I read about this on Consumerist. I loved how they said that they're doing it earlier so people can "get more sleep", and by "people" they meant non-employees.
"You must give up the ONE day a year you get to spend with your family because I'm too fucking lazy to get up and wait in line at the crack of dawn to save $20 on the 8th TV for my house. I NEED my sleep, I'm EXHAUSTED from all that TV watching. Also, I must have something no one else can have but I should not have to make any effort to get it".
THIS. This x1,000,000. Anytime I think about Black Friday (now Thursday), I don't think about the stunningly (ha) good deals and "excitement", I think about the poor employees making $8/hour that get dragged away from their families and Thanksgiving dinners to cater to this mob mentality. Because you know if the doors open at 8, they'll be "all hands on deck" at 6 or earlier. It's also common for the stores to have everyone on payroll there for the whole duration (12-16 hours or more), both to accomodate the masses and to avoid the "unfairness" of anyone taking a day off, even if it's their normal day.
It's one day a year people (meaning Thanksgiving), just accept you have to give up your unsustainable consumer-ism for ONE. FUCKING. DAY. No? Can't do that?