Tom Elliott thinks adopting American Black Friday sales is ‘disrespectful’

Have you noticed ‘Black Friday’ sales in Australia?

It’s an American tradition that Tom Elliott thinks is ‘disrespectful’ to use here.

In Australia, Black Friday refers to the tragic 1939 bushfires in Victoria which left 71 people dead.

In America, people often call in sick on the Friday after Thanksgiving, which always falls on a Thursday. This Friday is also traditionally the beginning of Christmas shopping season.

The perfect storm of fewer staff and more shoppers led to authorities bracing themselves for a difficult day, which they call ‘Black Friday’.

But anthropologist Dr Stephen Juan agreed with Tom that the term is inappropriate here.

‘It’s an insult to the history of Victoria,’ he said on Monday.

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