Thanksgiving Day has been designated as the day to give thanks for all of our many blessings. Generally, most of us will have a huge meal and probably eat
more than we should. At my house, after the meal we play board games, watch football games, watch family videos, Skype out of town relatives, take naps, eat more, go to sleep, and get up early for Black Friday sales.
This is the plan I have followed for years, but now stores have decided that we want to shop on Thanksgiving Day and they will be open to accommodate “our” desire. Well, it’s not my desire and I know most of the people working Thanksgiving Day really would love to be huddled up at home with a turkey leg and some pumpkin pie. Is this a response to the cries of the customers or have retailers made a decision to open and they have shifted the blame to the
customer?
A petition has been started asking Target to reconsider their decision. One of the signees offered the following analysis:
In a petition titled “Target: Take the high road and save Thanksgiving”, and posted to change.org, a woman by the name of C Renee writes to the president and CEO of Target Corp.: I'm not complaining about being a minimum wage worker. Target, as a company, does some good and maintains a commitment to charity.
“Thanksgiving, though, is one of the three days retail workers get off a year, a day most spend with family. The issue is not black Friday, though it's not exactly this country's shining moment. Every year the opening time gets pushed up more and more. Midnight last year was pushing it. How can you expect workers to spend time with family and then stay up all night? It's inhumane and inconsiderate. You are most likely tucked away in bed while workers are in the stores pushing back a rabid crowd of shoppers trying to get an iPod. A 9 p.m. opening disgusts me and symbolizes everything that is wrong with this country. Give Thanksgiving back to families. The world won't end if people have wait 7 more hours to buy useless junk that will be outdated in a year anyway.”
What do you think is this fair to the workers? Will you be shopping on Thanksgiving?
