<p>Exactly that’s because you keep saying it wasn’t biased.</p>
<p>That’s what I observe too, HImom. </p>
<p>DrGoogle, I am not going to respond to you anymore. You are being ridiculous. </p>
<p>I agree with Himom, but some of them are not trying to raise a family. I saw a lot of people with gray hair when I shop.</p>
<p>Just because folks have grey hair doesn’t mean they aren’t using their wages to pay bills and raise a family. There are a lot of folks who go prematurely grey, start families later, are raising grandkids or other loved ones. Multi family living is increasing because many are having trouble making ends meet. </p>
<p>They look old too, not just the grey hair. They look older than me.</p>
<p>I would never work at a minimum wage job as an older person if I had other more palatable options. I suspect most people share that sentiment. Most if these jobs are physically exhausting (you’re on your feet for nearly the entire shift) and at the end of it, you have very little net income to show for your labors. Most folks take these jobs because that’s all they can get!</p>
<p>I agree with your post and that’s back to my post that they are not people who are trying to raise a family. Most likely to substitute retirement income. </p>
<p>How do you know these older workers aren’t raising families and the stress isn’t prematurely aging them? How can we know that they aren’t the matriarch/patriarch and also raising their grandkids or 2nd family? In my world, we have the huge extended family father round for all holidays, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, inlaws, etc. there are generally at least 30-50 people at most of the holiday parties–all family. </p>
<p>Does it make it less onerous to work holidays if you’re older and don’t have a child under a certain age in your home? I don’t understand your point, DocG. </p>
<p>Nobody knows. I’m not arguing about working at the holidays. Like I said nobody holds a gun to anybody to work there. I don’t shop period around these time but who am I to dictate others what to do.</p>
<p>I don’t shop on Thanksgiving day on-line or in store myself but if someone wants to I don’t see anything wrong with it. Can it be a family activity for some people after stuck in the house all day cooking? Are you objecting because workers have to break the family day? Would you not object if they pay more to work on holidays?</p>
<p>Can we please stop dragging politics into every thread??? That crap got the Ebola thread closed. Some of you take this forum way too seriously. If you want to have serious arguments, go to a different forum! Trust me, I have a few other boards that I post on, that would welcome the vitriol and political babble. This particular section of CC is full of opinions. Please stop putting words in mouths, bringing in politics, and taking your opinion as the gospel. If you disagree, state your reasons why and move the heck on!</p>
<p>I don’t like it for two reasons. The first is that even for midnight black Friday openings staff would have to be prepping the store much earlier. In our area where travel even to close family requires a ferry or trip over the mountains that might preclude even the basic family Thanksgiving dinner due to local travel time. I also don’t like it because I like the idea of a couple national days that are set aside as special and different where all the normal things don’t encroach for one day. People aren’t required to eat turkey or sit on couches in overheated family rooms (unless their own family dynamics dictate that). It seems that most of our holidays have turned into excuses for 3 day weekends where the date doesn’t even matter any more. I just don’t see why those shopping activities or whatever can’t be put off by 10 or 12 hours.</p>
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<p>…and it seems like most of those holidays also have a Big Sale associated with them. Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, Labor Day - I believe that once upon a time, these days were actually days of remembrance and not just an excuse for another Blowout Mattress Sale. </p>
<p>I’m not some kind of prudish stick-in-the-mud who thinks that Holidays Are Sacred Events, but I do wish that somehow we could have some (a few?) special days for family and reflection. Silly me.</p>
<p>This discussion reminds me of something I heard several years ago, when people were debating on whether September 11th should be a national day of remembrance (in other words, another holiday). I remember a coworker laughing at that and saying, “Guess how many years would pass by before stores started having 9/11 Monster Sales.” And if you think that’s impossible - remember that Memorial Day started as a very solemn, very serious memorial to those who died in the Civil War. Now it’s just another three-day weekend with a sale. </p>
<p><a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost;
<p>Or even better . . . pushed ahead 3 weeks!!! woohoo!</p>
<p>Wow, where the heck did this thread go since yesterday??!</p>
<p>A couple of thoughts:
- no, people don’t have to sit at home eating turkey and watching football. This discussion is about taking SHOPPING out of the equation. Isn’t there much more to do outside of eating turkey, watching football and shopping??? Play board games. Clean out your closets. Take a walk. Knit. Paint the garage. Netflix binge. Whatever suits your fancy on a holiday or any other “day off”. </p>
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<li>As someone who does not do Thanksgiving day shopping or Black Friday shopping I would be MUCH more likely to go to Costco or another retail store if they offered “black Friday type deals” on another day outside of Thanksgiving Thursday or Black Friday - if they said, “we are closing on Thanksgiving to allow our employees to enjoy the day off with or without families, turkey and football but will be having these great deals on Sunday, November 30” I’d be more likely to make the trip shopping there. </li>
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<p>The store opening on Thanksgiving day never affected me personally. We still get our guests who stay until late whether stores are open or not. I understand objecting it if workers are forced work without choice or higher pay. Anything else, I don’t see any problem. Some people may not like it but not good enough reason to insist on others to change their behavior. Some people celebrate holidays glued to ESPN and maybe some people push shopping carts. </p>
<p>A few years ago I ended up in Walmart the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was strangely empty. I think by Sunday the hardcore shoppers are done. </p>
<p>Happy Halloween everyone! It’ll be Thanksgiving and visits from the kids before you know it. :)</p>
<p>"“we are closing on Thanksgiving to allow our employees to enjoy the day off with or without families, turkey and football but will be having these great deals on Sunday, November 30” I’d be more likely to make the trip shopping there"</p>
<p>This is basically what my company does. We do stock up for Black Friday and do have specials, but our philosophy is “everyday low prices” anyway. Slightly off topic, but we made the return to “Christmas” in all our signage and promotions as opposed to “Holiday”. But that’s sort of who we are and who our customers are.</p>
<p>I don’t know a single person who shops on Thanksgiving and I don’t shop for the holidays or get caught up in this craziness at all but I know that last year after leaving our friend’s apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, we drove down Broadway to drop off younger d and younger d’s friend who lived near Union Square and we did see lots of people online waiting at places for midnight openings, even at H & M which is cheap any time of day, all day/every day. I think there is an element of “that this is the thing to do” to be part of some kind of “experience”. For me, I do respect retailers whether they are Costco or local supermarket that are closed for holidays and try to avoid others that require their workers to be there as a general rule. I live not far from a shopping mall in which a worker was trampled to death at a midnight opening stampede. Have never gone to that store, nor will I ever. I always think of that family on Thanksgiving and their loss.</p>