par4dcourse Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I was a young child in the early to mid 60's when the civil rights movement was in full swing. I came of age in the early 70's, an espoused a very liberal view of politics, and life, which I've kept to date. Don't get me wrong, I'm not demeaning Dr. King or his work in any way. My problem is with MLK day. The folks around here who would sincerely honor Dr. King have to work. The offices, factories (what's left) and independant businesses are all open. The people who have the day off are local, state, and federal government offices. WTF? Very few of them care, they just see a three day weekend. Woo-hoo. Another excuse to pay our government for doing nothing. Either make MLK day a national holiday(like xmas) so we can all enjoy, or strike it (and president's day) and all the other stupid holidays that only the government gets off and the taxpayer pays for, and let's honor Dr. King individually. Thanks, I feel better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraphicsGuy Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Canadian here that doesn't get any such day, yet can still cheer on Dr. King's efforts. In 100% favor of the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decafaholic Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Students and teachers get the day off where I live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCrystal Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I think it's national here in the United States of America, all of the students and teachers getting the days of. If it was my choice, I'd be sitting my ass down in class and make MLK's words actually worth something instead of what par4dcourse said, just a three day weekend. *sigh*. So, instead, I'm going to be book-learnin' my ass for the rest of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsmoke Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 MLK day has nothing on labor day for irony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Broke Free Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I have always worked in the financial industry and we always get the same holidays as the federal government. I get comments all the time about all the holidays I get off that most people don’t, but in really only amounts to two extra days. However they all seem to forget that I have to work the day after Thanksgiving and if Christmas falls on a Tuesday or Thursday I don’t get the extra day off. Most everyone I know gets those days off and do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathGeek Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Change NC to ND, and you have basically the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Change NC to ND, and you have basically the same thing. Same in MN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japedo Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 NH was the last state to adopt MLK day in 1999. We used to call it Civil rights day. Some people have it off, but most schools were open today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-COG Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 I think it's national here in the United States of America, all of the students and teachers getting the days of. It depends on the state. In Indiana, it is up to the individual school districts whether they want to observe MLK Day or not. It's usually based on if there are any black students in the system, as most whites view it as a black holliday. *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCrystal Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Damn. I didn't know that it was still that bad that some places base it on whether any black students are actually in the system. Damn. But then again, I was the only one in my 12th grade history class who knew about the Armenian Genocide. So go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknowing1 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 It's a joke in Virginia too. When the state first started recognizing MLK it was combined with Lee/Jackson Day. They eventually made Friday Lee/Jackson day and Monday MLK day. The state is closed both days making it a four day weekend. While state and federal government was closed on Monday, not all local governments and school systems were but it was mainly the larger ones that closed. I do have to say that being a state employee I would appreciate the four day weekend but I can't say that I actually get a four day weekend, because of the job I do I have to work the whole weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted January 22, 2008 Author Share Posted January 22, 2008 It's a joke in Virginia too. When the state first started recognizing MLK it was combined with Lee/Jackson Day. They eventually made Friday Lee/Jackson day and Monday MLK day. The state is closed both days making it a four day weekend. You got me. That's even more offensive. I mean no umbrage to the gvt employees who are off, they don't set the rules, but if it were my world, I'd do away with about 3/4 of paid holidays for gvt folks, and let the private sector decide how many paid absence days it will offer. Everyone needs some time off, but days paid with my taxes goes too far. Weird from a lifelong liberal, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknowing1 Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 It's a joke in Virginia too. When the state first started recognizing MLK it was combined with Lee/Jackson Day. They eventually made Friday Lee/Jackson day and Monday MLK day. The state is closed both days making it a four day weekend. You got me. That's even more offensive. I mean no umbrage to the gvt employees who are off, they don't set the rules, but if it were my world, I'd do away with about 3/4 of paid holidays for gvt folks, and let the private sector decide how many paid absence days it will offer. Everyone needs some time off, but days paid with my taxes goes too far. Weird from a lifelong liberal, eh? Not really weird because I totally agree with you, I see so much waste in state government it drives me crazy. Even though my salary is paid by the state I pay taxes too. I have been told that the reason we get so much time off is because the wages compared to the private sector are terrible and it is cheaper to give days off then to give raises to bring salaries up to a competitive level. I don't know if that is true across the board. I do know that my agency did do a study against comparable private sector industry and did find that numerous employees were underpaid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 Not really weird because I totally agree with you, I see so much waste in state government it drives me crazy. Even though my salary is paid by the state I pay taxes too. I have been told that the reason we get so much time off is because the wages compared to the private sector are terrible and it is cheaper to give days off then to give raises to bring salaries up to a competitive level. I don't know if that is true across the board. I do know that my agency did do a study against comparable private sector industry and did find that numerous employees were underpaid. I hadn't thought of that angle, but it makes perfect sense. Gvt down to the local level is trying to cover it's inept managing style by collecting every dime they can and holding costs to a min. Couldn't actually cut out some of the stupid stuff. Giving days off instead of a reasonable salary sounds much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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