The Heresy of Black Friday: How Opening on Thanksgiving is Shameful

Every year, I run a Black Friday thread that details all of the video game deals that will be happening. I run this particular thread for two main reasons:

• I love a good sale on video games
• I want all of the information to be combined and available in one goddamn place, not strewn all over the internet

However, this year in particular, I've noticed a trend that...in all honesty...disgusts me. More and more stores are opening on Thanksgiving Day. We're not talking about stores opening at 10:00pm or something. We're talking about 5:00pm, 6:00pm, times like that. It's fucking annoying.

My family celebrates Thanksgiving every year in a very minimalist fashion. It's my parents, my two brothers, our grandfather and our uncle. That's it. We don't have big family get-togethers, namely because we live in Texas and the majority of any living family is either in Canada or Ohio (with my mother's family scattered all kinds of places). We'll get some visits from our old friends and such, but beyond that, we keep it relatively quiet. In the last year or two, we've added my nephew (my youngest brother's son) and two girlfriends (mine and my other brother's) to the table. This is the Thanksgiving we've known the entire time we grew up: we had one spot to be at, we took about an hour or two to eat, then we sat around and did nothing for the rest of the day. We've recently added darts to the mix, but beyond that, it's simple. In all honesty, growing up poor, we were lucky if we even had more than a turkey that my father was given at work and some stuffing and carrots. Nowadays, with more of us being older, the table isn't nearly as barren. We are genuinely THANKFUL on Thanksgiving for the fact that we are alive, loved, and have each other.

However, not until a little over a year ago when I started dating my girlfriend did I finally take part in a "big family Thanksgiving." Most of her father's immediate family lives here in Texas, and her parents are divorced. This means that there are at least two Thanksgiving dinners to go to, and if her mother and step-dad stay in town, it's three total.

I've never known what it's like to see 20-30 people in one house for Thanksgiving until then. I never knew that you could have almost four tables worth of food laid out. I never knew what any of that stuff was like. The hectic nature of it all, especially since that first Thanksgiving with her was only about three weeks into dating, was absolute madness to me.

That madness immediately made me think about Black Friday shopping, namely because this part of her family's idea of after-Thanksgiving fun time is to go wait in line at stores for Black Friday and then try to get the best sales possible. They will literally be on speakerphone at different stores with each other offering explanations of wait times in line, position in lines, what sales they are going for. It's like a fucking military operation hunting down a terrorist (please don't get angry at me like I'm Tom Cruise for that comparison OMG!).

Now, this whole thing didn't happen until later in the night - sometime after 10:00pm. However, now with the times being pushed up towards the 5:00pm - 6:00pm area at some stores, the family has pushed Thanksgiving time up to around 10:00am.

My first thought: this is fucking ridiculous.

Thanksgiving is a time when you should be with your families, a time when we give thanks to...whatever is out there...for the harvests to be plentiful in the upcoming year. It's a time of feasting and resolution of problems over the year. It's a time to celebrate the beauty of the fall, the glory of nature, and the turning of the seasons.

It's being trampled on by goddamn consumerism. This may seem like one of those rants that you hear around Christmas time, that Christmas is just a commercialized holiday. You might be right. I don't know, nor do I care if it is. The commercialization of Christmas is drastically different in my opinion to what Thanksgiving and Black Friday has become. People care more about a fucking sale on needless shit than they do about being with their families for the day.

What pisses me off more is the thought that people have to work on goddamn Thanksgiving. THEY HAVE TO WORK ON THE DAY THEY SHOULD BE SPENDING WITH THEIR FAMILY!

I didn't honestly mind this Black Friday shit whenever it was actually ON Black Friday. However, it's invading some personal space now, a comfort zone that I don't care to lose. What happens next year? Stores open at noon on Thanksgiving Day? Hell, my work place is opening at 6:00pm on Thanksgiving Day...and staying open for 30 straight hours...and I have to work the midnight to noon shift. We're just a small local business with literally two employees. It's come to the point that even a small business needs to find ways to take advantage of this Black Friday time because of how much of a boost to your overall profits it will be.

