By Mary Best
Opinion and Advisory editor
There’s nothing like Thanksgiving at my house-the smell of a turkey baking all day, the beheading of the butter lamb and satisfying my weird obsession with canned cranberry sauce. It’s a holiday consisting of parades, dog shows, eating, relaxing and visiting with family.
This year, consumerism almost destroyed my Thanksgiving.
I began working for J. C. Penney this summer after countless failed attempts at securing an internship. While retail isn’t my dream job, I figured I could save up some money and work a lot of hours, especially during the upcoming holiday season.
I found out a few weeks ago that J. C. Penney stores across the country would be opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving. While I learned I did not have to go in to work until Black Friday, it’s still absolutely senseless for any store to be open on Thanksgiving.
Every year, we hear about too many uncontrollable shopper incidents that only occur because of Black Friday deals for hot ticket items. I will admit that as a usually broke college student I take advantage of the day after Thanksgiving sales to supply Christmas gifts for my friends and family (beginning at 9 a.m., thank you very much).
But shopping on the actual holiday? There is no material thing that could be worth giving up a Thanksgiving evening to purchase. Likewise, nothing could be worth making thousands of employees miss the time with their families to cash out on such a selfish purchase.
My proposal? Don’t go.
The only thing persuading more retailers to open their stores before Friday every year is the number of people who go out and shop that night. If the consumers refuse to show up, then companies will have no choice but to wait until the holiday is over.
A Nov. 11 MarketWatch story claims the reason stores want to open so early is because of the major opportunities for financial growth during the holiday weekend, especially during Black Friday.
That’s it? Financial growth? If a company needs a few extra holiday hours to make it through their fiscal year, it just needs to be a better company in general.
Topping the list of retailers opening prematurely is Kmart, which will open at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving and stay open until 11 p.m. on Black Friday. Target, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Kohl’s, Macy’s and WalMart have also announced they will be opening their doors on Turkey Day. To prevent these and more stores from becoming repeat offenders, boycott them on Thanksgiving and enjoy some food and time with your family.
Maybe you don’t have to work retail or choose not to deal with the crowds. But if you’re one of the bargain hunters who can’t wait to get your Christmas shopping done, do society a favor and wait until the next day. Don’t be a part of the problem.
bestmk10@bonaventure.edu
