I am old!
I remember when the holidays, Thanksgiving through New Years Day were a time for family and gatherings of friends. A time when you could look forward to a Thanksgiving day with your family around you, good food and maybe a football game or board games around the kitchen table. I never remember any business being open beyond noon and that my parents were there every Thanksgiving making it a wonderful day.
Now we live in a world where the almighty dollar is more important than a family dinner. Where parents are forced to give up valuable time with their children so their companies can line its pockets with just a few more dollars.
My rant today started with some news from my neighbor who works as a manager at the local McDonald's. Each year, until this one, McDonald's closed as 11am so the employees could head home for a family day. This year they will close the restaurant at 11am then reopen it at 4pm for dinner. So the employees have been given 5 hours with their families for Thanksgiving. The holiday is now compressed into 5 hours and I am sure in the not so distant future they will not close at all for Thanksgiving.
Corporate Greed at work!
My local McDonald's is only the tip if the iceberg. Wal-Mart does not close at all. No Thanksgiving in Wal-Mart Land.
This all leads us to Black Friday. The official start of the Christmas shopping season. Of course most retailers have had Christmas items out since October and before.
Black Friday! A day invented in Hell, by the devil himself, to turn reasonable people into greedy children who do bizarre and idiotic things to get a freaking Furby for a child at Christmas.
It was not bad enough that Black Friday started at 6am but now stores have invented what I call Gray Thursday Night. Gray Thursday Night requires that employees have to leave there families and go back to work so stores can open at 8pm extending the Black Friday madness 8 or 10 hours. The purpose is to feed that Christmas Corporate Greed. Anything for a dollar and be dammed what is really important; the family traditions that come with Thanksgiving.
I realize I am old fashioned and am upset about the destruction of the lifestyle that fills my memories. Traditions I would like to pass on to my children and grand children.
Where is all this leading us? In time holidays like Thanksgiving will lose their meaning and become just another day off work. Well maybe a day off work unless you work for McDonald's, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Sears, Toys R Us or any of the other retailers that are opening on Gray Thursday.
Many of these retailers say they are opening in response to customer suggestions. Seems sad that any person would want to sacrifice another persons holiday so they can possess a Furby a few hours earlier.
I am asking, no begging, customers to stay home with their families Thanksgiving night and help put a stop to this corporate madness. Here is your chance to do something about the corporate greed you complained so much about during the last election.
Your choice is simple; help stop corporate greed that you claim to abhor or go out and support it. If you choose to support it keep your mouths shut when a discussion about corporate greed starts up. You have no ground to stand on as your support is a sign that corporate greed is OK with you.
Randy
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