So I say this to you all: think first about Thanksgiving and put Black Friday in the back of your mind. Think about your friends and family. There are many gifts and prizes to acquire at a store, but none of them will ever be the same as a hug or a kiss or a meal with your family and significant others. This is a time where you should enjoy this comfortable space with the people that matter, with the ones that...when they leave this Earth one day...you will cry for and mourn.

I know that is not the exact situation for everyone, but it is for me.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Until next time, piece.

I agree 100% this is fucking ridiculous. While we've always had pretty big Thanksgiving get togethers (generally were in driving distance of extended family), Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving, and for those who want it, they have Black Friday after that.

Yeah that really is unfortunate especially for those who work in retail and then wouldn't be able to spend proper Thanksgiving with their family. :(

Well, maybe if people didn't go to stores then they wouldn't do this.

Seriously, every year there's Facebook posts, threads, and whatnot on this. But guess what, people still go, shops make a killing, world goes on. I've had to work my share of holidays, but unfortunately the world doesn't stop anymore. It sucks, but happens.

Besides, everyone knows that after Diretide is Christmas (note: I'm being satirical here)

Yes, it is heresy.

Unlike @madman356647 I believe the onus is on store owners as much as our pathetic shopping culture.

@jakob187: Personally, Im fine with working on Thanksgiving. Holidays never mean much to me and working on holidays means extra pay.

I don't really give a shit about Thanksgiving, it's kinda the shitty opening act for Christmas to me. But my sympathies are with the people who have to get up from the table and go to a retail job and deal with stressed-the-fuck-out customers.

I feel really bad for the poor bastards who have to work at the movie theater on Christmas.

@demoskinos: That is, unfortunately, where part of the problem stems from. There are plenty who are "okay" with working on a holiday. In the last eight years that I've been at my job, we've been open every day of the year. We open late on Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as close early on Christmas Eve. However, in the long run, I would rather we just didn't open at all on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Unfortunately, that's not my call to make. This is the first year where I will not have to work on Thanksgiving Day itself. I will, however, have to work from midnight - noon on Black Friday.

@madman356647: There is no Diretide. Only The Harrowing. Snowdown comes after the Harrowing. O____O

I'm fully capable of deciding whether I want to spend time with my family or go to a sale, along with everyone else on the planet, and do not require moralizing and hand-wringing over the alleged depravity of my actions. I do not require you telling me I'm part of a problem because I have absolutely no interest in traditions followed merely for the sake of tradition. That you did something last year is not a satisfactory argument to do it again.

That you call it heresy for people to do what they want on Thanksgiving instead of what the tradition dictates is almost too perfect.

Can't say I like it either. I don't and won't shop on Thanksgiving. I'd rather be chilling, over eating, playing flag football with the fam and watching some bad NFL matchups.

But seriously, if consumers didn't want it retailers wouldn't do it. If you want to blame somebody blame the customers for supporting a really crappy business practice. And for your Small Business if it's retail people probably aren't shopping you on Thanksgiving/Black Friday anyway. American Express has a promotion called Small Business Saturday which I know pretty much all our local independent retailers participate in and seem to like better anyway.

And also there a lot of people who work retail who really like working holidays for the overtime. Retail doesn't pay well, so for a lot of people that's a non trivial chance to make some hard to get money.

Thanksgiving doesn't have to mean as much to other people as it does to you. People can do with the day what they'd like. If they want to go shopping, then so be it. Try not to be one of those people who pushes their views on others.

Boxing Day is pretty much the same thing as Black Friday in Canada, I think it makes a bit more sense though as the retailers are clearing out stuff that didn't get sold at regular price rather than giving stuff away for no good reason other than the spectacle which is kind of sick.

I've never gone to a boxing day sale anyway, if you keep your eyes open there are good deals to be found all year long.

That's not entirely fair. Some places may be opt-in for working on that day, but a lot of places will be denying people a big family holiday that they DO care about, and that's kinda sad. Plus, lets not pretend here- the nature of black Friday means that, whether you care or not, you have to basically choose between the two, while in the past you could do both. I don't see how that's better for anyone. And I don't see expressing criticism of it if "Pushing" an opinion on you. No one demanded that you feel the same way. Maybe get a thicker skin?

