# Are people assholes if they shop on Thanksgiving? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 21, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284 "2014-11-21T19:29:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/83 "2014-11-23T22:00:25Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > It’s like Jesus – if he died for your sins, it’s kind of a slap in the face if you don’t sin, making him have gone through all that for nothing. The Jesus I once believed in wasn’t big on keeping families from getting together once or twice a year to break bread, Mister. Personally, I don’t care if people pray to a Bible, a Tora, A Koran, a Prayer Wheel, a personal deity, or the Oxford-English Dictionary, Unabridged. But sitting at a table, passing food, talking about whats going on in each others lives and the changes that have happened over the year? It promotes a quality in our lives that is Worth something. Our forefathers fought for it, our parents fought for it, and growing up in it or living within it as human beings, we should have gleaned its value. Not everything in this life is worth fighting for… but this is family. And this IS. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/84 "2014-11-23T22:22:59Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > The Jesus I once believed in wasn’t big on keeping families from getting together once or twice a year to break bread, Mister. > Personally, I don’t care if people pray to a Bible, a Tora, A Koran, a Prayer Wheel, a personal deity, or the Oxford-English Dictionary, Unabridged. But sitting at a table, passing food, talking about whats going on in each others lives > and the changes that have happened over the year? It promotes a quality in our lives that is Worth something. > > Our forefathers fought for it, our parents fought for it, and growing up in it or living within it as human beings, we should have gleaned its value. > > Not everything in this life is worth fighting for… but this is family. And this IS. Hey, I love Thanksgiving so much I have it an extra time for those that can’t make the ordinary one. I’ve even tossed a random one in in the summer. The calendar is just a bunch of suggestions as far as I’m concerned. What I don’t understand is the new “retail worker as special class needing protection” mindset. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/85 "2014-11-24T00:31:43Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > What I don’t understand is the new “retail worker as special class needing protection” mindset. By “new” you mean “The way it’s been for ages until a few years ago”? :dubious: I mean, we’re talking about the _change_ to working on Thanksgiving for retail workers here, not railing against a hundred years of Thanksgiving scheduling oppression. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/86 "2014-11-24T01:00:57Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Cool! I did not know that. > > Do any other states have similar laws? And do they have more stores closed on Thanksgiving than other states without such laws? IIRC Massachusetts still has a blue law on the books prohibiting most stores from opening on Thanksgiving and a few other holidays. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/87 "2014-11-24T01:44:25Z")
My husband and I try to estimate how soon after we leave our house before his mother calls to tell us to pick something up at the store. From milk to crackers to sugar to cranberry sauce, we have never made it without a detour. I wish the stores would close so she’d either have to call us before we leave and we can bring it if we have it, or else get her inventory together. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/88 "2014-11-24T01:49:27Z")
A lot of people seem to be projecting their own beliefs on others. “I think Thanksgiving is super-duper important and everybody should be spending it with their families, therefore anybody who feels otherwise is an asshole”. Some of those working Thanksgiving doubtless would rather be home, some are probably grateful to pick up a shift from someone who doesn’t want to work it. Not everybody has a Norman Rockwell family to spend time with on holidays, some might just as soon work. As if the War On Christmas wasn’t enough of an exercise in self-pity, now we’ve got the War On Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/89 "2014-11-24T02:26:26Z")
I don’t think anyone is up in arms except the OP doing his best to frame it as you are an ass for shopping or you are costing these people their jobs if you don’t. Like it’s all black or white. A lot of people think these sales have kept getting earlier and earlier and are intruding on the Holiday and would rather not take part in them like this. Others would still rather go get a deal. Really, it’s either giving the stores positive or negative feedback. It’s voting with your dollars. > [@AnaMen](#): > > I didn’t imply that people may be assholes NOT to shop on Thanksgiving, although, if I were the store employee, I’d be extra-pissed if I was at work and there were no customers, so I was there for no reason at all. It’s like Jesus – if he died for your sins, it’s kind of a slap in the face if you don’t sin, making him have gone through all that for nothing. That’s wonderful. It’s a view of Christianity I’d expect from South Park. The J man already paid the tab so if you see an old lady with a purse hanging loose you better steal it or it’s a big FU to him. Anyone up for some adultery? I’m sure that’s exactly what Jesus wants. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/90 "2014-11-24T02:27:24Z")
We’d need a poll of Thanksgiving retail workers for the “but maybe they want to be there” argument to carry any weight. At least, I don’t think “10% of workers want to be there” (to make up a number) will change anyone’s opinion about the 90% who’d rather have the day off. Show that it’s reversed and maybe you have something. Also, you don’t have to have a “Norman Rockwell” family holiday to want the day off. Even when I’ve had nothing planned for a holiday, having the day off was often still nice. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/91 "2014-11-24T03:23:39Z")
Do you watch TV on thanksgiving? Most stations have to have an engineer on duty at all times. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/92 "2014-11-24T03:25:30Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > I don’t think anyone is up in arms except the OP doing his best to frame it as you are an ass for shopping or you are costing these people their jobs if you don’t. Like it’s all black or white. > That’s wonderful. It’s a view of Christianity I’d expect from South Park. > The J man already paid the tab so if you see an old lady with a purse hanging loose you better steal it or it’s a big FU to him. > Anyone up for some adultery? I’m sure that’s exactly what Jesus wants. I claim no such thing. Note how I say I am NOT shopping? Or am I doing that as part of my plan to get them laid off, because that’s what kind of a jerk I must be? I ask the original question because many people, have made the claim, which is a clear example of black-and-white thinking: all Thanksgiving shoppers are assholes. And I find it perplexing that anyone holds that view, so was curious as to the rationale behind it and also about how prevalent the view is. Whether people are actually restraining themselves from doing something they would like to do because it is harmful to others, or are foregoing an unpleasant activity they wouldn’t have done anyway and trumpeting about it like they are making a sacrifice. ---
