When I used to write about the retail sector many years ago there was one major truism — the only people who worked on Thanksgiving were those poor workers who had to help run the Macy’s parade.

It was just bad taste to sell stuff on a day when the whole nation was supposed to be giving thanks for things beyond the material.

Well, this Thanksgiving ushered in a whole new world thanks to retailers who felt you all wanted to shop before you even digested your turkey. One employee at Target tried to fight this by posting a web petition to stop the injustice of working on such an important day. Anthony Hardwick got lots of attention for his efforts but didn’t get very far in convincing Target to roll back its decision to open late on Thanksgiving day.

In his petition he wrote:

A full holiday with family is not just for the elite of this nation — all Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones and get a good night’s rest on Thanksgiving!

Hardwick’s petition called for 300,000 signatures, but as of this morning he only reached two-thirds of his goal. Maybe most of us just don’t care if people are forced to work on holidays. And come to think of it, why do we need any time off at all? (more…)