Posted on 11/22/2012 2:16:10 PM PST by NYer
.- The expansion of Thanksgiving weekend shopping to the holiday itself has raised concerns among both workers and clergy who worry that the change puts family time at risk.
Father Sinclair Oubre, Spiritual Moderator of the Texas-based Catholic Labor Network, said the store openings are a “disturbing trend” that is “an assault on the family.”
“We have almost completed the evolutionary process of having two classes of workers: those who get holidays off, and can stay with their families, and those who are forced to work, so that those who have holidays off won't have to stay with their families,” Fr. Oubre said.
Retailers such as Sears, Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Toys “R” Us and Gap are increasingly opening their stores on Thanksgiving Day. The following day, known as Black Friday, is one of the most profitable shopping days of the year.
Business analysts cite increased competition from internet shopping and some customers’ desires to shop on Thanksgiving as motives to open stores on what is traditionally a day off, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In 2011, retailers who opened on Thanksgiving Day earned 22 percent more over the Thanksgiving Day weekend.
Two popular internet petitions on the Change.org website are protesting the changes.
Casey St. Clair, a Target employee of six years from Corona, Calif., organized one petition to “save Thanksgiving” that now has over 370,000 signatures.
She said Thanksgiving Day off “really does give me that one day to relax and visit family I otherwise have no time to see.”
Introducing more business hours on the evening of Thanksgiving Day means that employees need to arrive hours before the store opens, she explained.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York criticized the new phenomenon of Thanksgiving Day shopping in a Nov. 20 essay in the New York Post.
“The stores, we hear, will open on Thanksgiving. Isn’t that a sign of progress and liberation?” he asked. “Sorry, but no — it’s a sign of a further descent into a highly privatized, impersonal, keep-people-at-a-distance culture, one that values having stuff and doing things over just being with people whom we love, cherish and appreciate.”
The cardinal said he will pray this Thanksgiving that God preserve “a culture where personal friendship, genuine conversation and family unity can be a high priority.”
“I’ll beg God to keep those values constant in our society,” he said. “Why? Because I’m fearful they’re disappearing.”
Exactly!!! No exceptions!!! (Though Jews do Thanksgiving, don’t they?)
When my brother was in the Air Force overseas, he would make sure that airmen who had wives or families got holidays off if possible, and then he would have the single people who worked the holiday over for food and football on another day.
Displays on the floor, shift differential, big day for tipping. That's all this discussion boils down to, for you. Hm.
The Dallas Cowboys have expressed solidarity with the workers, by deciding to take the day off.
No that’s all you EDITED it down to. Don’t blame me for what YOU ignored.
And what’s just as sad, is that there are Christmas lights burning out at major chains: the Christmas stuff started getting put out as they were packing up the remains of the Halloween merchandise. . .
Agreed ... this is the way life was back in the 50's. On Sundays and holidays, stores were closed, as were most restaurants. Such a move, by contemporary society would be viewed as a big step backwards. As I recall, there were no sports games on those days either.
LOLOL!
One thing that puzzles me about all this “Black Frday” nonsense is that chrstmas is not politically correct. “Halloween” is now a bigger holiday than chrstmas is in American general culture. So what is everyone shopping for?
What can't be purchased on the days following Thanksgiving that's being offered on Thanksgiving day with the merchants' employees being forced to work?
Kudos to Father Sinclair for having to state the obvious......
Imagine if we all had to go to the well for water...or the outhouse.
People like the rat race...it's like the egg hunt at Easter....Ya just wanna do it.
I never do the black Friday shopping thing.
That's a good question. I think a lot of people are shopping for themselves. In my family, we generally buy things when we need them, so Christmas presents are tokens in the household, and food items (Wolferman's muffins) or flowers for non-resident relatives.
Best line of the discussion. I made a similar comment yesterday (not here) about how I would expect all of those people complaining about others working today because its anti-family won't be posting this type nonsense today because they can't be all that interested in family if they are arguing with strangers on line. It didn't go over very well.
Sorry ...but might it shock you that I worked retail for over 35 years? Small store, big store etc. I worked as cashier, a front end confidential, store manager, area manager, and distric sales manager...as far as I’m concerned you stick your REALIST greed elsewhere. Quite frankly I have been wondering when retail workers would finally get greedy about their family time. There is nothing on that store shelf that is more important than family.
There was a time when Wednesday night came and we shut it down...and told our employees to go home, have a good Thanksgiving and we’ll see you all bright and early Friday morning.
I am a realist and a company or manager needs to respect the worker. You want happy workers on your shopping experience? It sure isn’t going to be that one that had to start working tonight, missed the dessert, or had to try and find a babysitter.
Oh and when’s the last time you tipped your local Walmart worker, drug store clerk, or how about that Macy’s salesperson?
Most of the radio stations around here are fully automated. The programming often gets screwed up, so you'll get two-week old weather forecasts and 15 minute blocks of silence. No one is even on call until the next day.
Black Friday mob fights are a-OK then?
I was being sarcastic.
You are perfectly free to not shop on any day you choose to designate as holy.
Father Karl is a "social justice" guy.
He has a lot more Communist agenda in mind than he is willing to make public.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.