Yeah, instead be the reason people have to work stupid hours on holidays. Nice. "pushing their views on others" lol

It's fucking disgusting. Ties right into the Christmas ads starting so early into Fall.

Bet you ten bucks that almost no one wants to work in an insanely over-crowded walmart on a holiday. It's fine if people want to go shopping, but it's fucking bullshit that people have to work on Thanksgiving to accommodate people that want to shop.

I dont work thanksgiving But I wouldn't mind to work half my normal shift as I start at 6am which wouldn't be a problem. Xmas, well F that holiday. its depressing and not fun once you go past your early teens. I am working that entire damn day and getting double time, THEN I am skipping New years as Birthday, Thanksgiving & New years are my only holidays I dont like working / wont work.

There are people that work Christmas Day, is that not the same thing?

I also don't get Black Friday at all.

@peasantabuse said:

This. Also,

It's a national holiday, except if you work a retail job without options. To bring it back around to videogames, because hey, it's a web site. about video games.

It's sort of like COD. They're going to keep doing this every year, as long as it makes money. And for all the crabbing from people who don't like it, they make the same or more money each year. Personally I think it would take two seasons/years in a row of a good 5~10% drop before the change isn't "add more, do more, extend more, etc. more, more, more." That goes for COD and Black Friday

Shouldn't you be more pissed at the family to giving into the idiocy?

I don't see how people can be mad at businesses for being smart. In terms of people being mad the employers making people work those days, guess what? People should expect to work these days when in retail or anything with a cash register. People work Easter, Christmas, Independence Day, New Year's, etc. I don't understand how Thanksgiving is any different considering it is one of the main reasons they have a job to begin with. They don't call it Black Friday for the hell of it, but because the retailer finally starts to see profits for the year after paying all the bills that allows them to give the employee money every payday.

I bet you twenty bucks that no one wants to work in an insanely over-crowded WalMart on any day of the year. They're not there because it's Thanksgiving, they're there because there's a sale. The reason they do sales on holidays is because peoplehave the day off. If they didn't they day off, there would be no sales.

It is as much bullshit that people have to work on Thanksgiving as it is that people can't purchase goods or receive services because some people don't want to work on Thanksgiving. I wish that worked on any other day of the year. "I just would rather stay home and eat a lot than do my job today."

Is "peace" intentionally misspelled? Just curious.

Nice read, and I agree 100%.

You obviously don't read much of his posts.

As somone who will be at their retail store job at 4pm on Thanksgiving (after having only left at most likely 12am the night before) I share your anger.

Dare I say, it fucking sucks.

To make matters worse, in my retail store we'll be doing split shifts. Which means when my 8-10 hour shift is over at around 1-3am, I'll be back into work to work another at around 10am.
To all the people saying that "who cares if it's Thanksgiving". That's only part of the issue. Yeah I'd love to be able to sit down, and relax with my family. But even if I'm going to give all that up to go into work, it sucks that it's going to be an 18+ hour work day. On top of that 18+ hour work day, it's fucking crazy hectic. Customers complaining the entire time (wow who would have thought you'd have to wait in line for 30+ mins on black friday). It just over all a really shitty day.

So , yeah half of it sucks because it's a holiday. But it mostly sucks because of the amount of prep work and clean up you have to do. And just how fucking awful the people are on that day. It really is just that. I'd work my "normal" type job on a holiday over the bullshit I deal with on Black Friday.

shitty lowest common denominator culture, and those that celebrate the fact. but hey, it's all O.K. if someone is making cash off it.

It would be nice if we could have a family holiday that everyone working in retail and 24/7/365 production facilities could take off too.

@gs_dan: I have the same issue with working on Christmas, but that's a whole different story on its own. That holiday in and of itself has a fucking identity crisis at this point.

@towersixteen: Calm down now. Weatherman and I have been around for a while. He knows I'm a ranter and an asshole. He likes to give me shit. He keeps me on my toes.

