Dear Crabby, Should stores be open on Thanksgiving?

Dear Crabby,

I am all for a good deal or a door-buster sale, but why are these “big box” stores staying open on Thanksgiving? Don’t those employees want to be with their families, and shouldn’t the shoppers be with their families too?

Sincerely, A. Simpleton

Dear A. Simpleton,

Ah yes, Thanksgiving Day in the USA. What was at one time a day set aside to appreciate our country, to give thanks for our roots, and to spend relaxing with family has indeed become a commodity to date. Years ago, it became the day for the “Thanksgiving Day Parade” in New York City, no doubt made famous by Miracle on 34th Street and the event being televised live every year. Now cities all over the countryDearCrabby compete for the television time as they all hold their parades during the same hours. Then the football people decided that there should be an NFL game every year for the country to watch, so the Detroit Lions began
the tradition of the Thanksgiving Day Game. Now, of course there are other teams that found out they can make more money by playing on the Holiday as well, so we have a few games to watch. Finally we have the “After Thanksgiving Day Sales” and “Black Friday.” This was sold to us as a way to help us save money for our loved ones’ gifts for the upcoming Christmas holiday. However, the real reason behind the name and the event is to help major retailers get in the “black” with their ledger before the end of the year! Up until recently even the major “big box” stores waited until after Thanksgiving to hold these sales. Then the greed and the allure of more money made a few open at midnight, then 10:00 p.m., then 8:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day! Now we have Kmart, Walmart, Best Buy, and Target all offering to be open all throughout the holiday. Walmart even came out this year and offered to match any competitor’s price a week early if consumers would just come to them alone. How desperate can they be? I certainly think that these employees as well as the would-be sales shoppers would be better off spending some time with their family. I know I have written before about wanting to avoid family at the holidays, but I guess I am getting softer as I age. As much as I like the peace and quiet and the ability to control my own remote control, I enjoy my family that much more – at least once a year! So I agree, we should boycott or at least send a message to the big boxes and tell them to leave something sacred in our country. Leave the greed and selfishness up to the suits in Washington for now. That is my two cents, and I am not discounting it.

Sincerely, Dear Crabby

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