**Author:** ![akwally1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akwally1/32/3220_2.png) [@akwally1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akwally1)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/93 "2014-11-24T03:27:33Z")
Nope, they aren’t assholes. They’re just people doing whatever they need to do on that day. If people are going to get high and mighty about the sanctity of the holiday, then let’s shut everything down that isn’t a public service. That includes (among other things): Movie theaters Gas stations Convenience stores Airlines Train lines Otherwise, what’s the difference between being an asshole because you go to Target on Thanksgiving vs. flying or taking the train on Thanksgiving? (And yes, I worked for the airlines for many years and worked pretty much all the major holidays for the first 10 years or so). ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/94 "2014-11-24T03:40:15Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > I claim no such thing. Oh, really? > [@AnaMen](#): > > … I’ve seen many people and media outlets up in arms about the terrible injustice committed against retail workers by stores being open on Thanksgiving and the **assholes** who shop that day… > [@AnaMen](#): > > So the boycott succeeds, the store fails, and the workers have no shitty jobs? While I agree this could likely be better for them in the long run, they could just refuse to work and get fired to get the same result. My bolding. Your words unless you have cites. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/95 "2014-11-24T03:59:43Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > Oh, really? > > My bolding. Your words unless you have cites. What is it I should be citing? ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/96 "2014-11-24T04:13:20Z")
I used to work in a casino, my father was the manager of a small country pub. Most public holidays, (including Christmas, New Year, Easter) we would both be working. Sometimes I would make it home for some sort of meal / celebration, sometimes not. What I LIKED about working the public holidays was that I got time and a half (extra pay!!) PLUS a day in lieu to do with as I wanted. The extra pay over the Christmas / New Year period could be quite substantial as there was normally OT going begging as well, PLUS, I would normally get a good number of lieu days to use up later - at my convenience, they could be used to study for an exam, meet the girlfriend, or do any number of “more useful” things than a rushed family lunch. So if people wanna shop on the special day, have at it! It’s not neccessarily a punishment for all the workers (although yes, some will hate it) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/97 "2014-11-24T04:27:04Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Do you watch TV on thanksgiving? Most stations have to have an engineer on duty at all times. I’ve worked Master Control for a TV station. Doing it on a holiday is just like doing it any other day. I’ve also worked retail. Black Friday wasn’t anything like every other day of the year and this was even before the current sales trends. That’s why TV stations and sewage treatment plant staff and theater ticket takers and gas station attendants don’t really compare in people’s minds when they get upset about retail staff having to work the holiday. It’s not just “work a holiday” it’s an exceptionally shitty working day now taking the place of the holiday. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/98 "2014-11-24T04:40:16Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Do you watch TV on thanksgiving? Most stations have to have an engineer on duty at all times. > [@akwally1](#): > > what’s the difference between being an asshole because you go to Target on Thanksgiving vs. flying or taking the train on Thanksgiving? It’s been said before in this thread, but I guess it needs to be repeated: > [@Jophiel](#): > > I mean, we’re talking about the _change_ to working on Thanksgiving for retail workers here, not railing against a hundred years of Thanksgiving scheduling oppression. Stores opening on Thanksgiving and encouraging holiday shopping on that day is, if I understand correctly, a recent phenomenon, different from the way things used to be, and that’s a big part of why some people are bothered by it. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/99 "2014-11-24T05:12:36Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Sure, one COULD shop another day, but why the idea that this particular day is somehow off-limits? It seems childish. I worked every holiday for eleven years when I owned a business, as did most of my employees, because there was work that needed to get done and money to be collected: the money I used to pay them and keep them in jobs, which they recognized and did not complain about much. Not everyone WANTS to avoid working on holidays anyway. Sitting at home alone on Thanksgiving is more depressing than going to work for many people, so why not just pay them enough extra to make it more enticing, give them shorter shifts if possible, and not act like going to Target is an assault on human rights? Because you are preventing your employees from enjoying time at home with their friends and family, a national tradition, an important part of our culture that maybe shouldn’t be trashed because you want to make more money to fund three vacations in Bimini this year. Unless you employ only orphans. Do you employ only orphans? ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/100 "2014-11-24T05:39:17Z")
This is one aspect of liberalism - if that’s the best phrase to use here - that really bugs me & that I completely disagree with. Guys, when a person works in a retail job (which I’ve done), then that individual agrees to work during the holidays. Yeah, it sucks & most folks probably don’t want to work on Thanksgiving, but just like any other lousy situation, they suck it up & go to work anyway. Seriously, this isn’t a violation of human rights we’re talking about, here. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/101 "2014-11-24T05:53:37Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > This is one aspect of liberalism - if that’s the best phrase to use here It’s not. Nobody I can see in this thread has talked about liberal-anything. I don’t know how to label the pro/anti side of the discussion, but neither do you. Let’s stick to the issues. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284/102 "2014-11-24T12:09:29Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Because you are preventing your employees from enjoying time at home with their friends and family, a national tradition, an important part of our culture that maybe shouldn’t be trashed because you want to make more money to fund three vacations in Bimini this year. Unless you employ only orphans. Do you employ only orphans? My business was not a retail store, being closed was not a realistic option, and my main concern was making enough to pay them, not funding my holidays. Most actually did not have families or anywhere else they wanted to go and were happy to work the holiday and join us for dinner. Having people work on holidays is not an act of cruelty or “trashing American culture.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-assholes-if-they-shop-on-thanksgiving/705284.md?page=6)