It's no secret that if you're a regular working man or woman in America these days, you've taken one body shot after another for a long, long time.
Why? Because we're at the bottom of the ladder. The lowest brick in the foundation. We live, and until we climb out of that class, nobody cares. If we never rise, nobody ever cares. And it's getting worse.
We've all read about major corporations posting record profits as the stock market edges ever higher, but that doesn't change the fact that most of us haven't seen a raise in years. Prices continue to rise while products shrink, and our pockets seem a little emptier than they used to be.
On top of all that, there's still that trembling ghost of organized labor that manages to rattle enough chains that the more sharp-eared among us can't help but realize that this wasn't always our path.
Yea. This game is rigged. It always has been, always will be.
But there's one thing that we - the people who wait your tables, tie your Christmas tree to your car, pack the shelves at your favorite store - always had, and that was the prospect of a couple days off this time of year, no questions asked. (I believe they're called "holidays.")
When I was growing up, TV portrayed them as those few days when the things that perennially haunted us, the concerns over race and color and creed and social status, didn't matter. We could all come together, at least for Thanksgiving dinner or on Christmas morning, and no matter how rough-and-tumble our lives were, things were lovely for those few hours. You spend your time with family and friends, celebrate life, and thank God you have the good fortune to still be breathing.
More and more, though, this is becoming a thing of the past, and it appears that closing a business on a holiday is simply too great a sacrifice for those black-hearted bosses whose compulsive pursuit of profit would be almost admirable if it wasn't so repugnant.
It's the new fad, you see. Instead of just making workers come in incredibly early on Black Friday, open up on Thanksgiving, too.
The Staples on Route 23 in Riverdale will be open from 8 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, which is awesome if you just can't wait until 6 a.m. the next day to buy your legal pads and $9 pens at super discounts.
Maybe their workers will be able to catch a late dinner with the people manning the Sports Authority down the highway - they'll be there from 6 p.m. to midnight, before catching a six-hour respite and coming back in.
All of them have it better than those at Walmart, which will open at 8 a.m. on Thursday and stay that way until midnight Friday. I'd hate to have drawn the short straw at that place.
These aren't the only stores doing this, of course, but they were the first three I called. And although I'm sure the corporate masters have some way of justifying the new practice to themselves and the public, it doesn't change the fact that what they're doing is a kick in the teeth to everything we believe Thanksgiving to be about. Plus, it's awfully hard to look forward to a good turkey dinner knowing you've got to cut it short to go back to Walmart.
I'm no fool, though. This is the United States, and there is nothing that won't be laid down at the altar of the almighty dollar, especially if it's just the happiness of the working people. But it's more than a little ironic that we are losing this uniquely American holiday in such a uniquely American way: by giving it up for some extra cash.
But hey, screw it. This is it. Welcome to the new world order. No raises, no unions, no worker protections, no holidays, no mercy. Don't like it? We'll fire you. Cling to someone else's bootstraps and convince them to sign your paycheck.
After all, as one manager at a store I called said, they do have some incredible deals that day.
Well. Thank God for that.
Email: janoski@northjersey.com
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