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News & ArtsFriday, November 23, 2012
Life / Religion / Retail / LGBTQITSLFA The War on Thanksgiving
Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Nov 23, 2012 at 10:39 AM
Ross Murray, Director of Religion, Faith and Values at GLAAD, wants to know where where "pro-family" organizations are on Thanksgiving:
Where are the alarm bells concerning Black Friday? Why have none of the self-described “family organizations” said that Thanksgiving is “under attack?” Where is the outrage that what precious little family time we have is being destroyed? The organizations who make their living off of attacking the lives and relationships of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people (who also happen to be among the loudest claiming that there’s a “War on Christmas”) have been utterly silent that Thanksgiving, perhaps the most family-oriented holiday on our American calendar, is becoming a holiday dedicated to fighting other shoppers for the lowest deals.
If there was a pro-family organization out there pushing for bans on Black Friday sales that start on Thanksgiving—and pushing for living wage jobs and health insurance (which would actually bring down the abortion rate)—I would be a card-carrying member of that pro-family organization.
1
On the other hand, they're not just throwing the money in a pit and burning it. Those millions of dollars paid a lot of actors, cameramen, makeup artists, marketers, distributers, etc. etc. who've got families. It's not getting the millionaires anything, why not let them piss it away?
2
@1:
Black Friday 2012 sales are estimated to generate somewhere between $18 B & $22 B for retailers, including privately-owned WalMart - in a single day.
I would say that's definitely getting the millionaires who own or invest in retail chains something indeed...
Black Friday 2012 sales are estimated to generate somewhere between $18 B & $22 B for retailers, including privately-owned WalMart - in a single day.
I would say that's definitely getting the millionaires who own or invest in retail chains something indeed...
4
Liberals are soooo good at telling other people how do spend their charitable time and resources...
6
Really loathe the so called "pro family" groups, but this article is stupid. People shop with their families. A lot of them also go to work on Friday. And they buy things because they think it will make people happy. If this is meant as irony, it still doesn't work. It just doesn't hit any real marks.
9
Here's where the "pro-family" organizations are on Thanksgiving. Not where we want to be, I don't think.
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/22/threats_…
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/22/threats_…
11
Thanksgiving is not fundamentally a religious holiday, definitely not a specifically christian one. It's a false analogy. Nice try, though. Maybe try again come Easter!
13
@6 "this article is stupid. People shop with their families."
The point is that the Black Friday shopping that starts at midnight or 8pm on Thanksgiving takes retail workers away from their families on a family-oriented holiday. That's how it's "anti-family." (And grocery stores that stay open from 9am to 5pm on Thanksgiving Day do the same...)
The point is that the Black Friday shopping that starts at midnight or 8pm on Thanksgiving takes retail workers away from their families on a family-oriented holiday. That's how it's "anti-family." (And grocery stores that stay open from 9am to 5pm on Thanksgiving Day do the same...)
14
I feel no more guilty shopping on Black Friday than I do going to the bank or post office on Black Friday. It's not a holiday.
But on the day of Thanksgiving? (Or at midnight, like last year?) If there's a war on any holiday, this is surely it. Cue Bill O'Reilly's outrage. (I kid.)
It seems like this should have flopped, since many people who normally take part in Black Friday were enjoying (or at least were committed to) their families, and then wouldn't bother with Black Friday, knowing all the good deals are gone.
But it didn't, of course. Sigh.
But on the day of Thanksgiving? (Or at midnight, like last year?) If there's a war on any holiday, this is surely it. Cue Bill O'Reilly's outrage. (I kid.)
It seems like this should have flopped, since many people who normally take part in Black Friday were enjoying (or at least were committed to) their families, and then wouldn't bother with Black Friday, knowing all the good deals are gone.
But it didn't, of course. Sigh.
15
Black Friday may seem tasteless, but there are many families that can only afford game systems and other expensive things on days that have mega deals.
Also, being from an area that was hit by Hurricane Sandy, our local businesses need all the help they can get.
Still, I'd say that not shopping on Thanksgiving, a national holiday, is a very good idea. Let the staff be with their own families. Let Black Friday start on Friday.
Also, being from an area that was hit by Hurricane Sandy, our local businesses need all the help they can get.
Still, I'd say that not shopping on Thanksgiving, a national holiday, is a very good idea. Let the staff be with their own families. Let Black Friday start on Friday.
17
I also don't get this anti-working on holidays thing. Some people have to work on some holidays. That's what it is to have certain types of jobs, and it's part of living in modern cities. It may suck to have to work on days when most others are off, and it may suck even harder to have to work on days when it seems like everyone else is spending time with their families, but there you are. What surprises me is that people aren't campaigning to improve the safety of workers at places like Walmart on days like Black Friday, who are clearly being placed at risk by the fact that they appear to let large crowds of people into their stores with no apparent way to control them.
18
@17, yes, some people have to work holidays. I'm one of those people; I work at a hospital. The difference is that it is PATENTLY necessary for someone to clock in that day (I work in the psych ward, so yes, there is a "holiday rush"). The difference is that I know a year in advance what my schedule is and I'm rewarded HANDSOMELY for working, as opposed to being abused by entitled asshats trying to grab more shit. Trust me, there's a big difference in the amount of suck that a retail worker endures versus a cop, or nurse or doctor.
19
18: who gets to decide when various categories of businesses should and shouldn't be open? Plenty of religious fundies object to businesses being open on Sundays or other supposedly holy days. Plenty of people see no reason for any business to be open 24 hours. Businesses open during times when they think people will want to patronise them. If you have a job at a place that is open on holidays, you may have to work. There's no reasonable objection to that no matter how much it sucks.
20
None of you really care. In theory all your arguments may make sense to you. At the end of the day it's fuck everyone else, it just how does it effect me. So stop worrying about cause you are going to always do what appeases you.
21
@2: Walmart is privately owned only in the sense that it is not owned by the government. Its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (WMT).
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