Should stores be closed on Thanksgiving?

[daugen]

Main problem I have is with the sheer amount of idiots out there.. Almost every time I have been talked into going somewhere on a holiday, something bad has happened - like getting the car smashed.

Black Friday prices only tell me that that price will be the new price point for that item real soon anyways.. And that the retailer is willing to go down even farther later in the year..

you can just see all those cars circling around in those vast parking lots, looking for an opening.
And sooner, or later, somebody is going to back right into you without paying attention. It's like running a gauntlet
of bad drivers, some of whom are rude and inconsiderate, regardless of the holiday cheerfulness...

I've learned to do most of my shopping online. No crowds, no dents, no hassle. But I always walk the local mall before
Christmas, just to see the decorations and maybe see a Santa with kids. It really gets me "in the spirit".
And it's fun to people watch too.

 

[3v0]

Not only that, a lot of us here are beyond the age where the newest whatever is ?NOT? very exciting and our consumption of retail goods is declining. The marketing aimed at us is 90% about medical issues.

Sad but so true.

EDIT: We live in a little town so also use online shopping a lot. Love amazon prime shipping deal. Most stuff is here in 2 or 3 days.

 

[avillahdw]

Not that this is intended to stray from the thread, but I think the crux of this (and many others like it) is that as our world is changing in ways we may disagree with, how do we deal with those changes? We all probably have certain values, traditions, beliefs, etc that we want to see carried on by our families and it disturbs us when they are eroded by numerous things, whether societal, economic, political (and on and on). As previous poster said, we tend to be resistant to change (albeit we generally readily accept what we perceive as being change for the good). If we want to see those things that are important to us preserved, the best we can do is to instill to those about us by both our words and example why we hold these beliefs. But in the end, they will choose whether these things live on. As I grow older (and hopefully wiser although I sometimes wonder about that ), I am starting to understand some if the things my parents faced with their generation. The trash heap of history is filled with both fads and traditions that were once held dear but are now relegated to distant memories. I believe that you stand for what you believe in, live accordingly and die happily knowing you did what you felt to be right.

 

[daugen]

I believe that you stand for what you believe in, live accordingly and die happily knowing you did what you felt to be right.

very nicely said. :thumbsup:

 

[EddieWalker]

I like the idea that there are so many people who get excited about Black Friday and look forward to it every year. While it's not for me and I've never cared for shopping, I'm a big supporter of being able to do what makes you happy. If business can make money, then they can pay employees and people have jobs, so I'm all for that too!!! In fact, if opening on Thanksgiving day will allow employees to make money that they didn't have otherwise, I'm all for that too.

My girlfriend is a manager at one of the big hospitals in town and she has well over a hundred nurses that work for her. The hospital is open every holiday, all day and night long. None of them are complaining about working Thanksgiving. They know it's coming and they plan their family time around their work time.

Eddie

 

[CobyRupert]

If you really don't like it vote with your feet and quit. Yeah, I never liked that advice either. But you still have the choice about how worked up you get over it.

I think the welfare rolls indicate a lot of people have.

 

[daugen]

Eddy, you are right, and any soldier, fireman, policeman, electrical lineman, whatever knows that when you are an
emergency responder, or a doctor or nurse, holidays always have to be covered. 24/7/365 is SOP. But do shopping services still need to be provided on that basis?

I'm going to spend Thanksgiving with my family and the very last thing I am thinking about is shopping that day.
And I'm perfectly cool with you heading to Harbor Freight for an extra 5% off.
And I'm delighted you have the freedom to do so.

 

[EddieWalker]

I feel the single biggest reason for unemployment being somewhere around 14% and a stagnant economy for the last decade is because of government telling business what they can and cannot do. Too much government and too many people not involved with that business thinking they know more then the business on what they should be doing has forced them to slow down and protect their interests. This results in not expanding or investing in themselves. Who would take a long term risk when you don't know what the rules are going to be tomorrow?

I say let business do what it wants and if you don't like it, shop elsewhere. I like Walmart and I shop there all the time. They are one of the biggest employers in the area and they are always open. If I want something, I know they are going to have it. Somebody is doing a pretty good job there and I'm not gonna complain if they want to make themselves available for customers to shop on a holiday. In fact, I'm all for it, even thought I don't plan on being one of those shoppers. Same with Sears, Lowes, Kohls, Verizon and every restaurant out there that wants to be open along with all the other business's out there.

Eddie

 

[dave1949]

How would someone have money to spend on a holiday that they wouldn't have on a non-holiday? That doesn't make any sense.

Retailers are zeroing in on people's free time, that's all that is happening. They know most folks are not working on a holiday, so why not entice them to spend some money? It's all marketing, albeit quite successful.

 

[brain55]

In all the discussions I've had about this, there is one thing that doesn't seem to get mentioned. I'm sure there are plenty of those employees that are happy for the extra day of pay. I know when I was struggling financially in my youth (before I had paid holidays) I hated that I was forced to take those days off, I was losing income that I needed especially right before the holidays.

Brian