“People don’t stop having heart attacks and needing stitches just because it’s Thanksgiving.” My dad’s words as he tied his shoes, grabbed his stethoscope and headed out the door on the morning of Thanksgiving. A 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. shift at Elyria Memorial Hospital is nothing out of the ordinary for our family, even on Thanksgiving. He has missed birthday cakes, Christmas dinners, July 4 picnics, graduation parties and much, much more. He has never once thought it to be odd, because it’s not.
People working on holidays is not a new concept. So why are we so fixated on the employees at Target? In an article from The Huffington Post, Target released a statement saying that the employees who will be working on Black Friday are not only getting paid overtime, they signed up for the shift. They, like my dad, knew that with any job come sacrifices.
There was a petition on change.org where over 370,000 people petitioned for Target to not open on Thanksgiving. Out of all the servicemen and women protecting your freedom who will not get to be with their families this Thanksgiving, people are sympathizing with the employees of Target? This Thanksgiving, I ask you to look at the big picture.
Happy holidays Ohio University, we have so much to be grateful for.
Katie Thoburn is a sophomore studying middle childhood education at Ohio University.
