You hear a lot at this time of the year about the made-up War On Christmas, but we don’t hear nearly as much about the very real War On Thanksgiving. Yes, there is a War On Thanksgiving, and it’s our biggest retailers who are waging it in an effort to squeeze out every extra day of selling you stuff for Christmas that they possibly can.
It used to be that Black Friday would start when stores opened at their usual time on Friday morning. Then it moved back to 4am, then 2am, then midnight, then Thanksgiving night. Now, this year, K-Mart is going to open at 6am Thanksgiving morning and stay open for 2 straight days. Other retailers will be open all day, too, including Target, WalMart, and Macy’s.
Why do I call this a War On Thanksgiving? Because on this truly American holiday we should be celebrating — regardless of race, creed, or religion — with our families. But the people who have to work on Thanksgiving in those retail outlets don’t get to celebrate the holiday and a day of rest with their families, because they have to help their corporate uberlords pry every possible dollar from you, the consumer.
Mike Foley is an Ohio state legislator who detests this trend, too, so I invited him to join me on America Weekend to discuss the law he’s trying to get passed which would discourage retailers from forcing people to work on Thanksgiving.
Listen to our conversation here.