Food for Thought

 

To shop, or not to shop? I decided to enter the discussion after reading this post on Miss Zoot. After posting the link on Facebook, the following conversation* ensued:

See... there are a lot of stories here, but it's just as dangerous to assume that these workers WANT to work on Thanksgiving as it is that they WANT to have the day off. For every story of someone wanting to work on that day, there is someone that does not, but if they don't take the hours, they could lose their job or lose more hours (getting knocked down in ranking).

 

AND... people also assume, "well, they are getting paid double or time and a half." Well, not necessarily. Extra pay for holidays is not mandated by law - it's decided on business by business. many of these people are working the middle of the night at the same wage as always. It's only if they go over the 40 hours a week (if hourly) that they can get overtime pay, even if they work a 12 hour day.

 

But what I do agree with is that the "I believe in family" part is being judgmental is saying everyone has family... No... they don't. But everyone deserves to be treated fairly.

 

It's the "not judging" that I liked the best.

 

I agree - but people do judge - all of us do. We make assumptions. We just need to be better informed!

 

It is food for thought, but its not workers' choices to open stores on Thanksgiving. Every one of these lousy CEOs and all the executives ought to be out there working too.

 

YAY!!!! I've been trying to get this message across!

 

How about they just pay their employees to be off and spend time with their families.

 

How about they pay hourly workers a living wage, too? Good point.

 

If everyone working on Thanksgiving were volunteers who wanted to be there, I wouldn't have a problem with stores opening. But you know that's not true. It's just another product of corporate greed. And we let ourselves get sucked into it.

 

Not me. I don't even shop on Black Friday. What I liked about the post was the fact that it made me think about other points of view.

 

Maybe we should cancel the Ravens game Thursday? :-) JK!

 

I am not the one to ask--I hate football!

 

For the record, I would be fine with no football on holidays. IMHO people need a change of pace, an occasional turn off of the path, and a holiday can give you that - unless you do the same things on that day as you do every day.

 

The only thing on our TV on Thanksgiving are the parades. I suppose it can be said these people work these days too, but I'm also going to assume, most of these people WANT to be there and do that job! (Another false judgement?) No football watching this house. We'll watch a movie together as a family in the evening in the family room.

 

***

The blog post on Miss Zoot touched me because I have been there. I have been the divorced parent with joint custody, alone on a holiday. I have worked a full time job, plus a part time job, plus baby sitting gigs on my vacations in order to make ends meet. One year, the serendipitous gift of money in a Christmas card from a school parent was the sole reason I had Christmas.

I will never forget those years. And when the writer touched on that experience, I was suddenly able to believe that, for some people, having the chance to work on Thanksgiving might be financially meaningful in a way that a lot of us don't understand. This writer drew me in and changed my willingness to see a different point of view.

I won't be shopping on Thanksgiving. My older daughter, the one who I sometimes had to live without on holidays, is hosting the meal with her husband. I have so many blessings that one day can't hold them all.

My benediction: if you don't want to shop, don't. But don't judge others.. And if you do shop, be kind to all who are working. Whether or not they want to be there, they are human beings deverving of your respect. The blessing of celebrating a Thanksgiving meal surrounded by family can live on more than one day through human kindness to our fellow-creatures.

Food for thought.

 

*Comments used with permission

 

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