@jjweatherman: Weatherman, it's me we're talking about here. I rant a lot, but you know I believe in freedom. I speak in "asshole," but it doesn't mean that I would force anyone to believe exactly as I believe. You've known me long enough to know that at least. I just rant a lot.

@brodehouse: Heresy - an opinion profoundly at odds with what is generally accepted. That's the non-religious definition that I found when I decided to use that word. I would say that my blog is just that. It's an opinion piece written by myself that goes against the general acceptance of Black Friday by society. It is perfect that I chose that word, as I chose it with purpose. That doesn't mean I cannot say that the practice which is going on (where there are people who are forced into working on a day they could be spending with their family) is absolute horseshit. It's all about corporate greed, pure and simple, and I absolutely have the right to call it out on its bullshit. If someone wants to participate in that, then by all means, they can have at it. When going out and getting trampled...potentially injured or dead...is important to a person on a day about being with family, then that means people should really look inside at their goddamn priorities a bit more. When these customers are able to get a Thanksgiving with their family...only to deny someone else the same privilege? It's fucked up. I'll call that bullshit all day long. If someone gets offended by it, oh well. = / I don't exist to swallow sugar-coated bullshit nor mince my words.

@jsnyder82 said:

It is intentionally misspelled, just as I always say "dood" rather than "dude." The "dood" thing is an in-joke for anyone Disgaea fans out there. The "piece" part is because peace can start with getting a piece (of ass), so I elected to wish people "piece" rather than "peace." It's just a dumb thing that I do.

Smart phone > Amazon.com

You can shop anytime and get to stay home and savour your Thanksgiving dinner.

Everywhere I've worked that has been open for Thanksgiving only lets people work that want to work that day, with bonus pay. Not everyone cares about Thanksgiving as much as others.

I get what you're saying, but it's not a holiday that anyone gives a fuck about around here. Besides that, it's just a day. If it really bothers you that much and you are one of those families that has people that need to go work then celebrate it a day early or something. The day is just a stupid day on a calendar. If you really want to give thanks and enjoy your family it doesn't matter what day of the year it's done on.

@somedelicook: I've also worked Black Friday in both big retail and small business environments as well as multiple different cities (Atlanta, Phoenix, Waco, Austin, Dallas, and Mansfield OH). I've worked at quite a few places... Best Buy, Papa John's, a timeshare resort, Toys 'R' Us and Walmart (which is essentially misery incarnate). Black Friday was never an option. It was always an "all hands on deck" event. I don't know a single friend that has been given an OPTION to work Black Friday, instead told they ARE working it unless that business is one of the few that is actually closed on Thanksgiving.

I understand that Thanksgiving doesn't mean that much to others. However, that doesn't mean those who wish to spend time with their families should be forced into working on the day because people want needless bullshit on the cheaps.

If this were something where everyone had an option, then fine. I wouldn't give a shit. However, Black Friday has bled too far into Thanksgiving at this point. It's not even Black Friday. It's "Cheap Shit Thanksgiving."

Also, I understand how odd this is for me to be saying, as I run a thread every year that combines all of the yearly Black Friday video game sales into one big spot for people to see. I have always been cool with Black Friday...because it was the DAY AFTER. I'd get my day with the family. The next day, I'd go buy shit.

My problem is purely with the fact that this whole damn thing is bleeding into Thanksgiving, to the point that half of the "awake" time that most people would have for the day is now a working day. It's just fucking stupid.

Then do it a day after. It's always a long weekend. You got three days to do it.

@crusader8463: Thanksgiving is this one day that is set aside for the specific purpose of being together. That's what it's come to be known as anyways, as most of the Christian overtones of the holiday and the whole "celebrating the harvest" thing seem to be an afterthought for most at this point. Yes, there are families that do it a day earlier or a day later, but most of the time, that's due to travel arrangements or...funny enough...work schedules.

In turn, Thanksgiving was this one day set aside to do this, to actually just relax and enjoy the time with the family without worrying about when you need to go to work so people can buy useless shit.

As someone who will be working on Thanksgiving later on in the day I can say that I agree with what you said. But at the same time, in my company at least it is voluntary and someone in my position gets triple time for working the day. I literally get paid three times more than I normally get paid.

