Recently I’ve been seeing some ridiculous comments on social media about Black Friday and the people who must work then or, even more unfortunately,

on Thanksgiving.

I’ve seen people point out that it’s not just retail employees who work on Thanksgiving. They name other professions: police, doctors, nurses and so on.

The people making this point don’t seem to understand that people cannot choose when they become victims of crime or when they have a medical emergency. Those situations have to be taken care of no matter when they happen.

However, people can choose not to buy a pair of shoes in an early Black Friday sale on Thanksgiving.

I’ve also heard people say that if someone doesn’t like having to work on holidays, they should get a different job.

But, first, it’s not that simple to just change jobs. And, second, those jobs need to be filled. We can’t just have entire malls staffed by nobody.

So these jobs exist and it’s a certainty that not everyone wants to do so on holidays. Let’s not pretend every retail job can be filled by someone who wants to be there.

Some of those jobs are barely tolerable when it isn’t the holidays.

But you can be a good person and help make retail employees’ experiences less terrible this holiday season.

First, just don’t shop on Thanksgiving. Don’t. You can go out as early as you want on Friday, but avoid Thursday.

Some retailers have made a point of being closed on Thanksgiving.

I’d like to think that more retailers could be convinced to do the same next year if no one actually shows up at their stores on Thanksgiving. [You can take it a step further and entirely boycott stores like Kmart, which will open at the ridiculous time of 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving.]

Know that if you do start your mad shopping rush on the day you’re supposed to be thankful for what you already have [assuming you celebrate Thanksgiving], you’re showing that you’re okay with people having to work non-essential jobs when they could be celebrating with their families.

Are you actually okay with sending

that message?

Regardless of when you go out, be polite to the employees you

encounter.

They don’t deserve rudeness just because someone beat you to the last Tickle Me Elmo. [Are those even still popular?]

Keep in mind what someone’s actual job is when you’re interacting with them.

It is most likely not a cashier’s fault if that Tickle Me Elmo rings up at a different price than you thought it would. So don’t yell at them

about it.

Actually, don’t yell

at anyone.

Don’t be surprised or angry when what you want has already sold out.

Lots of other people also wanted what you want and some of them got there first. [And hey, you were being a good person and waiting until Friday to start. You’re the real winner here.]

If Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character did it in “Jingle All the Way,” you probably shouldn’t do it. You don’t need to fight anyone over a toy or any other item.

When you go out with the mission of snagging great deals, also make it your mission to show extra kindness to the employees you encounter.

I can tell you from experience that it’ll be greatly appreciated.

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