Wal Mart, Black Friday And Stupidity

It appears that people believe they should control the decisions of a private company. The idea is as ridiculous as me thinking I should be allowed to control the actions of a neighbor. When a business decided they want to be open on a holiday nobody seems to care about it except on Thanksgiving. The indignation is kind of ridiculous, there is no mass protests for being open on the Fourth of July, there is no organized hate directed at places like the University of Minnesota for being open on Veterans Day, and there is no outcry when restaurants or gas stations or convenience stores are open on holidays. The indignation seems to be reserved for Thanksgiving. Having worked in retail I have one thing to say to all the people that believe it is an act against humanity to have a store open on Thanksgiving: get a different job! I know exactly how crappy it is to be working on a holiday. The 1 that always got me was having to work on New Years Eve during the countdown. It was, in fact, that crappy feeling that made me decide to get out of retail within the next year. It is quite a simple concept. If you don't like the conditions of your employment then change employment. So when I hear about workers at Wal Mart planning to do a walk out on Thanksgiving Day the only thing that comes to my mind is that I hope they are all fired on the spot.

A group of Wal-Mart workers are planning to stage a walkout next week on Black Friday, arguably the biggest holiday shopping day for the world's largest retail store. ... The union-backed groups OUR Walmart and Making Change at Wal-Mart, and a watchdog group Corporate Action Network, are calling on the nation's largest employer to end what they call retaliation against employees who speak out for better pay, fair schedules and affordable health care. On Black Friday, the organizations expect 1,000 protests, both at stores and online.

Just fire them. It is a private company, there is no union ruining the company, there is no reason to put up with this kind of insubordination. If the workers are so unhappy that they feel it is necessary to walk out, keep on walking. In general, I am not a supporter of Black Friday simply because I believe it brings out the worst in people. Cut prices on everything and people will buy crap that they don't need, don't want, and can't afford. But if people are dumb enough to follow that kind of stuff then who am I to stop it. I generally stay away from Black Friday. This year however I will be going to Walmart to make some purchases and hopefully tell some of the protesters exactly where I think they should go...to a different job.