First there was "Black Friday."
And now, because the holidays simply aren't consumer-driven enough, tomorrow we're getting "Grey Thursday," formerly known as "Thanksgiving." Stores will be opening up for "pre-sales" so people can go shopping instead of having to spend time with their families. This has sparked a massive outcry from a lot people who think the holiday is sacred or something.
Personally, I don't give a shit. I try to be thankful for everything I have every day and I don't need a day set aside to remember to remember. My plans for tomorrow are to fly out on a work trip, which is nothing new. I've worked on Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember... even in the good ol' days of big family dinners and Thanksgiving celebrations.
But that's my choice, and I'm not alone. Most people I know who work on the holidays just arrange their celebrations and family time around their jobs. This includes people who work at hotels... restaurants... gas stations... and other service-oriented businesses that typically stay open for Thanksgiving. It's just the way it is, and has been for a very long time.
But now that Wal-Mart and Target doing it, people are losing their fucking minds?
A hotel clerk works on Thanksgiving and fuck 'em. But a Wal-Mart cashier works on Thanksgiving and the world is ending. I'm trying to wrap my head around the logic there, but am coming up empty.
All I know is that so long as our society continues to respond to the consumerism of the holiday season, retailers are going to accommodate them. There's money to be made, after all.
And this being America, that's something to be thankful for... isn't it?
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I dis-like this season so much… it is all created by greed; greed of the businesses and consumers.
MEH!
I’d like to see how a hotel could shut down for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I see your point about people losing their shit over Target and Wal-Mart bleeding their Black Friday into Thanksgiving. I guess we could also add those who are doctors, firemen and hospital workers (all of whom I am thankful for them working on the holiday). I think the big hoopla is how consumerism is demanding more shopping hours. Hotels, hospitals and fire houses have been working on Thanksgiving since their inception.
“a Wal-Mart cashier works on Thanksgiving and the world is ending. I’m trying to wrap my head around the logic there, but am coming up empty.”
I think I’m with you there Dave.
My best guess for all the “news” coverage on this “topic” is that it’s a good prelude for the “War on Christmas” storyline that Fox News runs every year. And since FNC is such a cable news ratings juggernaut, it might be enough to drive the dialogue of all the news outlets. That’s my theory.
I don’t think I quite agree with you on this one, Dave. Some things have to remain open on holidays and I feel really bad for the people who have to work. Retail stores do not have to be open. It is just ugly, stupid consumerism. I watched that video and cried inside. I thought of that line at the end of the Terminator movie: “we’re not gonna make it, are we?”