On Thanksgiving, I heard a journalist say that she didn't really agree with all the uproar about stores deciding to start Black Friday sales on Thursday. While many people were arguing that this step forced employees to work instead of being with their families, she asserted that many people might be happy to work, particularly in an economy plagued by lack of work. Perhaps they did not celebrate Thanksgiving anyway, or perhaps they would happily adjust their family dinner schedule accordingly, if it meant a paycheck that included extra work hours.
I did not shop on Thanksgiving night, and despite my considering it, I did not get up to shop at 5am on Black Friday. I did, however, find myself in the middle of Black Friday crowds during the day, and, as a person who has spent the last few Turkey Days essentially unemployed, I kind of understood what the reporter was saying. For me, this was the first Black Friday in a few when I actually felt comfortable spending any money. There were no fistfights over big-ticket items, but, because it has been a reasonable work year, I could say yes to purchases I might have avoided the last few years. After years of not even wanting to go into a store for fear of spending money that just wasn't coming in, I was joyful to spend just a little time in the shopping frenzy.
I can't say whether working on Thanksgiving created a hardship for retail employees. But, as a person who spent many months over the last few years unemployed, and as a person who saw countless people heading to their hospital, restaurant, and transit jobs as I headed to Turkey Day dinner, I can say that the reporter's words rang true to me.
I didn't come out of Black Friday (or Black Thursday night) with all my holiday shopping done or with large items that I could only have gotten then. But it did feel good to be in a position to participate in the frenzy a little. And perhaps some of those unemployed or underemployed who were working felt (or will feel) a little bit of that too.
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