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By Joanna DelBuono
Brooklyn Daily
Retailers are turning Black Friday to Greedy Gobble Thursday with earlier openings on Thanksgiving Day.
Really?
So now, instead of heeding the tradition of kicking back after the last drumstick, opening up that last pant button, and enjoying another slice of pumpkin pie as we watch the game with the family, many will now be rushing through the meal, packing up the leftovers, waving “ta-ta” to the guests and rushing out of the house just to get a giant jump on mass consumerism in America.
According to a quick web search Target, Walmart, and Toys ’R’ Us (to name a few) are pushing to open at 8 or 9 pm on Thanksgiving instead of waiting that extra few hours for Black Friday to actually begin.
Well, I think they call it “Black Friday” for a simple reason: it’s on Friday, not Thursday.
As it stands, workers already have to get up in the middle of the night, jump out their warm beds and rush to the store, just so they can shop til they just can’t shop no more. But that’s not good enough, is it? No, no. Now workers are expected to cut short their Thanksgiving meal, rush through diner, sop up that last bit of gravy and say so-long to that extra piece of pie, just so they can be ready, willing, and able to man the registers at 8 pm.
Come on now! Wake up America. Can’t we have just one holiday that we can enjoy with our families without the pressure to shop. Can’t we just be thankful for the food on the table, the time to cherish each other’s company and think how fortunate we are? Do we really need to go out shopping at 8 pm on Thanksgiving night for those “must-have items” that we really don’t need at all?
I’m sure there are many that disagree with me. They think it’s “better to shop at 8 pm on Thanksgiving, so we can sleep in on Friday.”
Well, why not cancel Thanksgiving all together. Let’s just start the holiday shopping right after Halloween, kiss the turkey tradition sayonara and forget all about what we should be thankful for.
You know, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Ring a bell?
For the life of me, I just don’t see the need for anyone to digest the last bit of white meat and head out into the evening to satisfy the greed of retailers. It’s not enough that Christmas has turned into a consumer cash cow, but Thanksgiving too?
Not for Nuthin™, but I say, “Doorbusters be dammed!”
I’d rather just bust out of my Thanksgiving pants in peace with family and have one more piece of pie instead.”
Follow me on Twitter @JDelBuono.
Joanna DelBuono writes about national affairs — and shopping — every Wednesday on BrooklynDaily.com. E-mail her at jdelbuono@cnglocal.com.