spent the day on the phone negotiating lower monthly bills (internet, utilities, phone, etc.) and cancelling subscriptions we weren't using enough. I'm definitely interested in frugality and cost savings and conscious consumerism, and always struggle to balance these sometimes opposing ideas. But I have trouble seeing Black Friday as about anything besides encouraging conspicuous consumption.
Ms. Mary's article is interesting, and I can't help but wondering about this term: The slump is driven by those who earn less than $50,000, called "survivalists," whose ranks have been growing. This year, 67% of American shoppers fall into that category. Okay, we're talking about the majority of Americans, not a fringe group here...
It's a vicious cycle in a way with low wages pushing folks toward some of the most egregious retailers, but I figure people of all incomes make their own informed decisions about how to spend their holidays and earnings given the options available. We reschedule our own family holidays all the time, and skype in when plane fares are just too high to join the relations. I just wish there were a lot more cultural push back from all directions to the 'new, shiny, better' accumulation model and the pervasive unstated idea that there is something shameful about having less.
