Every year it seems to get worse. Stores opening for Black Friday eariler than the last until it's not even Friday, but THANKSGIVING. This year Best Buy has announced they will be opening at 6pm on Thanksgiving and stay open until 10pm Friday. Sears Holding has released that their Kmart stores will be opening at 6am Thanksgiving, remaining open for 41 hours until they close the doors on Friday night.

This is becoming ridiculous and I have had enough. I would love to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family, but now I can't even have that as I gear up to pull a 12hr or longer shift. What most shoppers don't realize is that the employees are scheduled two hours or more prior to opening their doors for Black Friday. The customer gets to spend a few hours and buy their products and go home to be with family or go to sleep, but the employees will be there, sometimes upto 12 hours or more. Many employees don't get to have a Thanksgiving of any kind, they miss out on family gatherings, and the big meal. They will either be working while everyone in their family has gathered around the dinner table, or making the decision of whether to be with family and sacrifice sleep, or sleep and sacrifice the time with family.

No one should ever have to make that decision because of corporate greed. Everyone, customer and employee alike should be allowed to enjoy their Thanksgivings with friends and family, or at least have this time to take a break from the hustle and bustle of every day life. Family time on Thanksgiving deserves to be respected and honored. It's time people stand up for what's right. Why should anyone have to sacrifice the time with family for a good deal on a materialistic item?

My goal is not necessarily to make an impact on the opening times this year, but for future years.