So I am torn.

I dislike because my years in retail have taught me that companies exist to out do eachother. Sure my company opens up at 8pm this year. But our competition is opening at 6pm. So than next year comes along and we are open at 6pm and they are open at 4pm.

Thanksgiving is kind of a terrible holiday to celebrate anyway, given the whole genocide of the native americans and whatnot. It's kind of insulting to celebrate it really.

I much prefer flag day. There's nothing wrong with flags. So many kinds too!

@levio: The original Thanksgiving was celebrated long before the "whole genocide of the Native Americans and whatnot." That's just bad history lessons, man. Also, I know you still want 2Pac in Rock Band.

I still fail to see why doing that one day before or after prevents you from relaxing and enjoying the time with the family without worrying about going to work. A day off is a day off no matter what day it ends up being on.

Anyway, all that aside not everyone celebrates the same holidays nor place the same value on them. To many people it's just a day like any other. As long as the places keep it optional for those that do care, and the usual double time and a half if you work it, then I'm all for it. I'm more than happy to work a day that holds no meaning to me and make 2.5 times my pay.

@jakob187: Have you considered that maybe you're so disgusted because it's your support of that "consumerism" on Black Friday which has caused it to bleed over into the holiday. If people didn't go crazy over those sales in the first place, this situation wouldn't exist for you to be upset about.

@levio said:

Nobody I know actually celebrates Thanksgiving as a historical event. Thanksgiving is simply a time to spend with family. Any other significance has lost all meaning with time.

Damn. I wasn't given a choice of working and only make time and a half until 1159pm. Then it's straight pay.
I want to work where you work with your triple time lol

My sympathies!

I never understood what black Friday meant or where it came from, I'm not from the US nor have I ever lived there. What is funny to me though is that I've seen more and more stores in my little Scandinavian country suddenly use the words "black friday sale" while no one, not even the store, knows what black friday is. It's just another day with some marked-down prices on random stuff. If it is somehow linked to thanksgiving it's all the more fun since we (obviously) don't celebrate that.

The real idiotic thing about this is that Black Friday appears right before Christmas. People are forced to buy gifts that fall into the category of celebrating commercial Christmas. Captive audience. Yet in the summer days where sales struggle, there is no black Friday. Plus, overspending creates an economic vacuum. Part of the reason for the poor sales leading up to November. Your argument should lie with modern culture placing the holidays so close together.

If stores open at 10 PM on Thanksgiving? Ok, not terrible but when I hear they are opening at 4 PM and shit, FUCK YOU! I can't believe people will actually go shop instead of wait till the next day. It is disgusting and gross to me. Wish people would take a stand but a deal is a deal.

FYI I'm extremely biased about Thanksgiving, it is the best, no, GREATEST Holiday we have as American's.

@joshwent said:

Making a thread to show what the deals are does not equal to supporting businesses opening at 5 and 6pm on Thanksgiving Day. There's literally nothing relative in that.

Sometimes I wonder if thanksgiving will even be around much longer. It seems as if they start talking about christmas earlier every year, shit at my job they started playing the first christmas songs before halloween. You also never really see anything on TV talking about thanksgiving anymore, just a little bit of halloween and then straight to christmas.

Maybe we should call it brown Thursday because that's shitty. I don't blame the stores, I blame the shoppers.

It is upon us.

I was just watching the news and they showed people literally screaming and shoving each other to get into the Macy's in NYC. Obviously nothing new but it was pretty disgusting.

It's not a big deal. Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to go black friday shopping.

Come to think of it, why not just have Thanksgiving a day earlier? Congratulations, you beat the system...

Coming from a guy who just had to pull an 11 hour shift and sat through a walmart commercial on lunch that said "Get your black friday started early we are opening at 6pm.... on thursday" and whose company actually considers black friday a holiday (what the fuck????) I say .... You nailed it on the head brother!

I absolutely despise Black Friday and considering I work with a team of 15 other people and of all the teams at my company that do what mine does.... we were literally the only one that had to work a full shift on thanksgiving. Well let's just say I am not happy with the ... public at large or my company these days.